Declaration Of Trust - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition declaration-of-trust

Definition :

Declaration of trust. To prevent the inconvenience which arose from parol declarations and secret transfers of uses, s. 53 of the (English) Law of Property Act, 1925, reproducing and amending the (English) Statute of Frauds (29 Car. 2, c. 3), ss. 7, 8 and 9, requires that a declaration of trust respecting any land or any interest therein must be manifested and proved by some writing signed by some person who is able to declare such trust, or by his will, and (1) a disposition of an equitable interest or trust, subsisting at the time of the disposition, must be in writing signed by the person disposing of the same or by his agent thereunto lawfully authorized in writing or by will; (2) this section does not affect the creation of resulting, implied or constructive trusts.

It appears that this statute does not extend to the declaration or creation of trusts of mere personalty. But in practice, a parol declaration should never be relied on, for the intention to declare a trust should be irrevocably expressed. There is no form or particular set of words, or mode of expression, prescribed for the purpose of raising a trust. Intention will create a trust, provided the object of the gift, and the gift itself, can be correctly ascertained, 1 Sand. Uses, 344.