Rescinding a mistaken declaration of trust: Sullivan v Sullivan [2025] EWHC 1072 (Ch)

When voluntarily disposing of property, a donor may make a mistake of so serious a character that equity permits the rescission of that disposition. This equitable jurisdiction to rescind a mistaken disposition was recently considered by the High Court in Sullivan v Sullivan [2025] EWHC 1072 (Ch), a case concerning the mistaken settlement of property under trust. This case note analyses the judgment in Sullivan by reference to Pitt v Holt [2013] UKSC 26, the leading English law authority governing the rescission of mistaken dispositions. It concludes by considering the implications of Sullivan for practitioners.