Also known as: use · used · Statute of Uses
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An equitable device by which one person held legal title to land for the benefit of another. The arrangement allowed effective devises of freehold estates before the Statute of Wills recognized the power to devise at common law.
Uliana created a use under which her nephew held legal title to a cottage for her benefit during her lifetime. Years later the nephew attempted to enter the cottage after the limited consent period had expired and used force to open the door. The court treated the entry as a breaking because the original consent did not authorize force outside the agreed times.
Usman placed land in a use so that the beneficiary could receive income while legal title remained with the trustee. Congress later exercised its power to lay taxes to pay the common defense. The use continued without interference because the tax power did not reach the equitable interest created under the device.
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Una Unger, now a judge, had previously placed family property in a use naming herself as trustee. After taking the bench she declined to appear in court on behalf of the beneficiary even though the use remained active. The rule barred her from serving as lawyer for the family member in any forum.
Uriel Urban left government service and placed confidential information acquired on the job into a use for a private client. Because the information could disadvantage the person to whom it related, the firm screened Urban from the matter and apportioned him no fee. The arrangement satisfied the rule governing confidential government information.
Ugo Uberti held legal title under a use for the benefit of his principal. The principal later claimed the agent should have known facts that ordinary care would have revealed. The court measured the agent's knowledge by what a person of ordinary experience would have discovered while performing duties under the use.
Unity Underhill leased property that the parties contemplated would be used for residential purposes under a use created by the prior owner. On the date possession was due the premises lacked heat and running water. The tenant terminated the lease before entry because the property was unsuitable for residential use.
A landowner would enfeoff another to hold to the use of the landowner for life and then to such persons as the landowner appointed by will. Equity compelled the feoffee to convey according to the use, achieving the practical effect of a devise even though common law did not recognize the power.
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The Statute of Wills made direct devises possible, rendering the shifting use device largely unnecessary for that purpose. Powers of appointment that originated in the use system survived and continue in modern trust practice.
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A use placed legal title in a feoffee who was compelled in equity to honor the beneficial interest. A modern trust places legal title in a trustee who owes fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries under statutory and case law that developed from the earlier equitable device.
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…the Constitution and to administer justice agreeably to the Constitution and laws of the United States. If judges were to be used to give effect to legislative acts repugnant to the Constitution the oath they take would be mockery. The particular phraseology of the Constitution confirms the principle that a law…