Put it in Writing

It is astonishing how often disputes over the beneficial ownership of assets become the subject of lengthy court proceedings. In a case decided in March, an argument about the ownership of a property ended up (at huge cost to the loser) in the Court of Appeal.

The issue was whether the property was owned in accordance with how much the two owners had contributed to its purchase and normal running costs or whether it was owned in some other proportion.

In the absence of compelling evidence that ownership of the property was shared in any other proportion, the Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s decision that it should be determined by the relative contributions of the owners.