Brown, James and Pawlowski, Mark ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5473-5809 (2025) The nature and effect of a "release" from a joint tenancy. Trust Law International, 38 (4). pp. 175-180. ISSN 0962-2624

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Abstract

The article considers whether a release from a joint tenancy under section 36(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925 constitutes a disposition and whether a release results in a severance of the joint tenancy. It also examines the formalities required for a release where the subject-matter of the release is a legal estate in land, an equitable interest in land and personal property. It concludes that a release remains a useful means by which a joint tenant of a legal estate may unilaterally extinguish his legal interest in favour of the other joint tenants despite holding an undivided share in the land. Less significant is the power of an equitable joint tenant to release his interest given that he may do so by more conventional means involving a severance of the joint tenancy in equity under section 36(2). Nevertheless, the importance of a release in this context should not be underestimated given the decision in Hudson v Hathway [2023] KB 345, where the use of informal words were held to give rise to a valid release despite the absence of a formal severance of the joint tenancy. To this extent, the device of a release continues to have a useful role to play in modern co-ownership law.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	release, joint tenancies, disposition of property, severance, legal estates, equitable interests, formalities, land, personal property
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General) K Law > KD England and Wales
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > School of Law & Criminology (LAC)
Last Modified:	12 Mar 2025 11:33
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/50002

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