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When a woman updated her will in 2003, she had no way of knowing that a simple change to a precedent document could cause problems for her executors several years later. There was no intention to change one of the main provisions of the will, which was that...
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Although pre-nuptial agreements are persuasive rather than binding in the British courts, a recent ruling of the High Court on a French ‘pre-nup’ illustrates clearly the current approach of the courts. It involved a very wealthy French couple...
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When a property is owned by two people as joint tenants (where the title to the property is owned by each of them, so that if one dies, the other inherits the property by survivorship), each of them is considered to be the legal owner of the property. A man...
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A North Somerset man has received a six-figure sum in compensation after a mistake during an operation on his heart led to him having to have a pacemaker fitted. Steve Edwards, 51, an NHS manager from Weston-super-Mare, was undergoing treatment for an...
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The wave of litigation which has followed the turmoil in the financial markets as a result of the credit crunch has led to many decisions that have resulted in those suing financial institutions being left to lick their wounds (and also facing sizeable legal...
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A court ruling that a spouse’s lottery winnings were not ‘matrimonial property’ so were not subject to the usual rule of equal division between the spouses when the marriage broke up received much publicity recently. The normal rule on...
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The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has now published its response to the recent consultation on proposals to criminalise squatting. The consultation paper, entitled ‘Options for dealing with squatting’ , received over 2,000 responses. As a first...
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When a Jersey multi-millionaire gave most of his assets away to one of his daughters in the months prior to his death, leaving an estate of less than £100,000 to be shared by all three of his children, it was perhaps inevitable that a legal challenge...
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The scheme set up by the Government to assess the value of Northern Rock shares, for the purposes of deciding whether or not compensation was due to shareholders, concluded that without government support the shares would be valueless. A group of...
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HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have had difficulties in the past in checking on property sales to ensure that the ‘principal private residence’ exemption for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is being used correctly. Notwithstanding the complexity of the...
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When a marriage or civil partnership breaks up and there is a significant risk that one party may move assets (normally cash in bank accounts) ‘out of sight’, it is sometimes possible to obtain a ‘freezing order’ to prevent the sums...
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A recent case illustrates how strong the evidence must be before the presumption that a person making a will has the mental capacity to do so will be overturned. It involved an elderly woman who died leaving an estate of a little under £150,000. Her...
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When a house is bought or sold, the prospective purchaser makes what are called ‘pre-contract enquiries’ in order to establish the exact details of the property being bought. These are normally in the form of a standard set of questions with any...
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Most people probably do not realise that a highway authority’s responsibility for keeping the roads safe to use is very limited. In practical terms, so many things can happen to a road that it would be unreasonable for the authority to be responsible...
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One of the rules that applies to the administration of estates is that whilst a person appointed as executor under a will can refuse to accept the appointment, once an executor ‘intermeddles’ in the estate, in principle he or she cannot then...
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The cardinal rule in proceedings involving children is that the welfare of the child comes first. In some cases, the interests of individual children in a family are sufficiently different for them to be considered separately. In a case involving a...
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In order for an asset to be removed from an estate for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes, the donor of the asset must retain no benefit from it after the legal title to it passes. Complex ‘reservation of benefit’ legislation exists to ensure that...
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The UK has been proceeding apace in its attempts to develop ‘green’ energy, and wind turbines are appearing all over the country – including in such seemingly unlikely spots as beside the M25. However, no matter what their benefits as...
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A husband has lost his appeal against an order made in July 2010 for ancillary relief (the legal term for financial provision for an ex-spouse) that put family assets of £10 million, including £7 million held in two trusts, into the pool of...
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When a millionaire estate agent died intestate, the two women he had been involved with both tried to have his estate distributed according to their wishes. Chris John died leaving an estate worth £5 million. At the time of his death, he had been...
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It is well known that in the UK, the loser in a court case pays the legal costs of the winner. It is often assumed that if, say, your legal costs are £5,000 and you win your case, you will get the £5,000 reimbursed. However, this is normally not...
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People who suffered losses as a result of the collapse of mutual insurer Equitable Life in 2000 will be pleased to know that the compensation payments they receive as a result of the passing of the Equitable Life (Payments) Act 2010 will be tax free. The...
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The recent case in which the court was asked to rule regarding a vacant flat that was part of a property sold at auction – the existence of which neither the seller nor the buyer was aware of until after the sale – has now been heard by...
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A widow who was excluded from inheriting her husband’s £500,000 estate, under the terms of a will he made four years before he died in 2009, has contested the will, alleging that the brain tumour from which her husband was suffering meant that he...
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A father who sought to have a hearing regarding his contact with his children adjourned so that new evidence could be obtained found his argument rejected by the Court of Appeal recently. The family court had issued an interim order that the father, who had...
