A family have succeeded in their battle to overturn their brother’s will, which left nearly all his estate to his live-in carer. The issue arose after the brother was involved in an accident that resulted in him having to spend time in a mental health hospital. He made a will dividing his assets between his
A mother has won the right to keep her son in the UK after the father took legal action to take him to Australia. The case involved a couple who met and formed a long distance relationship in 2011. They had a son together but separated soon afterwards. She continued to live in England with
A dispute over a pub that was the main asset of a family trust has been settled in the High Court. The trust had been set up a by a woman who named all her children as equal beneficiaries. One of her sons ran the pub as his main business; his siblings had no involvement.
A woman has won the right to challenge a financial settlement agreed after the break-up of her same-sex relationship. She says her former partner lied about the extent of her wealth. The Court of Appeal heard that Helen Roocroft from Bolton had been in a civil partnership with property developer Carol Ainscow. They separated in
When family members buy a property together it is advisable to draw up documents outlining the extent of each person’s share, together with their rights and responsibilities. Failure to do so can lead to disputes as occurred in a recent case before the Court of Appeal. It involved a father and son who decided to
Several leading judges and lawyers say businesses could save millions of pounds if they used mediation as a way of settling disputes with employees and other companies. Research by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) suggests that about 10,000 cases went through mediation last year – an increase of 5.2% on 2014. Mediation allows
The number of applications for lasting powers of attorney (LPA) has doubled in the last two years, according to research carried out by the Times newspaper. It says half a million LPAs were set up last year by people seeking to protect their interests in case they develop illnesses like dementia at some point in
A father who lashed out at his children in a restaurant has been told he can only have indirect contact with them for at least the next two years. The case involved a couple who had three children together during their marriage. Following the breakdown of the relationship, the father wanted to remove the children
A business tenant has failed to exercise a break clause correctly because it left some partitioning behind when it vacated its commercial premises. The premises were on a 10-year lease with the option of exercising a break clause after five years on condition that proper notice was served and vacant possession was given on or
The Court of Appeal has ruled that the manufacturer of a device used to avert the risk of fire was not obliged to compensate the owners of a factory that was burnt to the ground. The court heard that the factory made precision components for the aerospace industry. It installed thermolevel devices to act as