Tracing (law)

Equitable doctrines
Doctrines
Equitable conversion Estoppel Hotchpot Knowing receipt Laches Marshalling Unconscionability Undue influence Subrogation
Defences
Bona fide purchaser Clean hands
Equitable remedies
Account of profits Constructive trust Declaratory relief Injunction Rectification Rescission Specific performance
Related
Court of Chancery Equitable interest History of equity Maxims of equity Tracing Trust law
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Tracing is a legal process, not a remedy, by which a claimant demonstrates what has happened to his/her property, identifies its proceeds and those persons who have handled or received them, and asks the court to award a proprietary remedy in respect of the property, or an asset substituted for the original property or its proceeds. Tracing allows transmission of legal claims from the original assets to either the proceeds of sale of the assets or new substituted assets.

Tracing ordinarily facilitates an equitable remedy, and is subject to the usual limitations and bars on equitable remedies in common law countries. In many common law countries, there are two concurrent processes, tracing at common law and tracing in equity. However, because the right to trace at common law is so circumscribed,^[1] the equitable process is almost universally relied upon, as equitable tracing can be performed into a mixed fund.