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A landowner’s duty of care with regard to land used by members of the public was the subject of a recent case in the High Court . The limits of legal responsibility in such circumstances are established generally by the law of tort (civil injury to...
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New measures put forward by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to deal with the problem of ‘tax agents who act dishonestly in tax matters’ include proposals that HMRC should ‘name and shame’ advisers who are found to have acted dishonestly...
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Years ago, it was common for a deed creating a trust for children to specify the beneficiaries as being ‘the legitimate children’ of the person setting up the trust. Recently, the children of the 13th Duke of Manchester, by his bigamous marriage...
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A woman who paid more than 90 per cent of the cost of a £3 million property purchased for her daughter, in whose name the title is held, has failed in her attempt to have the ownership of the property changed to reflect her contribution. It would seem...
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The High Court has upheld a challenge by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to various terms found in some gym membership contracts – most notably lengthy minimum membership periods – ruling that such terms are unfair and therefore unenforceable....
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The Supreme Court recently handed down its judgment in the case of Gaines-Cooper v Revenue and Customs . In what will be a suprising decision to many, the Court has ruled in favour of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), who argued that businessman Robert...
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The combination of a deathbed marriage, a millionaire and a new will was always likely to end in a court battle, and so it proved recently when a family challenged their late father’s will, which left everything to his new wife, who had been his...
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The Law Society is urging the nearly 70 per cent of the adult population who have not yet made a will to do so. There are many reasons why you should make a will. It is a mistake to think that it is only necessary if you have a substantial estate. Estate...
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Noisy neighbours can be the bane of one’s existence, so it is no real surprise that a lesbian couple finally lost patience with their adjoining next-door neighbours after they had workmen carrying out extensive building work on their property for a...
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Just four months after relaunching Index-linked Savings Certificates, the Government-backed savings institution National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has withdrawn its Savings Certificates from sale. The move was necessary in order to ensure that it...
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As part of the Government’s bid to tackle the growth of a ‘compensation culture’, the Ministry of Justice has announced that the payment of referral fees in personal injury cases is to be banned. At present, referral fees are commonly paid...
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Among the requirements for a will to be valid are that it must not be witnessed by a beneficiary and it must be signed at the bottom by the testator (the person making it) or, if they are unable to sign it, under their direction. You would therefore be...
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A recent divorce case has confirmed the general position that when wealth is inherited, it is not normally subject to the ‘equal shares’ rule that applies to assets built up during a marriage. The case involved a couple who married in the UK...
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If you move abroad to work, you pay your tax where you now live and that is the end of the matter. Or is it? Regrettably not. The UK tax system is a ‘world tax’ system, which seeks to tax the worldwide income of its residents. In order to avoid...
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Before you purchase a property, it is wise to make sure you are aware of the implications of any permitted uses of the land surrounding it. A recent case, in which the courts declined to prevent a landowner from carrying out activities which, although they...
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According to a recent poll, more than one in eight wills is ‘self-written’ and one in 10 of those people who have made a will fails to tell anyone where it is. Since nearly 4 out of every 10 adults have not made a will in the first place, the...
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Damage by animals is not common, despite the lurid headlines one sees in the popular press. However, if your animal does cause damage or injury to someone else, what is the extent of your liability? As well as a remedy in tort (the general law of damages),...
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A recent case shows how unwilling the court will be to change an adoption order once it has been made. The case concerned a child who was removed from his mother’s care because she was unable to look after him due to drug dependency. This was...
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Anyone who has substantial assets in the United States, is a US citizen, or expects to inherit assets situated in the USA or which are the property of US citizens, should take note of recent changes to the US Estate Tax. The legislation, in the form of the...
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A recent case illustrates the importance for cohabiting couples of giving careful consideration to property ownership and inheritance issues. Ms Cattle had a relationship with her partner, Mr Evans, for many years and when he died she made a claim against...
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According to a new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) – Tax by Design – the current tax system is "inefficient, overly complex and frequently unfair" . It calls for some radical changes to taxation policy, warning...
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With all the recent publicity surrounding the proposed changes to the ‘no win, no fee’ regime, another set of proposals, which may well be of greater importance to many people, has slipped under the radar of the popular press. A new...
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A recent case illustrates that, when mistakes occur, it may not always be possible to put them right. A buyer and seller exchanged contracts on a flat, which was being sold by way of a long lease. This seems straightforward enough, but when the plans were...
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A divorced man has won the right to retain £1 million of his pre-marital assets before a 50/50 division of the remainder of the couple’s joint assets is made. The assets were valued at around £9.5 million, after provision had been made...
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If a person's estate does not fully utilise the nil-rate band for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes, the unused proportion of the nil-rate band can be used on the death of that person’s spouse or civil partner. This is termed the ‘transferable...
