ABSTRACT
The expression ‘resulting trust’ derives from the Latin verb resultare, meaning to spring back. The ‘presumed’ resulting trust arises, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, when property is purchased in the name of another, or property is voluntarily transferred to another. William Swadling disagrees with the Birks/Chambers theory that the resulting trust is imposed in order to reverse unjust enrichment in cases of mistaken payments and occasions when there have been payments made on the failure of consideration. A transfer to trustees was made subject to a marriage settlement that turned out to be void. The court decided that the fund was held on resulting trust for the settlor’s estate on the ground that the money was paid on a consideration that had failed. In accordance with the general rule, a presumption of resulting trust operates when a mother transfers property in the name of her child.
