Prior to the introduction of revised procedures (set out in regulations under section 68 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 , which came into effect in July 2002), people who had to cross common land in order to reach their homes were sometimes...
In March 2005, the rules relating to approaching people regarding financial promotions were relaxed so that so called ‘sophisticated investors’ and high net worth individuals (HNWIs) could be more easily approached with a view to making...
One of the conditions which must be satisfied for a will to be valid is that the person making it must be of sound mind. With an ageing population, cases involving disputes over a testator’s mental capacity are becoming more common – it is...
When dealing with an estate, an increasing problem for executors is the valuation of assets in the form of the chattels of the deceased. In probate terminology, chattels are the ‘everyday’ assets such as furniture and ordinary possessions, as...
Inheritance tax (IHT) is payable at 40 per cent on the net value of a person’s estate above (2011/12) rates) £325,000 (the current nil rate band). It affects an increasing number of people owing to the rise in house prices in recent years. One...
Divorce is seldom an easy business, but the problems are compounded when there is a family business involved. The division of the spoils has traditionally been the subject of a great deal of argument, but recent cases have at least clarified the thinking of...
After another cold, wet summer and with dull economic prospects at home, you might be thinking of buying a property abroad or even making a permanent move to foreign climes. If so, as well as it being essential to take independent and high quality legal...
With the appointment of an Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA), the laying down in statute of the duties of estate agents and the passing of the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 (CEARA), a property purchaser might reasonably conclude that...
In the UK, there are quite generous exemptions from Inheritance Tax (IHT) which apply to business assets. One problem with making use of such exemptions is the effect this may have on the subsequent value of the relevant assets for Capital Gains Tax (CGT)...
Ownership of two homes in the UK is becoming more commonplace as couples who both own houses marry, houses are inherited, parents buy houses for their children to live in, or people just buy a place in the country, either to let or to escape to at weekends. ...
A will expresses the final wishes of the deceased person and it is commonly thought that a will is irrevocable after death. However, provided everyone agrees, it is normally possible to vary a will provided that the application is made within two years of...
The regime governing charities has been progressively tightened up over the years, making the sort of scandals that were once not uncommon much more of a rarity. This means that trustees now have to adopt a more professional attitude to the management of a...
Arrangements over the custody of children (called residence arrangements by lawyers) after the breakdown of a relationship are usually best decided without the intervention of the court. Unfortunately, it is not always possible for the two parties to...
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) – a statutory non-departmental public body – was established in 2008 to take on the work of the Child Support Agency. At the same time, the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act ...
The first Civil Partnerships were formed on 21 December 2005, after the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 came into effect on 5 December 2005. Same-sex marriages contracted abroad, however, have been recognised as valid civil partnerships from 5 December...
One of the most common myths in English law is that there is such a thing as a ‘common law marriage’. It simply doesn’t exist and this misapprehension has led the Law Commission to suggest proposals giving additional rights to cohabiting...
When one member of a cohabiting couple dies, it can come as an unpleasant surprise to the bereaved partner to discover that not all of their late partner’s estate will pass to them in the absence of a will. It is only when this happens that many people...
Most claims for damages are claims for damages or losses which have actually happened. For example, if a lorry mounted the pavement and smashed a garden wall, the claim would be for the cost of restoring the wall to its former condition. The law relating to...
Most people require credit at some time, whether it is in the form of a credit card, a loan or an overdraft. However careful you are, it is possible to find yourself blacklisted for credit purposes. When you apply for credit, the lender will apply to either...
Since 1st January 2005, all electrical work carried out in dwellings has had to comply with Part P of the Building Regulations and be carried out by a person who is competent to do the work. All work which involves adding a new circuit to a...
Approximately one in six marriages in the European Union is between persons of different nationalities. Not surprisingly, approximately one in six divorces also involves spouses of different nationalities. This can make for some complexity on divorce as to...
When it comes to dealing with money and divorce, it is important to know what has to be taken into account and the powers available to arrive at fair decisions. For most couples, the basic problem is how to finance two separate households from income and...
Divorce is almost never easy and the financial negotiations can be protracted and difficult, particularly when there are business interests involved. In this article we consider some of the issues surrounding divorce for company directors. In the first...
Family break-up is always complicated and when there is a property involved, things can get very complex indeed. In principle, when a couple are cohabiting (not married or in a civil partnership) the property belongs as of right to whoever is shown on the...
An interesting attempt at a defence came to nothing in a recent traffic accident case. It involved a driver who, having missed his turning, decided to do a U-turn in the road. The visibility where he chose to carry out the manoeuvre was poor for...
Managing an active retirement can present significant problems for the many people who are blessed with good health but cursed by the effects of the poor performance of pension funds and low annuity rates over the last two decades. This combination of...
One of the biggest problems now facing executors is that as the recession progresses, most assets, other than cash, are falling in value, which can mean that the value of an estate for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes is greater than the market value later on....
