Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 18.pdf/60

 EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT the actual conversion which is agreed or di rected to be made. The only other species of contract in which it is certain that an agreement to buy or sell land forms an element in an equitable con version, -is a unilateral covenant to lay out money in the purchase of land and to settle the land, or sell the land and settle the pro ceeds of the sale. The different effect of a bilateral contract to buy and sell, and a uni lateral contract to buy or sell is due to the dif ferent effect produced by performance. The mutual performance of the bilateral contract causes a conversion not only of sellers land into money, but of buyers money into land, and also causes a transfer of the land and money. On the other hand, the performance of the uni lateral covenant cannot cause more than one conversion. In order that a unilateral covenant to buy or sell land may cause an equitable conver sion, it must be a covenant to buy land of the covenantee, or sell land to him, or there must be added a covenant to make a gift of part or all of the land or proceeds of the sale of the land. A contract for the purchase and sale of land is the only instance of equitable con version which is always co-extensive with the actual conversion, because in every other case the actual conversion of land into money or vice versa must be made before any gift of the money or land can take effect. Another species of agreement which has been held to cause an equitable conversion of land into money, is the agreement some times made between co-owners to join in the sale of the land. Such an agreement does not however cause an equitable conversion, for the only way in which one can convert his own land into money in equity in his own favor is by procuring some one else to contract with him to purchase the land. There is an important distinction, which has exclusive relation to the creation of an equitable conversion, between a direction to sell land accompanied by a gift of the pro ceeds of the sale and the creation of a lien or charge on the same land either with or with out a direction to sell the land to pay off the

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charge. A gift out of the proceeds of land re quires a sale as only in that way can the amount be ascertained, but where land is charged with payment of money the charge bears no rela tion to the value of the land. A Hen or charge never causes an equitable conversion of land into money, because (i ) it never consti tutes a step towards the alienation of the land : (2 ) a direction to sell land is only evidence of an intention to make a charge: (3 ) the land has nothing to do with bringing the debt into existence, nor with the debt during its existence. Where such charge is made by deed or will the surplus will be held tobe land. Courts have failed to distinguish charges on the land from gifts of the proceeds of sale of land and have given them the same effect in converting land into money in equity. The former are usually in the form of assign ments for benefit of creditors, and the courts have generally answered that the direction to sell property to pay debts was sufficient to convert any land included into money in equity. There is another class of cases in which money is directed to be laid out in the purchase of land and yet the ownership of the land when purchased will be just where the owner ship of the money was when the purchase was made, namely, where land is settled, the legal ownership being in trustees and the latter are authorized to sell the land, but directed to invest proceeds of the sale in other land and after land is sold but before other land is purchased, the question arises whether the money is converted in equity into land from the moment of sale. This question has al ways been answered in the affirmative but the reverse seems to be true. Neither the direc tion to reinvest the money in land nor the actual reinvestment of it in land causes any change in ownership of the settled estate. Each person who will under the settlement have an interest in the land when purchased, has in the meantime the same interest in the money, and the land will, when purchased, simply take the place of the money, just as when the original land was sold the money took the place of the land.