| Re Dennis | |
|---|---|
 Their interests became severed on the act of bankruptcy, not the order for bankruptcy | |
| Citation | Ch 80 |
| Case history | |
| Subsequent action | none |
| Case opinions | |
| Held: The interests of joint tenants are severed on the act of bankruptcy, not the order for bankruptcy | |
| Keywords | |
| Co-ownership; act of bankruptcy; whether severs joint tenancy; tenant-in-common (passing of share in property under Will not survivorship) | |
Re Dennis Ch 80 is an English land law case, concerning co-ownership of land.
Facts
Mr and Mrs Dennis were joint tenants. He failed to comply with a bankruptcy notice, an act of bankruptcy. Then his wife died. Then he was declared bankrupt. There was no secured lending affecting their house (mortgage) to which the wife had assented. The question in law was whether the act of bankruptcy terminated (severed) the joint tenancy between the couple; if so then the husband's trustees would not receive automatically the wife's share, instead her Will would be free to allocate the property as she saw fit (or if she had died intestate, the Intestacy Rules would prevail).
Judgment
Held, under the Bankruptcy Act 1914, severance occurred at the date of the act of bankruptcy, so on her death the wife was a tenant in common with a half share and that passed to their children. Had a joint tenancy continued then the bankrupt's trustees would have acquired her share to consider in accordance with the bankruptcy rules.
See also
| Sources on co-ownership | |
|---|---|
| Law of Property Act 1925 ss 1(6), 34(2), 36(2) and 184 | |
| Trustee Act 1925 s 34(2) | |
| Inheritance Act 1975 | |
| Williams v Hensman (1861) 1 J&H 546 | |
| Nielson-Jones v Fedden Ch 222 | |
| Re Draper’s Conveyance 1 Ch 486 | |
| Harris v Goddard 3 All ER 242 | |
| Law of Property Act 1925 s 196 | |
| Kinch v Bullard 4 All ER 650 | |
| Brown v Raindle (1796) 3 Ves 296, 30 ER 998 | |
| Re Dennis Ch 80 | |
| Burgess v Rawnsley Ch 429 | |
| Forfeiture Act 1982 ss 1-2 | |
| Re K Ch 180 | |
| TLATA 1996 s 7 | |
| TLATA 1996 ss 1, 3, 6, 11-15 | |
| White v White EWCA Civ 924 | |
| Mortgage Corporation v Shaire Ch 743 | |
| Insolvency Act 1986 ss 283A and 335A | |
| Re Citro Ch 142 | |
| see English land law |