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The number of private sector businesses in the UK has hit a record high of 5.5 million, according to the latest official figures. The Business Population Estimates show that the UK had a million more small businesses at the start of 2016 than in 2010. It also had 4,000 more medium-sized businesses and 900 more
An estimated 3,633 companies entered insolvency in the third quarter of this year. That was increase of 2.2% on the previous quarter and a 1.1% increase on the third quarter of 2015. The figures were released by the Insolvency Service, which says the trend in case numbers has been fairly flat over the last year,
More than 6 out of 10 people prefer to have a qualified solicitor to write their will so they can be confident that it’s done properly, according to new research. A survey carried out by Will Aid, the organisation that encourages people to leave some of their estate to charity, found that 62% of people
Leading family lawyers are calling on the government to provide new legislation to protect the rights of cohabiting couples. The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show that there were 3.3 million cohabiting couple families in the UK in 2017, more than double the number recorded in 1996. They are now the fastest
Medical advances and better health education mean people are enjoying longer and more active lives than ever before. There are still risks, however. With more people living into their eighties and nineties, there are a rising number of dementia cases. According to the Alzheimer’s Society, more than a million people in the UK will be
Improving the home buying process in England and Wales was identified as a priority by the Conveyancing Association, which represents some 50 conveyancing firms. The idea is to push towards electronic conveyancing. E-conveyancing has already been successfully implemented in Australia. The Conveyancing Association also propose the use of ‘skinny electronic home reports’. This will be
More than 100,000 people of working age (18-64) are diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK. Encouragingly, however more people are living with and working through cancer. The headlines and statistics about returning to work are not so encouraging. Last month the case of Terry Foster, a refrigeration engineer with Lymphoma, received widespread news
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.