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It may be tempting (but is probably just tempting fate) to put a ‘qualification’ clause in a will whereby a person inherits only if they do something or refrain from doing something. Where it is something definite which can be unequivocally...
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A ‘McKenzie Friend’, named after the case which established the legal principles in 1970, is a person who assists another person in legal proceedings in open court when the person who is party to the proceedings requires support – for...
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The Court of Appeal has overturned the decision of a lower court to allow a father, against whom allegations of violence towards the mother of his child had been made, to vary the terms of contact arrangements made earlier so that he could continue to see...
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The general principle that ‘the loser pays the costs of the winner’ does not apply to disputes brought before the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT). The maximum amount the LVT can require the loser to pay is £500, and only then in...
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When a beneficiary loses out because the terms of the will of a wealthy person are changed shortly before that person’s death, a dispute is always likely. When a Scottish woman with an estate valued at £4 million died shortly after changing her...
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The High Court recently ruled in favour of a pension scheme which decided to stop awarding pension increases which, though discretionary, had in practice been regularly given in the past. The Prudential’s pension trustees had for many years followed...
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Not many prosecutions are brought under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 , which are designed to protect consumers from the activities of unscrupulous traders. Recently, however, several companies were taken to court by the...
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A fence put up by a Devon couple will cost them more than £20,000 in legal fees and re-erection costs after the court decided that it was built a few inches the wrong side of their boundary with their next-door neighbours. The court case was necessary...
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When a person goes bust, what is the position regarding a debt they owe to the Child Support Agency (CSA) with regard to arrears of maintenance payments? This question arose recently when a man applied for a creditors’ voluntary arrangement (CVA). At...
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A recent case will cause concern to anyone who has a specific wish that their estate should not pass to certain people. It involved a woman who left an estate of more than £400,000, which she had bequeathed to various animal charities. The woman had a...
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Insurance giant AXA has sent out a message to accident cheats that it will resist claims which it believes to be fraudulent. In a recent case , the insurer took court action over a relatively small claim of £1,500. Alleging that the claim had been...
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In the year to December 2010, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) raised in the region of £70 million in additional tax as a result of challenging property valuations included in the estates of people who had died. Inheritance Tax (IHT) is payable if the...
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Conveyancing is often thought to be a straightforward process, but the truth is very different. Problems with potential fraud, claims by lenders and title disputes are not infrequent. In order to protect consumers, the Law Society launched, in January 2011,...
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The English courts are well known worldwide as being amongst the most ‘generous’ to divorcing spouses in terms of financial settlements: they start with the premise that assets built up during the marriage should be split equally unless there is...
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In a groundbreaking decision , the Supreme Court has ruled that an expert witness who is negligent in respect of their work can be sued. Until the decision, the rule was that experts were immune from being sued for negligence in relation to evidence given...
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Trustees of discretionary trusts who have found that recent tax changes have resulted in an unacceptably high level of taxation (especially as regards trust income from dividends) should give consideration to the possibility of amending the trust to give a...
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A very unusual case illustrates the lengths to which the courts may go in order to sort out disputes involving lost wills. It involved a couple who had both been married before and who, it was claimed, had made mutual wills. On the husband’s death,...
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The Government has suggested that councils in rural areas consider changing their planning policies to allow unused farm buildings to be converted to use for residential purposes, rather than insisting that they only be used as farm buildings. This idea is...
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Debtor Patrick Brophy must pay his credit card bill, following the failure of his bid to overturn a High Court decision dismissing his appeal against a 2009 judgment in the Willesden County Court. Mr Brophy took his case to the Court of Appeal , alleging...
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Clients who have discretionary trusts in place are reminded that the advent of higher rates of tax since April 2010 may warrant a review of the trust structure. Since April 2010, trustees of discretionary trusts have been subject to a 50 per cent tax rate...
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When settlements in divorce cases are being determined, the contributions made to the marriage by each party will often be relevant. However, a recent decision of the Court of Appeal illustrates that the future earning capacity of the husband or wife at...
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An unusual instance of the creation of a statutory will was reported recently, when an application for a statutory will was granted to the daughter of a woman who had suffered a stroke. The applicant’s two half-siblings were found to have forged an...
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An attempt by campaigners to prevent the demolition of a neo-Georgian building by creating a conservation area was recently defeated , following a challenge by the property company that wished to develop the site. The council failed to prevent the...
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A drug smuggler was arrested at Heathrow Airport and discovered on X-ray to have ingested 116 bags of cocaine containing approximately a kilogramme of the Class A drug. The man was immediately remanded in custody by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) staff. He...
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Two divorcees who allege that the investment advice they received after their divorces was negligent have commenced proceedings against their financial advisers in a bid to recover their alleged losses. Friends Megan Scotney and Clare Gallacher both...
