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The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has started giving refunds to people who were overcharged when setting up lasting powers of attorney (LPA). It has set aside £90m to cover the cost of the refunds. Between April 2013 and March 2017, the operating costs of the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) came down as more
Divorce can be one of the most stressful events anyone has to face in their lives, especially if it descends into recriminations and disputes over money and care of the children. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be that way. The government, with the backing of many family lawyers, has been trying to promote a more
Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division has recently provided further details of new specialist courts being piloted to deal with the financial aspect of divorce proceedings. In December 2017, Munby set out a blueprint for the financial remedies courts (FRC), which are part of wider efforts to separate divorce administratively from its financial
An executive at a recruitment company who was taunted with being a tinker and a ‘gyppo’ has been awarded £283,000 compensation in an unfair dismissal and race discrimination case. Edward Bell, who is from Belfast but now lives in Manchester, worked for recruitment company Cordant People Ltd, formerly Prime Time Recruitment Ltd. He claimed that
The government has announced new measures to prevent unfair and abusive practices within the leasehold system. They include a ban on leaseholds for almost all new build houses. Changes will be made so that ground rents on new long leases – for both houses and flats – are set to zero. It will also become
Nearly two out of three adults in Britain do not have a valid will, according to a survey carried out by MacMillan Cancer Support. The charity surveyed more than 2,000 people and found that 63% had not made a will, including 42% of people over the age of 55. The survey also uncovered various “will
Widespread belief in the myth of common law marriage is putting millions of cohabiting couples at risk of financial hardship if their relationship breaks down. The warning comes from the family law group, Resolution, after it commissioned a survey showing that most cohabitants don’t realise that they don’t have the same automatic rights as married
A man who looked after his mother in the years before her death has been removed as an executor of her will following legal action by his two brothers. The man was the woman’s younger son. He had lived with her and cared for her, along with two full-time carers, for several years. He continued
The government may appoint a housing ombudsman to help people settle disputes if they face problems relating to property. The idea was put forward by the Communities Secretary Sajid Javid as he discussed government plans to provide an extra 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s. Currently, there are four government approved providers of redress
The amount of money owed to small businesses has halved in the last five years, according to government ministers – but business leaders say the UK is still gripped by a poor payments crisis. The figures were released as the government appointed Paul Uppal to the newly created position of Small Business Commissioner. His role