Question
Lisha is an elderly woman living in Ryde. She lives in a large house which was purchased in 1950 with her husband who is now
Lisha is an elderly woman living in Ryde. She lives in a large house which was purchased in 1950 with her husband who is now deceased. Her only child, Jian, who is a builder, grew up there. In January 2020 Lisha's son Jian visited her, telling Lisha he was worried about her living on her own. Jian proposed that Lisha sell her property in Ryde and use the proceeds to buy a vacant block of land on which he (Jian) would build a house so Lisha and Jian could live together, and he could look after her as she aged. Lisha thought this was a wonderful idea. She had recently had a fall and injured herself, and she has for some time been concerned about maintaining the Ryde house on her own. Additionally, Jian had been experiencing some financial issues, and as her only child, it provided him with an early inheritance. In June 2020 the Ryde house was sold for $2,800,000. Shortly afterwards, Jian purchased a block of land in Beecroft for $1,200,000 which was put in Jian's and Lisha's names and tenants in common in equal shares. The purchase of the Beecroft land was wholly funded by Lisha, including costs of the purchase such as stamp duty and legal fees. Shortly before the sale and purchase of the respective properties, Jian took Lisha to the local branch of Big Bank to open an account in which to deposit the remaining $1,600,000 from the sale of the Ryde property. An account was opened in Jian's name and the funds were to be used for the purpose of building a house on the Ryde land. Until recently, Lisha, and Jian were living in a caravan on the Ryde land. Jian has laid the foundations of the house but apart from that, there has been no progress made on the house. Lisha has asked on numerous occasions about when the house might be finished, but Jian has refused to discuss the arrangements, and has become quite hostile. Last week, after a dreadful argument, Lisha left the accommodation in a distressed state and is living with her younger sister. She has asked for the return of her money but has not received a reply. Advise Lisha on any claims she may bring against Jian, in relation to the Beecroft land and the bank account at Big Bank and assess her prospects for success.
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