In February 2018, Jess, Luke, Declan, Farhan and Emma, all fire fighters, decided to live together, and purchased a five-bedroom terraced property called Seymour Villas. They contributed unequal amounts to the purchase and the property was conveyed to them as equitable joint tenants.
In January 2019, without telling the others, Declan sold his interest in Seymour Villas to Mohammad in signed writing. Soon afterwards, he left the fire service and went off on an around-the-world trip, promising that he would keep in touch.
In December 2019, Luke, the last to leave for work, left a note on the hall table telling the others that he was ‘severing his interest in the house with immediate effect’. That day, whilst at work, Luke received a phone call from Jess, who explained that Farhan and Emma had been in a car accident.
Emma was receiving minor care and Farhan was undergoing an emergency operation and unlikely to survive. Luke left work and rushed back home to Seymour Villas: upon arrival he threw his note in the rubbish bin. The next day, Jess found the note when emptying the rubbish bin and confronted Luke. Luke said that he “did not mean anything by the note” and he had changed his mind.
One week later Farhan died. His valid will left all his estate to his girlfriend, Ursula.
In March 2020, over dinner, Jess and Emma discussed the possibility of putting the property up for sale as Jess was thinking about selling her interest in the future. However, they were unable to agree on a date when they might want to sell or the price, so they decided to cease discussions for the time being.
One month ago, Mohammad contacted the other co-owners and expressed his desire to sell the property. Luke and Jess agreed but Emma has refused, as she is pregnant.
Advise the parties as to how the legal and beneficial estates devolve and briefly discuss whether Seymour Villas is likely to be sold.
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