The government has made it easier for people to build their own homes by cutting the Community Infrastructure Levy on self-built accommodation. Property developers have to pay a levy to local councils to help with the cost of the infrastructure needed to support the development. Some local councils charge £100 per square metre for residential
Benjamin Price said that he had “signed his own death warrant” because he was “not prepared to put up and shut up”. The case centred on an unwritten agreement that Mr Price had with his employers. He had been employed by Morgan Stanley for 14 years, and was on a salary of £533,000. He was
The pay gap between men and women has widened for the first time since 2008. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that women earn £5,000 less on average. The difference is calculated on median hourly earnings for full time workers. The median wage gap increased from 9.5% to 10% in the last
If you have a will it is worth reviewing it on a regular basis, just reading it once a year and talking it over with your legal advisor can ensure that you keep it up to date and have in place a will that accurately reflects your wishes. It is not uncommon to see cases
The court heard that the man had originally made a will which benefited both his daughter and his sons. However, following a family dispute involving the sons and the daughter, the situation changed. The father wrote to both his sons telling them he was upset by the situation and asked them to engage in mediation
The government says mediation is a cheaper, less stressful process than going through the courts, and also provides more long-term solutions that are acceptable to both parties. According to official statistics, separations involving court action take about four times longer than when mediation is used. Mediation involves couples holding discussions overseen by a trained mediator
The government wants to make it easier for tenants to purchase their homes by improving the Right to Buy scheme. Currently, council tenants who want to buy their homes can qualify for a discount of up to 60%, depending on how long they have lived in the property. This is to rise to 70%. The
The number of children abducted from the UK by their parents has doubled in the last 10 years, according to official figures from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). In 2003-04, the FCO dealt with 272 parental child abduction and international custody cases. This figure had risen to 580 in 2012-13. That is the second
The director of an insolvent company has been ordered to return money he paid to himself at a time when he knew the business was struggling and likely to fail. The case involved the director of a company specialising in waste management projects. The business got into financial difficulties and started to build up debts
An installation company has won compensation from a firm of surveyors who were negligent when assessing the suitability of properties for cavity wall insulation. The installers won their case even though they had been negligent themselves. Employees of the surveying firm had inspected two timber-framed houses to determine whether they were suitable to have cavity