Click here to learn more about our revolutionary app or download directly from one of the sources below.
Equity law evolved in response to the rigid procedures of England’s legal courts. Frustrated plaintiffs(those taking a case to court) turned to the monarch when they could not get the outcome needed to continue living. The monarch then formed the Court of Chancery to deal with the law of Equity.
A general definition of equity is ‘the quality of being fair and impartial’. It can also be described as ‘a branch of law that developed alongside common law (the development of law through cases decided by the courts) and is concerned with fairness and justice, formerly administered in special courts’.
In law, the term ‘equity’ refers to a particular set of remedies and associated procedures involved with civil law. These equitable doctrines and procedures are distinguished from ‘legal’ ones. While legal remedies typically involve monetary damages, equitable relief typically refers to injunctions (stopping something from happening) and specific performance (a court order requiring something to happen in accordance with a contract or agreement).
A court will typically award equitable remedies when a legal remedy is insufficient or inadequate. For example, courts will typically award equitable relief for a claim which involves a particular or unique piece of real estate, or if the plaintiff requests specific performance.
A ‘constructive trust’ is an example of an equitable solution.
[See ‘Common Law’ and ‘Constructive Trust’.]
Equity release is the use of financial arrangements that provide the owner of a house or other property with funds derived from the value of the property, while enabling them to continue using it.
A homeowner might be able to ring-fence some of the value of their property as an inheritance for their family. They can choose to make repayments, or let the interest roll-up and be added to the overall debt.
The loan amount and any built-up interest is paid back by selling the property when the last borrower dies, or when they move into long-term care.
[See ‘Home Reversion’.]
