The trust is unique to Anglo-American law. Its predecessor was called "the use", and dates back to the late thirteenth century. Some suggest that it came about because the Franciscan order was not allowed to own any land, and they got around this by transferring the land to a town or village, "for the use" of the Friars. The Friars (nine of them) arrived in England in 1284 and needed land for hospitals and other facilities to take care of the poor. Even though common law courts did not enforce "the use", it was used frequently in private deals. In 1484, Richard III made "the use" official by statute. The use took land out of the royal tax revenue, which was collected in the process of seisin.^[Seisin is the medieval form of conveyancing in which land is passed from the tenant to his oldest son.] Henry VIII took steps to address this financial leak. In 1526, fees were levied on those creating uses, and unlicensed uses were sanctioned. In 1535, the Statute of Uses was passed, which attempted to impose limits on the application of uses. But the plan failed, and lawyers quickly found loopholes in the statutes. The instruments that exploited these loopholes eventually evolved into the trust. Once the courts sanctioned these new instruments, the trust took over from the use. Today, [[The trust is a legal device that serves the wealthy]].