Featured - Legal Articles

Trusts – Court Relieves Family of Severe Tax Consequences of Drafting Error

Trusts are delicate and often complex legal instruments and any flaws in the wording of documents relating to them can have grave tax and other consequences. As a High Court case showed, however, inadvertent drafting errors can be corrected. The case concerned two trusts of which a widow and her son, her only child, were trustees and beneficiaries. They contained […]

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When Does an Employee Start Work? Guideline Decision

Employment Law, Featured

The requirement that workers must have two years of continuous employment before they can bring an unfair dismissal claim means that the precise date on which they started work can be of critical importance. Precisely that issue arose in the case of a safety supervisor who unofficially began work a week before his employment by a demolition company formally commenced.

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No Spouse, Child or Other Dependant? You Should Still Make a Will

Featured, Wills

If you have no spouse, child or other dependant you might think there is little point in making a will. However, as a High Court case showed, any such an assumption would be seriously wrong if it takes no account of your wider family and the potential for conflict between them after you are gone. The case concerned one of 10

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Brothers Battle It Out in Court After Their Mother Fails to Make a Will

Featured, Wills

Failing to make a professionally drafted will is a positive invitation to family strife after you are gone. In one case, a spectacular falling out between two brothers could have been averted had their mother taken the time to consult a solicitor. The woman died intestate, with the result that her entire estate passed by default to her two sons

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Is Your Home Owned by a Loved One? What Happens if He or She Dies?

Wills, Featured

If your home is owned by a loved one you may feel secure, but you can be left in an extremely precarious position if he or she dies. As an instructive High Court ruling showed, however, the law is fully capable of coming to your aid if you received lifetime promises of a permanent roof over your head. The case

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Houses in Multiple Occupation – Breaking the Rules Will Cost You Dear!

Featured, Landlords

Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) are for good reasons heavily regulated, and landlords and letting agencies that fail to measure up to required standards can expect to be hit hard in the pocket. In one case, a letting agency which had no reasonable excuse for breaking the law received a stiff financial penalty. The case concerned a two-bedroom house which,

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