Court Takes Commonsense View in Will Case
The courts are loath to ‘infer’ provisions into any sort of document, let alone one as final as a will, unless there is a compelling reason to do so, so a recent case in which a will made in Italy was...
View ArticleFamily Feud Breaks Out Over Deathbed Marriage and Will
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...
View ArticleJudge Imposes Limit on 'Attritional' Litigation Costs
When a divorcing husband and wife ran up legal costs of more than £150,000 disputing the division of family assets amounting to little more than £200,000, the judge hearing the case described himself...
View ArticleJockey Wins Compensation After Falling at First Hurdle
A former jockey has won £58,000 in compensation for injuries he suffered at Cheltenham racecourse when his horse fell at the first hurdle. Philip Hide’s horse skidded and fell at the outer end of the...
View ArticleHabitual Residence of Child Determines Which Court Has Jurisdiction
With ever increasing global travel, child custody cases which have an international aspect are becoming more common. These in turn can raise questions as to which country’s legal system should assume...
View ArticleVulnerable Woman's Will Overturned
A recent case concerned the estate of a woman who died in 2008 aged 98. One of her sons had lived with her during the final three years of her life after she had suffered a fall. She made a will in...
View ArticleCourt Rules on Property Sale Retention
In deciding on the meaning of agreements regarding the construction and sale of a residential property, the Court of Appeal has ruled that £35,000 retained from the purchase price should be released,...
View ArticleTax Bill Brought About by Break-Up Quashed
When affairs of the heart went awry, a man faced an unexpected tax bill. The man decided to buy a property in 2001 when he was engaged to be married. Shortly before the completion date on the purchase,...
View Article'Secondary Victim' Claim Fails
When a woman who was injured in an accident at work and who seemed to be making a good recovery collapsed and died three weeks later, as a result of a deep-vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism...
View ArticleJudge Ends Litigation War
When a divorced wealthy couple sought to wage ‘litigation war’ against one another, running up legal bills of more than £2.7 million in the process, the family judge was unsympathetic. Accusing the...
View ArticleGifts Not Part of Estate, Rules Court
An assertion that cash gifts of £100,000 each to his two daughters should be considered to be part of a deceased man’s estate was given short shrift by the court recently. The gifts were made from the...
View ArticleHMRC Daily Penalties for Late Tax Returns Quashed
The First-tier Tribunal has quashed the penalty assessments made on two taxpayers who had failed to file their tax returns in time, because HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) failed clearly to inform them...
View ArticleHabitual Residence of Child Determines Which Court Has Jurisdiction
With ever increasing global travel, child custody cases which have an international aspect are becoming more common. These in turn can raise questions as to which country’s legal system should assume...
View ArticleJudge Imposes Limit on 'Attritional' Litigation Costs
When a divorcing husband and wife ran up legal costs of more than £150,000 disputing the division of family assets amounting to little more than £200,000, the judge hearing the case described himself...
View ArticleSecond Registration Not Adverse Possession
Under the law of adverse possession (‘squatter’s rights’), the legal ownership of land may be able to be claimed if it is occupied for a long period of time without the owner of the land taking steps...
View ArticleVulnerable Woman's Will Overturned
A recent case concerned the estate of a woman who died in 2008 aged 98. One of her sons had lived with her during the final three years of her life after she had suffered a fall. She made a will in...
View ArticleGrass-Free Beach is Village Green, Rules Court
The term ‘village green’ may conjure up to most people an image of a picturesque piece of open grass. However, the Court of Appeal has ruled in an important test case that a beach can be regarded as a...
View ArticleSincere Belief Does Not Justify Harassment
When a person gets a ‘bee in their bonnet’ about something, all sense of moderation can go out of the window. When this occurred recently, the result was a court appearance for a ‘whistleblower’. The...
View ArticleGenetic Disease Test Not In Children's Best Interests
The correct approach to take as regards screening for a rare genetic disorder when children are being considered for adoption was tested in the family court recently. The case involved two small boys...
View ArticleSetting Back Charity Tax Relief
The opportunities for obtaining tax relief in a prior year are normally limited, but one such opportunity is often overlooked. HM Revenue and Customs do allow taxpayers to carry back the Gift Aid...
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