A beneficial interest is the right that a person has arising from a contract to which they are not a party, or a trust. For example, if A makes a contract with B that A will pay C a certain sum of money, B has the legal interest in the contract, and C the beneficial interest.
More generally, a beneficial interest is any "interest of value, worth, or
use in
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...
one does not own", for example, "the interest that a
beneficiary
A beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example, the beneficiary of a life insurance policy is the person who receives the payment of the amount of ...
of a
trust has in the trust".
[''Ballentine's Law Dictionary'', p. 48 (Legal Assistant edition, 1994).] More specifically, it could be:
* "A property interest that inures solely to the benefit of the owner", or
* Property that "remains of an
estate after the payment of debts and the expenses of administration", or
* The right of a person having a
power of appointment
A power of appointment is a term most frequently used in the law of wills to describe the ability of the testator (the person writing the will) to select a person who will be given the authority to dispose of certain property under the will. Alt ...
to appoint himself".
[
''Black's Law Dictionary'' defines beneficial interest as "Profit, benefit or advantage resulting from a contract, or the ownership of an estate as distinct from the legal ownership or control."]["beneficial interest"]
''Law Dictionary'' Examples of beneficial interests in mining claims include unrecorded deeds and agreements to share profits, but not mortgages and other liens.Ontario Government web site
- ''Cf.'' definition of real property
In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, refers to parcels of land and any associated structures which are the property of a person. For a structure (also called an Land i ...
as including mortgages and other liens. A beneficial interest is also "distinguished from the rights of someone like a trustee or official who has responsibility to perform and/or title to the assets but does not share in the benefits".
[
]
See also
*Asset protection
Asset protection (sometimes also referred to as ''debtor-creditor law'') is a set of legal techniques and a body of statutory and common law dealing with protecting assets of individuals and business entities from civil money judgments. The goal o ...
*Beneficial owner Beneficial may refer to:
Organizations
* Beneficial Corporation, a consumer finance company founded in 1914 that was ultimately bought by HSBC Corporation
** Beneficial Loan Society, the former name of Beneficial Corporation
** Beneficial Finance, ...
*Beneficial use
"Beneficial use" is a legal term describing a person's right to enjoy the benefits of specific property, especially a view or access to light, air, or water, even though title to that property is held by another person. It is also referred to as ...
*Corporate benefit
The interest of the company (sometimes company benefit or commercial benefit) is a concept that the board of directors in corporations are in most legal systems required to use their powers for the commercial benefit of the company and its members ...
*Lien
A lien ( or ) is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the ''lienee'' and the pers ...
* Purpose trust
*Quistclose trust
A ''Quistclose'' trust is a trust created where a creditor has lent money to a debtor for a particular purpose. If the debtor uses the money for any other purpose, then it is held on trust for the creditor. Any inappropriately spent money can ...
*Resulting trust
A resulting trust is an implied trust that comes into existence by operation of law, where property is transferred to someone who pays nothing for it; and then is implied to hold the property for the benefit of another person.
The trust property ...
*Use (law)
Use, as a term in the property law of common law countries, amounts to a recognition of the duty of a person to whom property has been conveyed for certain purposes, to carry out those purposes. In this context "use" is equivalent to "benefit".
U ...
* Third-party beneficiary
*Trust (law)
A trust is a legal relationship in which the owner of property, or any transferable right, gives it to another to manage and use solely for the benefit of a designated person. In the English common law, the party who entrusts the property is k ...
References
{{law-term-stub
Property law
Wills and trusts
Contract law