Rectification of a trust deed

The court has an inherent power to rectify a trust deed, where words were wrongly inserted into or omitted from it so that it does not give effect to the intention of the parties. Such errors might be described as clerical errors. What may be more doubtful is whether a trust deed can be rectified where the words used had been assumed to bear a meaning, other than the correct meaning, so that on a correct construction they do not give effect to the parties’ intention. This question was considered by the High Court in Lawie v Lawie [2012] EWHC 2940 Ch .