Ebert v Union Trustee Co of Australia Ltd

The case of *Ebert v Union Trustee Co of Australia Ltd* concerned a dispute between the plaintiff, Ebert, and the defendant, Union Trustee Co of Australia Ltd, in its capacity as trustee of a deceased estate. The plaintiff sought to recover certain assets from the estate, alleging they were held by the deceased on trust for her benefit. The matter came before the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the deceased had, during her lifetime, created a valid express trust over the assets in question for the benefit of the plaintiff. This required the court to consider the intention of the deceased to create a trust and whether the necessary certainty of subject matter and objects of the trust were present.

The court's reasoning focused on the principles governing the creation of express trusts, particularly the requirement for clear and unequivocal intention. Dixon C.J., McTiernan and Windeyer JJ analysed the evidence presented to ascertain if the deceased's words and conduct demonstrated a present intention to divest herself of beneficial ownership and to hold the property for the plaintiff. They considered whether the subject matter of the alleged trust was sufficiently identified and whether the intended beneficiaries were clearly ascertained. The court applied established equitable principles regarding the constitution of trusts, noting that for an express trust to be effective, the settlor must have done all that was necessary to transfer the property to the trustee or to declare themselves a trustee of it.

The High Court found that the evidence did not establish the requisite intention to create a trust, nor was the subject matter sufficiently certain. Accordingly, the appeal was dismissed.