Company News Archive
Rights Created by Easement Limited to Actual Use
6th May 2011
When a person continues to use land they do not own over a long period of time, they may acquire an easement (a legal right to use the land). Recently, the Court...
Bankruptcy Annulled When HMRC Ignore Disability Discrimination Obligations
4th May 2011
A woman who was suffering from a chronic mental illness and had developed a phobia of opening mail had her bankruptcy annulled by the High Court recently after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) were judged to have breached their duties under the...
Will Validity Doesn't Depend on Speaking the Language
2nd May 2011
A recent case shows that the creation of a valid will in English does not depend on the person creating it being able to speak the language. The situation arose when a woman’s daughters contested her will,...
Court Rejects Undue Influence Claim
27th April 2011
When estate assets are not divided as potential beneficiaries think they should be, disagreements often result. When there is a second family involved, legal challenges are relatively common. In a recent case,...
Children's Rights Must be Considered in Immigration Cases
27th April 2011
In deciding immigration cases, the rights of any children who are British citizens and who would be affected by the decision must be taken into consideration. This was the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of a Tanzanian woman who had made...
Landlords Win Deposit Case
22nd April 2011
Provisions introduced on 6 April 2007 under the Housing Act 2004 made it a requirement that landlords protect their tenants’ deposits using an authorised...
Your Right to E-Privacy
19th April 2011
Many websites only allow full access to features if ‘cookies’ are enabled on your web browser. A cookie is a small text file placed on your computer which allows the site visited to identify you (strictly, the computer user) on...
Changes to Tax Credits
14th April 2011
As of 6 April 2011, the following changes have been made to tax credits: Working Tax Credit (WTC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) These have been largely uprated in line with...
Man Who Disguised House as Barn Loses Court Battle
11th April 2011
A man who built a house which appeared from the outside to be a barn has lost his battle to obtain a certificate of lawful use for the property. The man originally obtained planning permission to build a barn. He...
Law Society Campaign for Formal Qualifications for Will Writers
11th April 2011
The Law Society is campaigning to persuade the Government that a change to the law is necessary to protect members of the public from problems caused by using unqualified will writers. The Law Society wants will...
Victory for Taxpayer in IHT Claim
7th April 2011
A tax case recently decided in Scotland has implications for businesses in which a trade that qualifies for Business Property Relief (BPR) for Inheritance Tax...
OFT Crackdown on Cold-Calling by Debt Management Firms
5th April 2011
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned debt management firms to stop using unsolicited and misleading cold-calling practices to generate client leads. As part of its crackdown on illegal cold-calling within...
Where There Are Assets, There Can Be Trouble
1st April 2011
An argument over an estate worth more than £4 million has caused a family rift which looks set to run and run. The case concerned the assets of a Greek Cypriot woman, who died leaving her and her late...
No Win, No Fee Shake Up Announced
30th March 2011
The Government is planning to change the current ‘no win, no fee’ system, in which a lawyer taking a no win no fee case charges a success fee met, in effect by the losing party, to an American style system in which the damages are...
Two Tenants, One Notice
30th March 2011
The High Court has confirmed the principle that where a lease for a dwelling is held by two tenants, either tenant can give a valid notice to terminate the...
No Win, No Fee Shake Up Announced
29th March 2011
Divorce and Pension Entitlements
28th March 2011
When a couple who are retired or approaching retirement get divorced, one of the major issues to be settled is the division of pension entitlements. In this situation, the first step is to obtain a valuation of...
Ombudsman or Court, Not Both
25th March 2011
A recent case has confirmed the position that if a complainant accepts recompense ordered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), further recompense will not be available by way of court proceedings. Although...
Court Rejects Challenge to Foreign Will
22nd March 2011
A case which recently came before the High Court illustrates how complicated probate issues can be, especially where the will was written in another country or...
