Legal News
- Making a Will? Have You Considered Your Loved Ones' Real Needs? For many parents, the objective of a will is to ensure even-handed treatment of loved ones, particularly children. However, as a High Court case strikingly showed, some may be more needy than others and that too should be taken into account. The case...
- Tempted By an Exotic Investment Scheme? Is It Too Good to Be True? It is easy to be tempted by exotic investment schemes that promise spectacular returns. However, as a High Court case strikingly showed , they are often too good to be true and it is always wise to get an independent professional to check them out before...
- Divorce - Home-Maker Wife Compensated for Sacrificing Her Career Despite the drive towards achieving economic equality between the sexes, it remains common for women to give up their promising careers to support their husbands and devote themselves to child rearing and home-making. An important High Court ruling ...
- High-Profile Homeowners Can Divert Footpath Away From Their Garden Ramblers love footpaths, but the same cannot be said for landowners concerned to protect their privacy and security. That was certainly so in one case in which homeowners with a high media profile won the right to divert a footpath which crossed their...
- High Court Acts to Rescue Company After Sole Shareholder's Death If you are an entrepreneur and own your own company, that is all the more reason why you should take professional advice regarding the consequences that might arise on your death. In an unusual High Court case on point , a farm contracting business was left...
- Court Permits Wife Who Unlawfully Killed Her Husband to Inherit His Assets Few would quarrel with the long-standing rule of law that anyone who unlawfully kills another is barred from benefiting, financially or otherwise, from his or her crime. In a unique decision, however, the High Court waived that rule in the case of an...
- Children's Wishes and Feelings Prevail in Bitter Paternity Dispute In the throes of family breakdown, parents often focus on their own personal battles – but it is the best interests of their children that are always uppermost in family judges' minds. In a case on point, the wishes and feelings of two teenagers ...
- Trusts Are Handy But Can Be Hazardous - Always Take Advice Trusts can be an invaluable means of providing for vulnerable loved ones, but they need careful handling by a professional if they are not to have serious unforeseen consequences. In a case on point, the High Court came to the aid of a retired GP whose...
- SDLT Relief Takes Immediate Effect in England and Northern Ireland A temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) relief measure has taken immediate effect in England and Northern Ireland after being announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in his summer economic statement. The measure has been introduced by the Government to try and...
- Parking Fine Imposed on Private Landowner Triggers High Court Test Case A fine imposed on a householder for parking her Land Rover on her own land put the conflict between private ownership and public access to the road network in high relief and provided the subject matter for an important High Court test case . For many...
- High Court Annuls Overseas Marriage After Ruling 'Wife' a Bigamist In order to be divorced you obviously have to be validly married, and bigamy remains a surprisingly common occurrence. In one case, the High Court found that a couple's overseas wedding did not render them husband and wife – because she was already...
- Disinherited Daughter's Bid for a Share of Her Father's Estate Rejected If someone upon whom you depend financially dies leaving you nothing in his or her will, judges have the power to ensure that you do not go empty-handed. As a High Court case showed, however, that power will only be exercised in your favour if your need for...
- COVID-19 Crisis - Judge Rules Derogation From Human Rights 'Essential' The COVID-19 pandemic represents a public emergency which is threatening the life of the nation. A High Court judge wrote those words in reaching the momentous conclusion that, whilst the crisis persists, derogation from certain fundamental human rights is...
- Are Parents Obliged to Control Unruly Children? High Court Test Case To say that parents bear a moral responsibility to ensure that their children behave themselves in public is uncontroversial – but are they also under a legal duty to do so? The High Court addressed that issue in ruling that the sins of an allegedly...
- Neighbours Succeed in Blocking Controversial Garage Extension If a neighbour obtains planning permission for a building project to which you object, that does not always mean you just have to grin and bear it. In a case on point, objectors to a householder's plans to extend his garage succeeded in blocking his proposal...
- Time Invested in Making a Will Is Time Invested Wisely If you die without making a will, there is a real risk that your loved ones may be left high and dry. In one case, a man who said that he was grieving over his partner's death found himself bereft of legal rights and locked out of the flat they once shared. ...
- COVID-19 Crisis Forces Change to UK IHT Payments and Returns Processes HMRC are scrapping cheques for the payment and repayment of Inheritance Tax (IHT) and temporarily accepting printed signatures on IHT returns, as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The introduction of new ways of processing IHT and returns is to reduce...
- Channel Islands Are Not 'Overseas Countries' - Guideline Divorce Ruling The Channel Islands may be separated from the UK mainland by miles of water, but they are not overseas countries. In an unusual case, that simple fact was enough to defeat a woman's claim for a pension-sharing order following her divorce in Jersey. After...
- When Is a New Home Complete? DIY Housebuilders Win £14,000 VAT Rebate One of the benefits of building your own home is that you can claim back VAT paid on materials used in the project – but rebate applications have to be made within three months of the property's completion. That time limit came under analysis in a case...
- Eminent Retired Judge's Intellect Weighs in Favour of His Will's Validity Even people of the greatest intellect can be affected by diminished mental ability in old age and that is one good reason why it makes sense to execute a professionally drafted will sooner rather than later. A case on point concerned an eminent former judge...