Ownership Interests in Property - Miller v. Gillman
A recent decision of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench offers an interesting look at the use of the resulting trust.
In Miller v. Gillman, a mother advanced substantial sums of money to her daughter and son-in-law over a period of time. The daughter and son-in-law used the mother’s money, in part, to purchase and develop a large parcel of land.
Title to the property was taken by the daughter and son-in-law in their names alone. It was subdivided and the mother lived in a home on one of the lots for 13 years.
The son-and-law and daughter separated and a dispute arose as to the mother’s ownership interest in the property. The mother and daughter argued that there was an informal, unwritten agreement that in exchange for her financial contribution, the mother would have an ownership interest in the property. The son-in-law denied the existence of any such agreement and claimed that the mother had loaned them the money.
Over a 13 year period, the son-in-law and daughter had made some repayment to the mother but the court accepted the mother and daughter’s evidence that repayments pertained to other loans the mother had made, and not the funds used to purchase the property.
The court placed a great deal of weight on a written note the son-in-law and daughter gave to the mother before they left on a vacation. In the note, the son-in-law and daughter acknowledge the mother’s interest in the property. The son-in-law claimed that the note was only meant to be in effect while they were on vacation.
The court didn’t buy the son-in-law’s explanation and awarded the mother an ownership interest in the property on the basis of a resulting trust.
Have a nice day.
Jason Allan
