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Thousands of people set up lasting powers of attorney (LPA) each year to protect their interests if they ever lose mental capacity in the future. LPAs enable you nominate someone to look after your affairs if you are unable to do so yourself. The vast majority of LPAs work exactly as intended but occasionally things
A landlord was entitled to recover from tenants the VAT charges it had to pay its managing agent in respect of caretaking staff. That was the decision of the Upper Tribunal (Lands) in the case of a landlord who hired a managing agent to fulfil the various obligations set out in his lease agreements. The
The government has announced the latest measures in its campaign to eradicate the gender pay gap within a generation and to provide more opportunities in the workplace for women and ethnic minorities. Legislation to prevent discrimination and promote equality has been in place for more 40 years but women still earn less on average than
The Localism Act 2011 has made a number of changes in order to give local people more control over what happens in their neighbourhood. One such change is the ability to designate a property as an asset of community value. An asset of community value is an asset that furthers the social well-being or social
The vast majority of people still prefer to ask a solicitor to write their will, according to new research by Will Aid. The number of people consulting solicitors about their will has risen by 2% over the last four years. Meanwhile, the number of people using will writers instead has fallen from 17.9% in 2008
Inheritance tax payments have been increasing due to rising house prices and an overall rise in family wealth and investment. The latest figures from HM Revenue and Customs show that just over £3 billion was collected in inheritance tax in 2013, an increase of 15% on the previous year and the highest figure since 2008
A further 1.3 million tenants are to be given the right to buy their homes following an agreement between the government, housing associations and the National Housing Federation. The first sales should begin next year. The agreement means that housing association tenants will be able to buy their homes at the same discounted rates currently
Thousands of people set up lasting powers of attorney (LPA) each year to protect their interests if they ever lose mental capacity in the future. LPAs enable you nominate someone to look after your affairs if you are unable to do so yourself. The vast majority of LPAs work exactly as intended but occasionally things
In October 2015, the cases of Sharland v Sharland and Gohil v Gohil were heard by the Supreme Court. In both cases, the Applicant wives’ were seeking the Courts permission to reopen financial proceedings between them, and their ex-husband’s, even though the proceedings had been concluded some years earlier. Their reasons for doing this were
Nearly one quarter of UK properties are now privately rented from landlords and the number of households in the private rented sector has more than doubled since 2001. As the rise in house prices continues to out-pace average wage increases, particularly in London and the South East, renting for many people has become the only