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Campaigners have introduced a bill into parliament to prevent gold-diggers exploiting the elderly and the vulnerable by marrying them for the sole purpose of inheriting their estates. Under the law as it stands, a person’s will is automatically invalidated when they marry. This means that unless they make another will, when they die they are
A bus driver who was dismissed after testing positive for cocaine has been awarded more than £37,000 compensation. Ken Ball, aged 62, worked for First Essex buses. He was dismissed after failing a saliva test for cocaine in 2017. He brought an unfair dismissal claim to the Employment Tribunal, saying that his test may have
An ombudsman is to be appointed to support people facing problems with their newly built home. The move is part of a series of government measures to improve the housing market and speed up the building of new properties. The New Homes Ombudsman will protect the interests of homebuyers and hold developers to account when
A divorced husband’s sister has been held in contempt of court for failing to provide business records to his former wife. The dispute arose because following divorce proceedings, the husband was ordered to transfer to the wife his 100% shareholding in a property management company. However, he didn’t provide the necessary information to enable the
A man has been jailed for seven months for repeatedly ignoring court orders to help return three abducted children to their mother. The man was the uncle, or possibly the elder half-brother, of three children who had been unlawfully retained by their father in Nigeria in 2013. The mother began legal proceedings and the uncle
Charities say they could lose out on millions of pounds a year because of a huge rise in probate fees announced by the government. Probate is the process by which a person’s will is administered after their death. Currently there is a flat fee of £215, or £155 if a solicitor is involved. That is
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a judge was wrong to order that three children abducted by their father should not be returned to their mother. The children were aged 12, 11 and 8. Since 2010, they had lived in Spain with their British parents and attended Spanish schools. In May 2017, the parents’
People setting up Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) to protect their interest in case they lose mental capacity in the future should be given as much scope as possible to outline their wishes. However, an instruction that their attorney – the person they appoint to look after interests – should help them in an assisted
London Underground has succeeded in legal action to prevent a contract dispute with three major suppliers delaying the delivery of new trains. The issue arose when the company conducted a procurement exercise for the manufacture and supply of 94 new trains and equipment for the Piccadilly Line, with options for the supply of additional trains
Two landlords have won a long-running dispute with their local authority over renting homes in multiple occupation (HMOs) to students. The issue arose after the authority imposed conditions on the HMO licences prohibiting the use of attic bedrooms for sleeping because the roof slope meant they were smaller than what it considered acceptable for a