When a woman updated her will in 2003, she had no way of knowing that a simple change to a precedent document could cause problems for her executors several years later. There was no intention to change one of the main provisions of the will, which was that...

Although pre-nuptial agreements are persuasive rather than binding in the British courts, a recent ruling of the High Court on a French ‘pre-nup’ illustrates clearly the current approach of the courts. It involved a very wealthy French couple...

When a supplier to a marquee company was not paid for goods it had supplied, the directors told the supplier that the company was waiting for an insurance claim to be settled, after which payments would be made as usual. In reality, there was no insurance...

A court ruling that a spouse’s lottery winnings were not ‘matrimonial property’ so were not subject to the usual rule of equal division between the spouses when the marriage broke up received much publicity recently. The normal rule on...

When a Jersey multi-millionaire gave most of his assets away to one of his daughters in the months prior to his death, leaving an estate of less than £100,000 to be shared by all three of his children, it was perhaps inevitable that a legal challenge...

The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011. Under Section 2 of the Act, it is an offence for a person to request, agree to receive or accept a financial or other advantage intending that, in consequence, a relevant function or activity should be...

When a marriage or civil partnership breaks up and there is a significant risk that one party may move assets (normally cash in bank accounts) ‘out of sight’, it is sometimes possible to obtain a ‘freezing order’ to prevent the sums...

A recent case illustrates how strong the evidence must be before the presumption that a person making a will has the mental capacity to do so will be overturned. It involved an elderly woman who died leaving an estate of a little under £150,000. Her...

One of the rules that applies to the administration of estates is that whilst a person appointed as executor under a will can refuse to accept the appointment, once an executor ‘intermeddles’ in the estate, in principle he or she cannot then...

The penalties for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour are very substantial but, recognising that cartel (price-fixing) behaviour is difficult to detect, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has a ‘leniency programme’, which operates to give...

The cardinal rule in proceedings involving children is that the welfare of the child comes first. In some cases, the interests of individual children in a family are sufficiently different for them to be considered separately. In a case involving a...

A husband has lost his appeal against an order made in July 2010 for ancillary relief (the legal term for financial provision for an ex-spouse) that put family assets of £10 million, including £7 million held in two trusts, into the pool of...

Company liquidations have edged up in the first quarter of 2011, with 4,121 companies being subject to winding-up orders. Compulsory liquidations fell by more than 10 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2010, but creditors’ voluntary...

When a millionaire estate agent died intestate, the two women he had been involved with both tried to have his estate distributed according to their wishes. Chris John died leaving an estate worth £5 million. At the time of his death, he had been...

A recent survey of businesses carried out by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has found that, in general, the availability of finance for business from banks and other providers of external finance has eased slightly but is still...

A widow who was excluded from inheriting her husband’s £500,000 estate, under the terms of a will he made four years before he died in 2009, has contested the will, alleging that the brain tumour from which her husband was suffering meant that he...

A father who sought to have a hearing regarding his contact with his children adjourned so that new evidence could be obtained found his argument rejected by the Court of Appeal recently. The family court had issued an interim order that the father, who had...

Years ago, it was common for a deed creating a trust for children to specify the beneficiaries as being ‘the legitimate children’ of the person setting up the trust. Recently, the children of the 13th Duke of Manchester, by his bigamous marriage...

A woman who paid more than 90 per cent of the cost of a £3 million property purchased for her daughter, in whose name the title is held, has failed in her attempt to have the ownership of the property changed to reflect her contribution. It would seem...

The law relating to the fiduciary duties of directors is stricter than many company directors might think, as a recent case illustrates . The director of a company was given the loan of ‘a second-hand excavator and dumper’ for his personal use,...

The combination of a deathbed marriage, a millionaire and a new will was always likely to end in a court battle, and so it proved recently when a family challenged their late father’s will, which left everything to his new wife, who had been his...

The Law Society is urging the nearly 70 per cent of the adult population who have not yet made a will to do so. There are many reasons why you should make a will. It is a mistake to think that it is only necessary if you have a substantial estate. Estate...

A covenant can either represent a commitment to do something or a commitment not to do something. In either case, the party faced with a breach of the covenant has a range of options available to them for obtaining a legal remedy, one of which is to obtain a...

Among the requirements for a will to be valid are that it must not be witnessed by a beneficiary and it must be signed at the bottom by the testator (the person making it) or, if they are unable to sign it, under their direction. You would therefore be...

A recent divorce case has confirmed the general position that when wealth is inherited, it is not normally subject to the ‘equal shares’ rule that applies to assets built up during a marriage. The case involved a couple who married in the UK...

