“Advise Neal and Owen who is entitled to the proceeds of sale and in what proportions: Mary, Neal, Owen and Peter purchased Lemon Tree Cottage and took it as joint tenants at law holding for themselves as joint tenants in equity.”

The foremost feature of a joint tenancy is that all joint tenants are known as co-owners. Therefore Mary, Neal, Owen and Peter are all co-owners and are regarded as owning everything together instead of separate shares individually; therefore they all own an undivided share of the property. Under section 34(2) of the Law of Property Act (LPA) 1925 land is conveyed to co-owners who are of full age and they must be joint tenants,  and the act excludes any more than four co-owners. Furthermore a minor cannot be capable of holding a legal estate in land as seen in (s. 1(6) LPA 1925) , thus making them all have the legal title of Lemon Tree Cottage for they are all post graduate students making them of legal age. Co-ownership of land then brings about a trust of land into operation with is governed by the Trusts of Land and Trustees Act (TLATA) 1996, section 1(1) .

…(short extract)