Use (law)
Encyclopedia
Use, as a term in real property
law of common law
countries, amounts to a recognition of the duty of a person, to whom property has been conveyed for certain purposes, to carry out those purposes.
Uses were equitable or beneficial interests in land. In early law a man could not dispose of his estate by will nor could religious houses acquire it. As a method of evading the common law arose the practice of making feoffments to the use of, or upon trust for, persons other than those to whom the seisin
or legal possession was delivered, to which the equitable jurisdiction of the chancellor gave effect. To remedy the abuses which it was said were occasioned by this evasion of the law the Statute of Uses
of 1536 was passed. However it failed to accomplish its purpose. Out of this failure of the Statute of Uses arose the modern law of trusts (see that article for further details).
to be all-important and therefore refused to allow a legal interest to be created to spring up in the future. Although the common law recognised a use in chattels from an early period, it was clear by the end of the fourteenth century that land law had no room for this notion. Uses, nonetheless, satisfied contemporary needs in fifteenth century England. Its first application in relation to land was to protect the ownership of the land by the Franciscan Monks, who were pledged to vows of poverty and unable to own land. This enabled the feoffee to uses for the benefit of a cestui que use. The common law did not recognise the cestui que use but affirmed the right of ownership by feoffee to use.
The term "use" translates into "Trust" and this was the legal beginning of Trusts and the use of trusts to defeat feudal, death and tax dues.
They served the following purposes:
eventually assumed the task of enforcing uses. Later, it decided that not only was the conscience of the feoffee to uses bound by the use, but also the conscience of his heir. Thus, on the death of the feoffee to uses the use could be enforced against the feoffee's heir to whom the legal fee simple estate had descended.
The idea of a tie in conscience was gradually extended, and with it the sphere of enforceability of the use. The modern position was reached by the beginning of the sixteenth century: The use could be enforced against anyone in the world acquiring an interest in the land other than a bona fide purchaser of the legal estate for value without notice of the use. In a conveyance "to A and his heirs to the use of B and his heirs", the common law took cognisance only of A and went no further. But if A attempted to act inconsistently with the dictates of his conscience, the Court of Chancery would enforce the use against him.
From this time, two different kinds of interests in the land could exist side by side, a fragmentation between legal and beneficial.
s.
As the lord at the top of the feudal pyramid, the King suffered most from the employment of uses and evasion of tenurial incidents. The Statute of Uses
1535 was the culmination of various attempts by Henry VIII
to solve the problem. The statute operated to execute the use so that the interest of the cestui que use, which was previously an equitable interest, was converted into a legal interest.
Real property
In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
law of common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
countries, amounts to a recognition of the duty of a person, to whom property has been conveyed for certain purposes, to carry out those purposes.
Uses were equitable or beneficial interests in land. In early law a man could not dispose of his estate by will nor could religious houses acquire it. As a method of evading the common law arose the practice of making feoffments to the use of, or upon trust for, persons other than those to whom the seisin
Seisin
Seisin is the term denoting the legal possession of a feudal fiefdom . It was used in the form of "the son and heir of X has obtained seisin of his inheritance", and thus is effectively a term concerned with conveyancing in the feudal era...
or legal possession was delivered, to which the equitable jurisdiction of the chancellor gave effect. To remedy the abuses which it was said were occasioned by this evasion of the law the Statute of Uses
Statute of Uses
The Statute of Uses was an Act of the Parliament of England that restricted the application of uses in English property law. The Statute was originally conceived by Henry VIII of England as a way to rectify his financial problems by simplifying the law of uses, which moved land outside the royal...
of 1536 was passed. However it failed to accomplish its purpose. Out of this failure of the Statute of Uses arose the modern law of trusts (see that article for further details).
Development of the use
One reason for the creation of uses was a desire to avoid the strictness of the rules of the common law, which considered seisinSeisin
Seisin is the term denoting the legal possession of a feudal fiefdom . It was used in the form of "the son and heir of X has obtained seisin of his inheritance", and thus is effectively a term concerned with conveyancing in the feudal era...
to be all-important and therefore refused to allow a legal interest to be created to spring up in the future. Although the common law recognised a use in chattels from an early period, it was clear by the end of the fourteenth century that land law had no room for this notion. Uses, nonetheless, satisfied contemporary needs in fifteenth century England. Its first application in relation to land was to protect the ownership of the land by the Franciscan Monks, who were pledged to vows of poverty and unable to own land. This enabled the feoffee to uses for the benefit of a cestui que use. The common law did not recognise the cestui que use but affirmed the right of ownership by feoffee to use.