This fact sheet provides guidance for those involved in the development of residential properties whether new builds or conversions of existing properties . On 1 September 2008, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) introduced new procedures in...
In the UK, customers have various rights in respect of faulty goods. The Sale & Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 were introduced in the UK on 31 March 2003. These also apply to "non-retail" transactions, such as hire purchase...
The headline-grabbing decisions in a spate of ‘rich list’ divorce cases in 2007 confirmed that the House of Lords (now the Supreme Court) is emphasising that marriage is a partnership and that the relative contributions of...
If you have children going away to university there are money saving options worth considering, if you are in a position to take advantage of them. The cost of accommodation is a financial burden for any student. If you can provide funds to buy a home near...
The most important requirements for adoption are that the adopter must be over 21 years of age, the child to be adopted must be under the age of 18 and that joint applications to adopt can only be made by married couples and civil partners. Unmarried couples...
Following changes in the tax legislation governing the income tax payable by non-domiciliaries, and some relevant tax cases, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have issued a guidance booklet (HMRC 6) . This replaces the old guidance, which was contained in...
Until the recent publicity afforded by television shows on the subject, many people might not have realised that ‘heir tracing’ companies exist, let alone that they research ‘promising’ estates by looking at public records and then...
Being an executor is a demanding job at the best of times and a task that is made all the more difficult when the deceased has not given proper thought to the problems their executors will face. Here are some of the things you can do to make sure your...
Commonholds are a relatively new way of holding property and will be attractive to some flat owners who wish to take the ownership and management of the freehold of their block of flats out of a management company. They may also become increasingly common in...
For people who have money tied up in their homes who wish to release capital for expenditure, or possibly to give to family members, the drawdown lifetime mortgage (DLM) is a possible vehicle. A DLM is simply a mortgage, but one which is drawn down over...
Inheritance Tax (IHT) is paid on your estate when you die and also when money is transferred into some trust funds. Some other transfers during one’s lifetime may also be subject to IHT. The first £325,000 (at 2011/12 rates) of the estate is...
It's easy to include a charity in your will, but you should always consult your solicitor before you write or change your will to be sure it reflects your exact intentions and that you understand its implications. Before you call your adviser, take a...
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) offer useful guidance on the mechanics of the transfer of the unused IHT ‘nil rate band’ between spouses or civil partners and gives several examples of this complex relief. One important point for executors is...
In recent years, Inheritance Tax (IHT) has affected more and more families, largely due to rising house prices. IHT is payable at 40 per cent on the net assets of an estate where these exceed £325,000 – the current (2011/12) nil-rate band....
With the practice of fraud by impersonation becoming ever more frequent, clients are advised to take precautions to prevent being taken for a ride by thieves. Sorting out the problems caused by impersonation fraud can be an arduous and stressful procedure....
A power of attorney is a document that enables you to authorise someone else to carry out tasks on your behalf and a lasting power of attorney is one which endures beyond the loss of your mental capacity. So the person appointed can continue to act on your...
In October 2007 there was a fundamental change on the way in the way powers of attorney are created and the powers that they can give attorneys, when the Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) was replaced by the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). EPAs are no longer...
Since 2003 qualifying leaseholders have had the right to take over the management of their block of flats from their landlord, under provisions made under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 . Leaseholders who take advantage of this right have more...
When you begin living together as a couple, without being married, it is best practice to set up a trust deed to make clear your joint wishes and intentions concerning ownership of the house you live in. Preferably, this should be in association with a...
When you ask for a redemption statement from your mortgage lender, it can come as an unpleasant surprise to see an additional charge termed ‘mortgage exit administration fee’ (MEAF), which, while it will be shown in the mortgage offer letter, is...
The Housing Act 2004 contains a variety of measures designed to protect householders from the ‘neighbour from hell’, through measures targeting private landlords who turn a blind eye to disruptive behaviour by their tenants. The Act includes...
The 1989 Children Act aimed to clarify the law regarding who could look after children. One of the main new concepts introduced by the Act was that of ‘Parental Responsibility’ (PR). This is the legal term which emphasises that the duty to...
Many people, as they grow older, worry about where they will live if they are no longer able to manage in their own home. For some, the need will arise for nursing home or residential care. The cost of care varies greatly, depending on the kind of care...
Divorces among the over-60s are by no means infrequent and, whilst the potential for acrimony arising from issues concerning young children is absent, they often do produce a great deal of dispute regarding the division of the family assets. There...
Although a very recent technological development, the mobile phone is considered a necessity by many people in the UK. However, despite their popularity, the communication masts on which the networks depend have been regarded, since their inception, as...
More than 40 per cent of marriages end in divorce (in England and Wales more than 125,000 couples divorce annually) and when one in five of all men and women seeking to end their marriage have already been through one divorce, it is perhaps not surprising...
Following a recent decision in the Supreme Court, in which a pre-nuptial agreement entered into by a German heiress and her husband was held to be enforceable, wealthy families worried about preserving family assets in the event of a divorce should certainly...
