Corin v Patton

The dispute in *Corin v Patton* concerned the attempted severance of a joint tenancy in Torrens system land. The deceased, Mrs. Patton, who was a joint tenant with her nephew, Mr. Corin, sought to sever the joint tenancy by transferring her interest to a trustee for herself. The memorandum of transfer was executed and delivered to the trustee, but the duplicate certificate of title remained with the mortgagee, who held it as security for a loan. Mrs. Patton died before the transfer could be registered. The case came before the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether Mrs. Patton had effectively alienated her equitable interest in the land prior to her death, thereby severing the joint tenancy. This required the court to consider the requirements for the alienation of an equitable interest in Torrens system land, particularly in circumstances where the duplicate certificate of title was not available to the transferor. The court also had to determine the effect of s 41 of the *Real Property Act 1900* (N.S.W.) and ss 24 and 96 of the *Conveyancing Act 1919* (N.S.W.) on the validity of the attempted alienation.

The High Court held that for a joint tenant to effectively alienate their equitable interest in Torrens system land, they must take all necessary steps to divest themselves of that interest. In this case, Mrs. Patton had not taken all necessary steps because she had not obtained the duplicate certificate of title from the mortgagee, which was required to effect registration of the transfer. Without registration, or at least the ability to compel registration, the equitable interest had not been alienated. Therefore, the joint tenancy was not severed before her death.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.