According to a recent poll, more than one in eight wills is ‘self-written’ and one in 10 of those people who have made a will fails to tell anyone where it is. Since nearly 4 out of every 10 adults have not made a will in the first place, the...

Directors of companies are entitled to any information they reasonably request about the company of which they are a director. It is therefore normal for a director to possess a great deal of confidential information about the company. Directors are also...

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has issued a consultation aimed at simplifying the licensing laws for events attended by fewer than 5,000 people. Currently, events organisers have to apply and sometimes pay for licences for events which pose...

A recent case shows how unwilling the court will be to change an adoption order once it has been made. The case concerned a child who was removed from his mother’s care because she was unable to look after him due to drug dependency. This was...

A recent case has confirmed that a clause in a contract which absolves one party from paying the other in the event that the second party becomes insolvent is invalid as it infringes the ‘anti-deprivation’ principle. The principle exists to...

A recent case illustrates the importance for cohabiting couples of giving careful consideration to property ownership and inheritance issues. Ms Cattle had a relationship with her partner, Mr Evans, for many years and when he died she made a claim against...

A divorced man has won the right to retain £1 million of his pre-marital assets before a 50/50 division of the remainder of the couple’s joint assets is made. The assets were valued at around £9.5 million, after provision had been made...

It may be tempting (but is probably just tempting fate) to put a ‘qualification’ clause in a will whereby a person inherits only if they do something or refrain from doing something. Where it is something definite which can be unequivocally...

The Court of Appeal has overturned the decision of a lower court to allow a father, against whom allegations of violence towards the mother of his child had been made, to vary the terms of contact arrangements made earlier so that he could continue to see...

When a claim for damages is made on the basis of ‘loss of a chance’, having good quality expert evidence is essential. Most people know that it is possible to claim damages, where appropriate, for the loss of future earnings. Normally, such...

If your property has been damaged in the recent riots, you may well find that your insurance policy will not cover your losses. Most policies exclude damage resulting from 'riot', which in law, means when 12 or more people are present at the disturbance. If...

When a beneficiary loses out because the terms of the will of a wealthy person are changed shortly before that person’s death, a dispute is always likely. When a Scottish woman with an estate valued at £4 million died shortly after changing her...

A recent case in the Court of Appeal has demonstrated that terms agreed by email can amount to a contract despite a formal contract referred to in the emails remaining unsigned. The case concerned a commodities trader and a fuel storage company that had...

When a person goes bust, what is the position regarding a debt they owe to the Child Support Agency (CSA) with regard to arrears of maintenance payments? This question arose recently when a man applied for a creditors’ voluntary arrangement (CVA). At...

A recent case will cause concern to anyone who has a specific wish that their estate should not pass to certain people. It involved a woman who left an estate of more than £400,000, which she had bequeathed to various animal charities. The woman had a...

The English courts are well known worldwide as being amongst the most ‘generous’ to divorcing spouses in terms of financial settlements: they start with the premise that assets built up during the marriage should be split equally unless there is...

The faltering steps the economy is taking towards recovery seem to be breeding a degree of overconfidence on the part of some businesses, but there is no reason to abandon good credit control practice. According to a recent report from Creditsafe, more than...

A very unusual case illustrates the lengths to which the courts may go in order to sort out disputes involving lost wills. It involved a couple who had both been married before and who, it was claimed, had made mutual wills. On the husband’s death,...

The Bribery Act 2010 comes into force today (1 July 2011). The implementation of the Act, originally scheduled for April, was delayed to allow time for the guidance on it to be finalised. Section 7 of the Act makes it an offence for a commercial...

When settlements in divorce cases are being determined, the contributions made to the marriage by each party will often be relevant. However, a recent decision of the Court of Appeal illustrates that the future earning capacity of the husband or wife at...

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has the power to apply for an order banning a person from being a director in cases in which competition law is breached. Orders are granted under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 and are issued when the...

An unusual instance of the creation of a statutory will was reported recently, when an application for a statutory will was granted to the daughter of a woman who had suffered a stroke. The applicant’s two half-siblings were found to have forged an...

Keeping company records up to date is not always a top priority for the directors of smaller companies. However, failing to keep the shareholders’ register up to date can have a downside if a share transfer has occurred but the new owner’s name...

The Court of Protection has ruled that Hillingdon Council acted unlawfully in detaining a 21-year-old autistic man, Steven Neary, for almost a year against his wishes. Steven’s father, Mark Neary, wanted to care for his son at home and waged a long...

A woman whose mother left an entire estate to charity has won her appeal for a substantial payment from the estate, sufficient to meet her need for reasonable maintenance. Melita Jackson died in July 2004 at the age of 70, leaving a net estate of some...