The term "use" translates into "Trust" and this was the legal beginning of Trusts and the use of trusts to defeat feudal, death and tax dues.
They served the following purposes:
- Substitute of wills: Before the Statute of WillsStatute of WillsThe Statute of Wills was an Act of the Parliament of England. It made it possible, for the first time in English history, for landholders to determine who would inherit their land upon their death by permitting bequest by will...
1540, a tenantTenement (law)A tenement , in law, is anything that is held, rather than owned. This usage is a holdover from feudalism, which still forms the basis of all real-estate law in the English-speaking world, in which the monarch alone owned the allodial title to all the land within his kingdom.Under feudalism, land...
in fee simpleFee simpleIn English law, a fee simple is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. It is the most common way that real estate is owned in common law countries, and is ordinarily the most complete ownership interest that can be had in real property short of allodial title, which is often reserved...
could not devise the interest in the land by a willWill (law)A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
at common law. Upon his death the land devolved upon his eldest son or, if he died without leaving an heir, the land would escheatEscheatEscheat is a common law doctrine which transfers the property of a person who dies without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in limbo without recognised ownership...
to his overlord. The use could avoid these difficulties by allowing the tenant to convey his land to a friend, on the understanding that the friend would permit, after the grantor's death, the grantor's designated persons (beneficiariesBeneficiary (trust)In trust law, a beneficiary or cestui que use, a.k.a. cestui que trust, is the person or persons who are entitled to the benefit of any trust arrangement. A beneficiary will normally be a natural person, but it is perfectly possible to have a company as the beneficiary of a trust, and this often...
or cestuis que use) to have the full benefit and enjoyment of the land.
- Avoidance of feudal burdens: By the device of a use, the tenant could avoid dues upon his death, since he was not seised of the land at his death.
- Providing for grantor's wife: Since man and wife were considered to be one person at common law, a man could not convey land to his wife. This difficulty was overcome if the land was conveyed to a feoffee to usesFeoffeeA Feoffee is a trustee who holds a fief , that is to say an estate in land, for the use of a beneficial owner. The term is more fully stated as a feoffee to uses of the beneficial owner. The use of such trustees developed towards the end of the era of feudalism in the middle ages and became...
to the use of the grantor's wife.
- Avoidance of the Statutes of Mortmain: The statutes prohibited the conveyance of land to religious bodies. They were avoided by conveyance to a feoffee to uses to the use of a religious orderReligious orderA religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
.
Enforcement of uses
The Court of ChanceryCourt of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...
eventually assumed the task of enforcing uses. Later, it decided that not only was the conscience of the feoffee to uses bound by the use, but also the conscience of his heir. Thus, on the death of the feoffee to uses the use could be enforced against the feoffee's heir to whom the legal fee simple estate had descended.
The idea of a tie in conscience was gradually extended, and with it the sphere of enforceability of the use. The modern position was reached by the beginning of the sixteenth century: The use could be enforced against anyone in the world acquiring an interest in the land other than a bona fide purchaser of the legal estate for value without notice of the use. In a conveyance "to A and his heirs to the use of B and his heirs", the common law took cognisance only of A and went no further. But if A attempted to act inconsistently with the dictates of his conscience, the Court of Chancery would enforce the use against him.
From this time, two different kinds of interests in the land could exist side by side, a fragmentation between legal and beneficial.
The Statute of Uses
From early on, legislation interfered with uses where they were employed for purposes that were regarded as improper. During the 14th and 15th centuries, legislation was passed which was designed to prevent uses being created so as to defraud creditorCreditor
A creditor is a party that has a claim to the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property or service to the second party under the assumption that the second party will return an equivalent property or...
s.
As the lord at the top of the feudal pyramid, the King suffered most from the employment of uses and evasion of tenurial incidents. The Statute of Uses
Statute of Uses
The Statute of Uses was an Act of the Parliament of England that restricted the application of uses in English property law. The Statute was originally conceived by Henry VIII of England as a way to rectify his financial problems by simplifying the law of uses, which moved land outside the royal...
1535 was the culmination of various attempts by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
to solve the problem. The statute operated to execute the use so that the interest of the cestui que use, which was previously an equitable interest, was converted into a legal interest.