Words & intentions

• Reviews the Court of Appeal decision in Ong v Ping on whether a trust can be created without declaration.

Contrary to expectation, the Court of Appeal recently stated that it is possible to create a trust by express declaration, without there being a declaration. The case in question is Ong v Ping [2017] EWCA Civ 2069, [2017] All ER (D) 68 (Dec). The parties were various family members. On one side was a mother (Jane) and her three children. On the other side was Jane’s brother in law (Ping). In 1988 Jane began litigation, alleging that a large house in Highgate (the house) was held upon trusts in her favour. Nearly 30 years later, after extensive litigation in England and Singapore, an English judge (Morgan J) decided that the house was held upon trusts, but these did not benefit Jane, rather other family members. The Court of Appeal upheld the judge’s decision.