It is often considered that the sorts of disclosures that a company must make to regulatory authorities or in its annual accounts are not matters that need to be given close attention. However, where the failure to disclose such information is significant,...

The Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of a local authority to place a baby born in prison in care, after the behaviour of the mother was believed to have put the child’s life in danger. After the local authority had obtained a separation order,...

A man who was appointed under a power of attorney to look after a woman’s affairs, when she could no longer manage to do so herself, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after he abused his position of trust to steal more than £100,000 from...

Bribery is coming under increasing attention following the passing of the Bribery Act 2010 , under which bribery is a criminal act. Whilst implementation of the Act, which was passed under the previous administration, has been delayed so that the Government...

When an obvious error is made, the courts will sometimes be willing to correct the mistake – but not always. In a recent case , the court was asked to consider wills executed by an elderly couple. Each will was a simple ‘mirror will’, in...

European Directives on comparative advertising based on price differences have been clarified, following preliminary rulings from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in a case referred by the French commercial courts. The case was brought before the...

A recent case shows that the creation of a valid will in English does not depend on the person creating it being able to speak the language. The situation arose when a woman’s daughters contested her will, which left everything to her four sons,...

In deciding immigration cases, the rights of any children who are British citizens and who would be affected by the decision must be taken into consideration. This was the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of a Tanzanian woman who had made three failed...

A survey of business confidence from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, based on the last quarter of 2010, shows a sharp decline, with confidence amongst those in the production industry having fallen more sharply than that in...

The Law Society is campaigning to persuade the Government that a change to the law is necessary to protect members of the public from problems caused by using unqualified will writers. The Law Society wants will writers to have to gain formal qualifications...

An argument over an estate worth more than £4 million has caused a family rift which looks set to run and run. The case concerned the assets of a Greek Cypriot woman, who died leaving her and her late husband’s estate largely to their daughter....

When a couple who are retired or approaching retirement get divorced, one of the major issues to be settled is the division of pension entitlements. In this situation, the first step is to obtain a valuation of the pension rights. Where large sums are...

A recent case illustrates that insurers will often seek to avoid paying claims under their policies even in circumstances where they would normally be expected to be liable. The case involved a processing plant which supplied the claimant, a pet food...

A case which recently came before the High Court illustrates how complicated probate issues can be, especially where the will was written in another country or involves assets abroad. The case involved an Indian man, who lived in the UK and owned several...

It is sometimes tempting to try to have an agreement reconsidered and the UK sees more than its fair share of family law cases with an international element, where one party to an agreement made abroad seeks to revisit the issues because of the comparatively...

It is a source of concern to lawyers and families alike that the majority of people never make a will. Often, the intention to do so is there, but somehow the person never seems to ‘get around to it’ and dies or becomes incapable before a will...

When a contract contains a ‘penalty clause’ for breach of the contract, the clause will not be enforceable if it is punitive, rather than a genuine attempt to compensate the other party based on an estimate of the loss they would incur as a...

The Court of Appeal has recently handed down a judgment in a ‘big money’ divorce case which shows the approach the courts are likely to take towards financial settlements on divorce when one of the spouses has substantial inherited assets. The...

A case which recently came before the High Court demonstrates the importance of taking care over the service of documents, if only to prevent costly litigation over whether a document was validly served. In the case concerned, a construction dispute was...

Judges are not perfect and when a judge recently considered a child placement order, there were inadequacies in the judgment. The judge had not stated correctly the test for the criteria to be considered when making a placement order. On the basis of the...

Financial problems are one of the most common factors in family relationship breakdown, so divorce cases are not uncommonly carried on against a background of insolvency. A recent case shows the sort of problems that can arise. It involved a couple who...

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has published two draft documents, on which it has recently held a consultation, aimed at helping businesses and company directors comply with competition law. The first document, How Your Business Can Achieve Compliance ,...

The newspapers have recently reported several incidences of the exploitation of vulnerable elderly people. In one such case, Stevenage care worker Jo-ann Tharle has been jailed for the theft of savings of more than £10,000 from an elderly man in her...

'Without prejudice’ communications, made when negotiating legal disputes in order to aid agreement, are not normally admissible in court. The idea behind them is to allow the parties to explore possible areas of agreement and make suggestions and...

The half-sister of two children in the sole care of their father has been allowed indirect contact with them, following a ruling of the Court of Appeal. Previously, a family court hearing was told of the father’s concern that allowing his daughter to...

