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One of the most difficult aspects of divorce is often the negotiation of the financial settlement: this can be particularly thorny when there are substantial sums involved. Often, assets are held indirectly, in companies or trusts, which can add to the...
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Two company directors who lied to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) when under investigation for possible tax offences have been jailed for tax evasion and fraud. The pair ran a successful IT firm. When they were investigated, they were, as is usual, required...
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In these straitened times, it is regrettably not uncommon for a buyer to withdraw from the purchase of a property after a legal agreement to purchase has been completed. When this happens, the vendor may be entitled to claim damages. In a recent case , a...
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In a ruling which emphasises the importance of fathers in the lives of young children, the Court of Appeal has upheld a man’s right to have contact with his eight-year-old son . Despite concerns expressed by the boy’s mother that the father had...
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The dangers of giving a power of attorney to the wrong person have yet again come into focus following the conviction of a Birmingham estate agent who had stolen more than £250,000 from an elderly couple. The couple, a woman aged 93 and her...
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The shock result of a recent tax case will send reverberations around the furnished holiday letting (FHL) industry, after the court reset the bar regarding the level of service provision that has to accompany a letting for it to qualify for beneficial...
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When land is owned in trust for the benefit of more than one person, the question of what should be done with it can be the source of dispute. Often, the best solution is to partition the land between the beneficiaries, so that each can do what they wish...
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A woman who crashed into a stanchion on a boat during a river trip, suffering injuries to her face, has been awarded damages of £55,000. Sinead McGlinchey, 23, was attending a surprise barbeque party with four other women in April 2008. The event...
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A legal battle which led to a six-day trial resulted in the Court of Appeal declaring that a will was invalid , even though it had been drafted by an experienced solicitor. The case concerned a will that was written in 2007, the practical effect of which...
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The French Government passed measures last year which have increased the taxes payable by non-resident owners of properties in France and further rises are planned. Since 1 January 2012, the rate of tax for rental income arising on French property is 35.5...
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A businesswoman whose business fell victim to the recession has persuaded the family court that it would be appropriate for the settlement she had agreed to pay her ex-husband to be varied. The total settlement was £450,000, made up of: ...
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A couple who defaulted on their £500,000 mortgage have failed to convince the High Court that the loan is unenforceable by reason of the lender’s failure to comply with the safeguards contained within the Consumer Credit Act 1974 . The Court...
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With one in six British marriages now involving a spouse not domiciled in the UK, problems involving the tax consequences of domicile are becoming increasingly common. Most of the press coverage involving domicile and tax has involved Income Tax. However,...
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A businesswoman who was belittled as being ‘no more than a receptionist’ by her multi-millionaire husband has had her £2.7 million divorce settlement upheld after the Court of Appeal ruled that her ‘exceptional’ contribution...
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When a businessman voiced his opinion on planning matters by joining a planning action group which opposed the construction of two biomass power plants, he did not expect his past business record to become the subject of debate. However, a bundle of papers...
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When an elderly and ill woman was put under continual pressure by her brother-in-law to change her will in favour of his children, whom she rarely saw, her resolve finally cracked and in a bid to have a quiet life, she instructed her lawyers to draw up a new...
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When a planning appeal to which the National Trust was a party came before the court and the judge due to hear it was a member of the Trust, he was automatically disqualified from hearing the appeal. The planning application was to build four wind...
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Changes in the system for dealing with child maintenance claims will soon be fully implemented, with cases currently dealt with by the Child Support Agency being transferred to the Child Maintenance Service. As part of this arrangement, a new formula has...
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For a will to be valid, one of the conditions imposed by the Wills Act 1837 is that two witnesses must attest the will by signing and acknowledging the signature of the person making it (the ‘testator’) and must do so ‘in each...
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When a group of gypsies found that the housing benefit they received did not cover the full cost of their caravan pitches on a private caravan site, they claimed that it should and that the failure of the council to provide for this was discriminatory. Had...
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Facing the possibility of a development on neighbouring land that will reduce your light is never welcome and the threat of such a development is not something you might care to have hanging over you. A recent case will provide some comfort for anyone who...
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The Court of Appeal has overturned a decision of the lower court to hand out suspended prison sentences to two non-residents who failed to pay child maintenance as ordered by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC). One of the miscreant...
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Many people will have read the recent reports of a 67-year-old lady, Marlene Howes, who was prosecuted for allegedly fraudulently claiming pension tax credits and for allegedly concealing that she had received a £50,000 legacy under her mother’s...
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Six men who between them stole millions of pounds from a charity set up to assist asylum seekers were recently jailed for terms of up to four and a half years at Birmingham Crown Court. The six were found guilty of the theft of £1.8 million, but it is...
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A recent High Court case shows the dangers of negotiating in a dispute without legal representation. It also illustrates that an agreement which disposes of an interest in land does not have to be in writing if the purpose of the agreement was something...