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The Court of Protection has ruled that Hillingdon Council acted unlawfully in detaining a 21-year-old autistic man, Steven Neary, for almost a year against his wishes. Steven’s father, Mark Neary, wanted to care for his son at home and waged a long...
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A woman whose mother left an entire estate to charity has won her appeal for a substantial payment from the estate, sufficient to meet her need for reasonable maintenance. Melita Jackson died in July 2004 at the age of 70, leaving a net estate of some...
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A recent court decision illustrates that where ownership of land changes, rights conferred by covenants over neighbouring land are not necessarily passed on to the new owners. In this case, the former owners of a house had sold part of their garden for...
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Changes by HM Revenue and Customs to the disclosure requirements for executors have come into effect. These apply to deaths occurring from 1 March 2011. The first change is that where the deceased gave gifts which exceed the annual ‘Inheritance Tax...
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A balancing act is always necessary when a case heard by the courts is of interest to the public but where revealing the facts and identifying the parties involved would infringe their right to privacy. Normally, the balance is achieved by revealing either...
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The Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of a local authority to place a baby born in prison in care, after the behaviour of the mother was believed to have put the child’s life in danger. After the local authority had obtained a separation order,...
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A man who was appointed under a power of attorney to look after a woman’s affairs, when she could no longer manage to do so herself, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after he abused his position of trust to steal more than £100,000 from...
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When a trust receives a dividend, the trustees may, in certain circumstances, be able to treat it as a capital receipt rather than a receipt of income. This may have tax benefits for the trust. The treatment is available when the payment of the dividend...
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The banks have recently lost a High Court challenge to new rules issued by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) regarding the approach to compensating those who have been mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). PPI was commonly sold alongside...
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When the terms of a house building contract exclude any liability for losses incurred by the client on account of defective works, the client has no redress under a general duty of care. This was the decision of the Court of Appeal in a recent case...
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One of the more frequent problems faced by charity trustees is that of balancing the need for charity investments to produce financial benefits with the desire for them to also produce social benefits. Fortunately, the Charity Commission has now updated its...
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When an obvious error is made, the courts will sometimes be willing to correct the mistake – but not always. In a recent case , the court was asked to consider wills executed by an elderly couple. Each will was a simple ‘mirror will’, in...
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In a landmark decision ( Jones v Kaney ), the Supreme Court has overturned the long-established principle that an expert witness is immune from being sued over evidence given in court, except in respect of defamation suits. The decision was reached in...
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When a person continues to use land they do not own over a long period of time, they may acquire an easement (a legal right to use the land). Recently, the Court of Appeal considered the extent of the rights created by easements. The case arose because of...
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A woman who was suffering from a chronic mental illness and had developed a phobia of opening mail had her bankruptcy annulled by the High Court recently after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) were judged to have breached their duties under the Disability...
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A recent case shows that the creation of a valid will in English does not depend on the person creating it being able to speak the language. The situation arose when a woman’s daughters contested her will, which left everything to her four sons,...
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In deciding immigration cases, the rights of any children who are British citizens and who would be affected by the decision must be taken into consideration. This was the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of a Tanzanian woman who had made three failed...
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Provisions introduced on 6 April 2007 under the Housing Act 2004 made it a requirement that landlords protect their tenants’ deposits using an authorised Tenancy Deposit Scheme, if they have let the property on an assured shorthold tenancy. The rules...
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Many websites only allow full access to features if ‘cookies’ are enabled on your web browser. A cookie is a small text file placed on your computer which allows the site visited to identify you (strictly, the computer user) on future visits to...
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As of 6 April 2011, the following changes have been made to tax credits: Working Tax Credit (WTC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) These have been largely uprated in line with inflation. The basic and 30-hour elements of WTC will then be frozen for three...
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A man who built a house which appeared from the outside to be a barn has lost his battle to obtain a certificate of lawful use for the property. The man originally obtained planning permission to build a barn. He then constructed a fully-equipped...
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The Law Society is campaigning to persuade the Government that a change to the law is necessary to protect members of the public from problems caused by using unqualified will writers. The Law Society wants will writers to have to gain formal qualifications...
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A tax case recently decided in Scotland has implications for businesses in which a trade that qualifies for Business Property Relief (BPR) for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes is carried on alongside one which does not. BPR operates to reduce the value of a...
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The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned debt management firms to stop using unsolicited and misleading cold-calling practices to generate client leads. As part of its crackdown on illegal cold-calling within the debt management industry, the OFT has...
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An argument over an estate worth more than £4 million has caused a family rift which looks set to run and run. The case concerned the assets of a Greek Cypriot woman, who died leaving her and her late husband’s estate largely to their daughter....
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The High Court has confirmed the principle that where a lease for a dwelling is held by two tenants, either tenant can give a valid notice to terminate the tenancy. The effect of such a notice is that both tenants will be required to vacate the premises...
