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Unmarried couples who hope to have children together via fertility treatment must comply with a number of requirements in order for both partners to be legally recognised as parents, but if a mistake is made in the documentation, the courts can often assist....
The High Court has ruled that a businessman's final will, which left most of his estate to his two youngest children and largely disinherited his two eldest children, was invalid. The businessman had been diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2010. Before making...
A man recently succeeded in his argument that a property he had purchased consisted of two separate dwellings and therefore qualified for Multiple Dwellings Relief (MDR) from Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). Although MDR was abolished earlier this year, it can...
In cases of serious injury or disability, judges may be called upon to make difficult decisions about whether it is in the patient's best interests to continue life-sustaining treatment. A tragic High Court case concerning a severely disabled four-year-old...
When couples divorce, the courts will take pre-marital agreements (PMAs) into account but will also consider the needs of each spouse. This principle was demonstrated recently in financial remedy proceedings before the Family Court. The couple had signed...
A woman and her ex-husband who allegedly lost substantial funds belonging to the woman's mother have been ordered by a judge to pay back the missing money. After the mother died in 2019, at the age of 86, the woman's sister brought proceedings in an effort...
Tenants who feel that they are being overcharged for services in connection with their properties are able to challenge the reasonableness of their charges. The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) recently reduced the amount a tenant was required to pay for insurance...
An unauthorised mortgage broker and its associates who exploited vulnerable consumers have been ordered by the High Court to pay £4 million to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) . The order was obtained against a company that arranged mortgages...
The Court of Appeal has overturned a Family Court decision that tibia fractures sustained by a 10-month-old girl had been inflicted deliberately or recklessly by one of her parents. The parents were in a long-standing, stable relationship. The girl had...
The will of a man who married his carer less than a year before he died and left everything to her has been set aside after his daughter challenged its validity. The man was 93 years old when he married his carer, who was then aged 54. Following the...
Under Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) 261/2004 (Regulation 261), an airline is not obliged to pay compensation where flights are delayed or cancelled due to 'extraordinary circumstances' which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had...
The Upper Tribunal (UT) recently ruled on an appeal against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) that a sign saying there was no public right of way over a staircase did not prevent a private right of way being acquired over it. The staircase had...
Taxpayers would be well advised to give prompt attention to any correspondence they receive from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). In a recent case, a man who appealed tax assessments and penalties several months late failed to convince the First-tier Tribunal...
The High Court has ruled that a financial remedies order requiring a husband to transfer his half share of the former matrimonial home to his wife could not stand because he had been made bankrupt by the time it was made. The couple had separated in 2017,...
An allegation that a will is a forgery can be hard to prove. However, such an allegation was successfully made out in a High Court case concerning an elderly man who died during the COVID-19 pandemic. The man had passed away in February 2021. A firm of...
Under Section 28A(4) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 , taxpayers whose returns are under enquiry may apply for a direction requiring HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to issue a closure notice. It is for HMRC to show that there are reasonable grounds for...
When making decisions about where and with whom a child should live, the courts will prioritise the welfare of the child and will take the child's own views into consideration where appropriate. In a recent case, the High Court rejected a father's...
Lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) allow you to appoint someone else to make decisions in respect of your property and financial affairs, and/or your health and welfare, in the event that you lose the capacity to do so yourself. However, an LPA must comply...
The Right to Manage (RTM) is a method by which leasehold property owners can take over the management of the building they live in. However, an RTM company is bound by the terms of leases that existed before it was set up, as demonstrated by a recent case ...
Those responsible for administering an estate are generally entitled to recover the costs properly incurred in doing so from the estate. Recently, the High Court ruled on whether costs concerning a dispute over a will and an application to remove the...
