A mortgagee may be faced with a situation where the mortgagor becomes bankrupt and the trustee, in which the property then vests, disclaims the mortgaged property. By force of a trustee’s disclaimer, the bankrupt’s fee simple estate escheats to the Crown in the right of the State. When the Registrar of Titles receives a notice of disclaimer from a trustee, a Registrar’s caveat will be recorded over the property.

In today’s turbulent economic climate, it is vital for creditors and debtors to understand the precise boundaries of their rights and duties when an enterprise becomes insolvent. Directors, officers and managers must acknowledge those to whom they owe fiduciary duties and fulfill those duties at the risk of personal liability, while creditors evaluate their potential remedies against misbehaving insiders to collect on defaulted obligations.