Siblings of the respondent brought a motion seeking declarations that a gratuitous transfer of a deceased parent’s home into joint tenancy with one child was void for undue influence or, alternatively, subject to a resulting trust in favour of the estate.
The court reviewed the doctrines of undue influence and the presumption of resulting trust in the context of gratuitous inter vivos transfers from parent to child.
Evidence from the drafting solicitor and a neighbour demonstrated that the deceased independently intended the transfer and understood its consequences.
The presumption of undue influence was not established and, in any event, was rebutted.
The evidence also rebutted the presumption of resulting trust by demonstrating a clear intention to gift the property to the respondent through joint tenancy.
