Legal News
- Court Steps In to Protect Security of 370,000 Pension Annuity Holders Millions of people who invest their pension pots in annuities can ultimately rely on the law to guarantee their financial security. In a case on point, the High Court overruled financial regulators and refused to sanction the transfer of about 370,000...
- Failing to Disclose Assets Can Bite Back in Divorce In a case illustrating the importance of candour regarding financial circumstances in divorce proceedings, a husband who failed to disclose the true extent of his wealth to family judges was subsequently ordered to pay his ex-wife a seven-figure lump sum,...
- Loyalty Bonuses Taxable, Rules Upper Tribunal Investors using the popular online financial investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) may not have heard that the 'loyalty bonuses' they receive from HL have been deemed by the Upper Tribunal (UT) to be taxable income in the hands of the recipients and...
- Couple Overcome 'One House' Restriction to Build New Home in Their Garden New homes built in the grounds of existing residences make a valuable contribution to meeting burgeoning housing demand. However, as a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) showed , restrictions lurking in antique title deeds can stand in the way of...
- If a Loved One's Will Does Not Meet Your Needs, Don't Delay in Seeking Advice If a loved one upon whom you depend financially fails to make reasonable provision for you in his or her will, judges have the power to put that right. However, there are time limits that apply to such proceedings and that is why it is vital to consult a...
- Family Judge Grasps Nettle in Sending Baby Boy to Live With His Father Family judges are always absolutely focused on the welfare of children and will not shrink from grasping nettles to give them the best chance of leading fulfilled and happy lives. That was certainly so in one case in which a judge ordered that a baby boy be...
- Vulnerable Witnesses Could Be Given Greater Protection in Civil Courts Responses to a report from the Civil Justice Council (CJC) setting out proposed measures to better support and protect vulnerable witnesses and parties in civil proceedings are due to be considered following public consultation. The CJC wants to ensure 'a...
- High Court Relieves Family of Consequences of Badly Drafted Trust Deed Trust deeds can be an effective means of managing family wealth and minimising tax liabilities but, as a High Court decision strikingly showed , any mistakes in their drafting can have serious repercussions for generations to come. The case concerned a...
- Facing a Tax Investigation? Don't Bury Your Head in the Sand! If you are facing an investigation by the tax authorities, your very first step should be to seek professional advice. One taxpayer who sadly chose not to take that course, instead burying his head in the sand, narrowly escaped a six-figure back-tax bill. ...
- Court Orders Must Be Obeyed Public confidence in the civil justice system would collapse if court orders were not rigorously enforced – however agonising complying with them may be. The point was made by a case in which a divorcee who refused to move out of her home of 25 years...
- Planning Building Work? Get Legal Advice When a property development involving a building that is listed or in a conservation area is undertaken, it is reasonable for the contractor employed to do the work to assume that the employer has used due diligence to obtain the necessary planning consents....
- Court of Appeal Acts to Save Entrenched Litigants From Themselves The whole purpose of the civil justice system is to achieve just and final resolution of frequently intractable disputes – and, as a guideline Court of Appeal decision in an inheritance case made plain, that includes saving litigants from themselves...
- HMRC Miss Tax Avoidance Target By Raising Assessments Too Late When HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) find out that tax has been under-declared, the response is normally to raise a 'discovery assessment' to collect the tax due. This is usually the result of a period of investigation, and penalties and interest are also...
- Missing Persons - Steps to Take Surprisingly, nearly 250,000 people go missing in the UK every year. Leaving aside the heartache and worry this causes, until recent changes in the law it also created an appalling position for family members trying to deal with the affairs of the person who...
- Growing Number of Cohabiting Couples Leaves More Families Open to Risk Cohabiting couples are the fastest-growing family type in the UK, according to newly released figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The ONS reports that the number of cohabiting couple families continues to grow faster than the number of...
- Inveterate Trespasser Rightly Jailed for Contempt, Court of Appeal Rules It is in the nature of litigation that the losing party frequently feels that the judge was wrong and the outcome unjust. However, a case in which a householder repeatedly lost his liberty , and ultimately his home, due to his defiance of court orders shows...
- LPA - Bank Practice A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a document that may be used so that the finances or other issues of a person who cannot deal with them themselves may be attended to by a trusted third party – normally a solicitor or a family member. When an LPA...
- Raising Cash on the Security of Your Home? Always See a Lawyer First Many vulnerable people who fall into debt are tempted to raise cash on the security of their homes. However, a case in which an elderly couple came within an ace of losing the roof over their heads stands as a warning to all that such arrangements should...
- Where, If Anywhere, Do the Jet Set Call Home? High Court Gives Guidance Very rich people often live jet set lifestyles of ceaseless travel, so pinning down the country in which they are domiciled can be a serious challenge. The High Court faced exactly that difficulty in a case concerning the acrimonious breakdown of a...
- No Going Back on Gift Freely Made A recent case decided by the Scottish Courts shows the wisdom of not making irrevocable decisions that you may later come to regret. It involved a woman who gifted her house to her daughter and son-in-law, retaining a tenancy for life over the property....