| Unit name | Trusts |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0140 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Mr. Rob Cason |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
The trust concept has been described as ‘the greatest and most distinctive achievement performed by Englishmen in the field of jurisprudence’. Although difficult to define, the trust is of great significance to many areas of law and modern life, from family law to commercial law, and from land law to insolvency and charities. As you will discover, the trust is an important invention of the body of law known as equity. At the heart of the trust lies the separation of ownership into legal and beneficial ownership, enabling one person (the trustee) to hold property for the benefit of another (the beneficiary), with attendant obligations on the trustee and consequences when those are breached. This unit enables you to understand and evaluate the principles of trust law underpinning the creation and operation of trusts and their breach and explore the myriad of ways in which trust principles play a role in wider law, commerce and society.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit will provide you with detailed knowledge of the operation of Trusts Law, in relation to equitable principles and maxims. The study of trusts will build on many topics you may have studied previously such as equity as a body of law, differing forms of legal ownership, common law and equitable remedies, and the nature of fiduciary obligations. This is a core unit on the Law (MA) programme and can also be chosen by students on LLM programmes who have not previously studied English law. If you are enrolled on the MA programme, this will be one of the final units you will study and complement previous units to facilitate a holistic understanding of the English Legal System. If you’re on an LLM programme, this unit will give you a greater insight into the trust as a specific form of ownership and its relevance within a commercial context.
An overview of content
This Unit explores the core principles of the law of Trusts in England and Wales. It will also explore the development of those principles, the policies that have driven their development, their practical operation, as well as the future scope for law reform in the area. The unit will cover: the nature of and distinctions between different types of trust; the creation of express trusts; charitable and non-charitable purpose trusts, the operation and management of trusts; the nature of fiduciary obligations; breach of trust and remedies available at common law and in equity. You will learn about how and why trusts are created, as well as the consequences that flow from the classification of a transaction as a trust in contrast to other legal relationships. You will examine the relationship between the trustees, the legal owners, and the beneficiaries, the equitable owners, and the very specific remedial structure that governs this relationship.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will be able to confidently recognise the requirements in the creation of a valid trust and the rights and responsibilities that flow from this specific form of legal relationship. Within the broader context of your legal education, you will gain a nuanced understanding of equity as a body of law within the English legal system.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, a successful student will be able to:
The unit consists of weekly mix of seminars and lectures accompanied by independent asynchronous activities to complete. The unit also employs recorded lectures on some of the main topic areas. Seminars are designed to be interactive with a focus on student led discussion and small group work on legal problems and essay questions. Element of the unit focus on the practical skills required for work in the legal profession.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Formative assessments on this unit come in many forms that include: asynchronous MCQs on each topic, quizzes with feedback in seminars and lectures, problem and essay questions in seminars, and the use of exemplar answers in marking and feedback seminar activities. In class discussions, interactive lectures and group work will allow you to receive informal feedback on your knowledge and understanding from academic staff and your peers. These activities will not contribute to the final unit mark.
There will also be a formative coursework assessment exercise where students will be asked to prepare a short answer or submit a skeleton plan (1,500 words). The formative assessment will form the base of a peer review group exercise.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Coursework (100%) with two mandatory elements:
When assessment does not go to plan:
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, the unit will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis with new assessment questions.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWDM0140).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
