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The Supreme Court has delivered a landmark ruling that divorcing husbands cannot protect their assets by signing them over to companies – a practice described as a “cheat’s charter” by some lawyers. The case involved the high profile couple, Michael and Yasmin Prest. Last year the High Court ordered that Mrs Prest should receive £17.5m
The Law Society says the Government decision not to regulate will writing puts the public at risk of being exploited by unqualified and unscrupulous practitioners. Many legal services are strictly regulated but will writing is not. The Law Society and the Legal Services Board have long campaigned for stricter controls to protect the public but
Four thousand people reserved a home through the Help to Buy scheme in the two months since it came into effect in April. The Home Builders Federation is delighted with the response and says the industry will have to significantly increase the output of new homes. The Help to Buy: equity loan scheme applies to
The Court of Protection is often called upon to decide whether a person suffering from a debilitating medical condition has the mental capacity to make important decisions. A recent case involved a 37-year-old woman who suffered from bipolar disorder. The woman was a high-achieving information technologist but her condition led to her compulsory detention at
A teaching assistant who was sacked because she wanted to remain in contact with her sex offender son has been awarded £28,000 in compensation for unfair dismissal. Tracy Hodgkinson’s son was jailed in May 2010 for sexual offences with a girl under 14. He was 18 at the time. Ms Hodgkinson says she was dismissed
Trusts set up many years ago can sometimes contain provisions which seem out of step with the way people live their lives today. Thankfully, when problems arise, the courts can often help to correct any anomalies. A recent example involved a child who would have been unable to benefit from a trust fund because his
A father who abducted his two children and brought them back to the UK has been ordered to return them to their mother. The case involved a British couple who moved to Canada to start a new life with their two children, aged two and four. They separated within a few months of arriving and
The celebrity chef Marco Pierre White has lost a claim for damages against two former business partners in a dispute centred on an oral contract. As is often the case with oral contracts, the details of what was agreed were hotly disputed by the two sides. Mr White said he had entered into an agreement
A recent case before the Court of Appeal highlights the need for landlords to ensure that they have protected deposits from former fixed term tenants who went on to acquire statutory periodic tenancies. Failure to do so could result in penalties and prevent the landlord from serving notice for possession. The case involved a tenant
An accountant must pay £943,000 damages to a client after giving him negligent advice about saving tax during the sale of a business. The case involved a successful entrepreneur who was in the process of selling his company for £8.5m. He was liable to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on 10% of that figure. He engaged