Certainty of subject matter

Certainty of subject matter

1. needs to be certainty of the existence of a 'subject matter' rather than its location

2. Boyce

   • trust failed because beneficial shares were uncertain

3. Re Golay's WT

   • trust held as could look at age, income and standard of life to determine what a reasonable income would be

4. Re Goldcorp

   • buyer cannot acquire title until it is known to what goods the title relates ... it makes no difference what the parties intended if what they intend is impossible: as is the case with an immediate transfer of title to goods whose identity is not yet known

5. Hunter

   • with regard to shares, the test for certainty of subject matter did not necessarily require segregation of the trust property

6. MacJordan

   • money in a bank account must be held in a segregated account before it can form the subject matter of a trust

7. Lehman Brothers

   • there is no doubt that money in a mixed fund may be held on trust, and that a trust of money can be created without an obligation to keep it in a separate bank account