The Court held that an equitable joint tenant who is also the trustee can unilaterally sever the equitable joint tenancy by executing a written instrument satisfying s 53(1)(c) of the Property Law Act 1958 (Vic), acting in their capacity as beneficiary rather than trustee. Estate planners and trust advisers must account for the risk that a trustee-beneficiary may sever an equitable joint tenancy by deed without the consent of the other equitable joint tenant, defeating the right of survivorship.
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