When appointing an executor, it is vital that you make sure you choose someone who is trustworthy. Where co-executors are appointed, it is important that they will all oversee the estate administration. The wisdom of an assiduous approach when deciding who...

As part of its reform programme to save public money, whilst at the same time increasing the transparency and accountability of public bodies, the Government has announced plans to merge the Competition Commission and the competition functions of the Office...

In a recent judgment dealing with child maintenance payments for a mother who left her husband and formed a stable monogamous relationship with another woman, the European Court of Human Rights confirmed that the mother’s obligations towards her...

According to a recent economic report from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, micro-businesses do not share the optimism of mid-sized businesses over growth prospects for the next two years. The survey found that only 56 per cent...

The Court of Appeal has overturned a controversial High Court decision regarding a will which was unclearly worded. The deceased had left his property, valued at £169,000, to his lifelong friends. He also left a pecuniary legacy to his brother and his...

The Information Commissioner has served the first monetary penalties for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). In the first case, Hertfordshire County Council was issued with a penalty of £100,000 for two serious incidents where...

The Court of Appeal has ordered a divorced husband to pay an additional £481,000 in ancillary relief to his former wife, five years after the original divorce was settled, because he hid information about a profitable share deal. In April 2005, the...

Licensees are reminded that it is now compulsory to ensure that an age verification policy is in place and that it applies to any person who appears to be under the age of 18 years. Any such person is to be required to produce, on request, identification...

One of the prime objectives of the due diligence process carried out by the prospective buyer of a business is to ensure that there are no skeletons in the cupboard of the business being bought. Warranties and indemnities are important safeguards, of course,...

When an agreement is made on separation or divorce for school fees to be paid by a parent, should the payment of the fees be taken into account by the Child Support Agency (CSA) when calculating that person’s child support liability? It might seem...

The Court Service has revised its guidance on making an application for probate, in order to take into account the most common errors made. The guidance has been published by HM Revenue and Customs on page 6 of the June 2010 Inheritance Tax and Trusts...

With over 300,000 businesses now having made ‘time to pay’ arrangements with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the fear is that businesses that are insolvent are using such arrangements to hide their precarious financial status. With HMRC said to...

When the relationship of a same-sex couple who have children breaks up, there can be a problem regarding the meaning of the word ‘parent’, because at least one of the couple will not be the biological parent of the children. In a recent case, a...

In a long-running case , a beneficiary under an estate administrated by his brother failed in his attempt to bring an action against two firms of solicitors which had acted for his brother in his capacity as administrator. Mark Roberts and his brother John...

Getting into business is easy. Getting out of business is often where the real problems start. That is why it makes sense to have a partnership agreement (or a shareholders’ agreement if the business is a company) in place from day one. A...

Two recent decisions in child contact cases illustrate that the courts recognise the importance, where possible, of children having a relationship with both of their parents. The Children and Adoption Act 2006 , which came into force in December 2008,...

Earlier this year, YouGov carried out a poll on behalf of children’s charity Barnardo’s . The results indicate that 58 per cent of adults in the UK, and 74 per cent of those who are cohabiting, do not currently have a will in place. According...

A recent case in the High Court serves as a reminder of the importance of making sure all contracts are carefully drafted. The case was surprising, mainly because it appeared unlikely that anyone involved in the finalisation of the contract had read it...

When a marriage breaks up, the matrimonial home is often the subject of considerable dispute and it is common for an order to be made for it to be sold and the proceeds divided between the divorcing couple. Recently, a case was heard in which a wife...

The first charge of corporate manslaughter since the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into force was brought against Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd., an engineering consultancy based in Gloucestershire. The company was...

Sometimes, after a person's death, it turns out that their will does not have the effect that was originally anticipated. This can happen if, for example, the family circumstances have changed since the will was made. In such situations, there are a number...

With parts of Britain colder than the North Pole, and snow covering much of the country, many employees are failing to turn up for work and, in some cases, the work is made more dangerous because of the weather. If an employee cannot get to work because...

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has published revised guidance on Competition Disqualification Orders (CDOs), which are orders under which company directors are disqualified from acting as directors where the company of which they are a director is in...

Mental capacity has always been something of a problematic area of the law. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 was enacted to put mental capacity law on a firmer footing and is based on the concepts of ‘best interests’ and ‘capacity’....

A wealthy man has had an order served on him by the court which prevents him from selling his house until he settles child maintenance arrears of more than £78,000. The man had failed to pay any maintenance for more than 12 years, It was thought that...

When you do business with someone else, it is important to agree the applicable terms and conditions – merely exchanging terms can be a recipe for dispute, as a recent case shows. The case involved a US company, which ordered goods from a British...