When younger members of a family start a business, they often ask other family members to provide part of the necessary capital. If you are approached to do this and are willing to provide funding, it is often difficult to know how best to provide the cash....
Being a trustee isn't just for professionals or people 'minding the family assets'. It is common for people from all walks of life to become trustees of local charities, schools and the like. Usually, the trust deed contains a clause which protects the...
Most people buy and sell the property they live in without any thoughts about tax (other than, perhaps, Stamp Duty Land Tax). However, there are some circumstances in which selling the property you live in can cause tax problems. Some of the main ones are: ...
In recent years, increased mobility and growing rates of home ownership have meant that ever-larger numbers of people nowadays inherit properties from relatives who lived many miles away. Similarly, many buy-to-let properties have been purchased in areas...
With property values recovering and market returns for many investments quite modest, the buy to let market may seem an attractive proposition. In this article we look at some of the more practical, but less often mentioned, aspects of buy to let which...
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a self-assessed tax. The onus is on the taxpayer to make the necessary land transaction return, calculate the tax and pay it across. This is a fundamental change from the old Stamp Duty regime which taxed documents of...
The early months of the tax year are a good time for savers to think about tax planning for the current year. In particular, now is a good time to think about investments that produce regular income – if you can find them. If you expect to have a...
We often hear of children being taken into care, but the process by which this occurs is not well known. The Children Act 1989 lays down the circumstances under which it is appropriate for a child to be taken into care or a supervision order made. The...
The right of secure tenants to buy their homes was established under the Housing Act 1980 . The original rules have subsequently been amended, however, mainly owing to a growing number of abuses of the system. These mainly involved property speculators who...
The instability in the financial markets recently means lenders are taking a tougher stance on lending and repossessions are rising. When mortgage arrears are serious and/or there is a breach of the mortgage covenants, the lender will usually seek an order...
Successive governments have recognised that the spirit of entrepreneurialism, though deeply ingrained in the UK’s culture, is not really very well supported by the financial institutions. In an attempt to provide more ready access to investment capital...
Although divorce is a commonplace occurrence these days, few people going into their first divorce have much idea about how the process operates. Here is a brief guide. The process for dissolution of a civil partnership is essentially the same, as are the...
Many people have assets which they have forgotten about – old bank accounts, shares or premium bonds for example. If you think you or a relative may have lost track of some of their assets a search of the register (which costs £25) may be...
Although there are millions of contented timeshare owners throughout the world, the timeshare industry has certainly had a chequered history. On the one hand there is the promise of golden weeks in the sun or on the slopes at a fraction of the cost of buying...
There are countless stories of buried treasure, for example, the recent a huge find of Roman artefacts unearthed in London, but the public at large know little of the law relating to treasure trove and especially the law relating to items...
If you’ve ever had a session with a financial planning adviser, you will have heard about unit-linked and with-profits investments, but what does the jargon actually mean in practice? Unit-linked Investments These put the sum invested directly into...
There is a bewildering variety of equity release schemes on the market and, judging by the letters pages of the financial press, they are not well understood. Releasing equity in a house can be an effective way of supplementing your income or releasing spare...
The levels of statutory legacy (the amount that surviving spouses or civil partners are allowed to inherit if their spouse/civil partner dies without leaving a will) were increased from 1 February 2009 to the following: • £250,000 (from...
Phased retirement is the term given to the process by which retirement pensions are split into segments, which are then treated separately. It makes use of the rule in the UK that allows a retirement policyholder to take each pension policy at a time of...
With the Government seeing fit to make HM Revenue & Customs a payer of benefits (pension credit etc.) as well as a collector of taxes, it is no wonder that people are becoming confused as to which sources of income are taxable and which are not. It is...
The law allows any tenant (with some exceptions) who has lived in a property for more than three years under a lease of more than 20 years to apply to the Landlord to purchase the freehold. The purchase price is based on the open market value of the...
Disputes between neighbours can cause a lot of unpleasantness. If you need to deal with your neighbours over matters related to land or property it is always advisable to try to get things done in a friendly way, whilst at the same time making sure you know...
We often hear of problems associated with package tour holidays and customers' attempts to gain compensation. It is important, therefore, to know what is and what is not a package tour for the purposes of working out who is responsible if things go badly...
In England and Wales, the law relating to access to land position is governed by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 . In England and Wales, the public have the right to access what is called 'access land' – which is mainly registered common...
The law recognises that some people (such as solicitors or accountants) have a high degree of influence over other people (their clients), since clients hire their professional advisers for the specific purpose of giving advice. However, it is not normally...
Here is a quick checklist of things you should look at before the tax year ends on 5 April. It is not exhaustive and, of course, all financial planning should be done with proper professional advice. Ask before you act! Income Tax If one of a couple is a...
UK consumer protection legislation is robust, giving them substantial rights and imposing significant obligations on traders. Indeed, in some cases the actions of a vendor may be sufficient to constitute an ‘unfair commercial practice’ (UCP). UK...
