Private Client Solicitors in Margate, Canterbury, Broadstairs, Ramsgate and Birchington, Kent

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Government to Review Law to Wipe Out Trolling The finding that more than a third of users of the Internet in the UK have been 'trolled' or been the subject of harassment or 'cyber-bullying', sometimes with severe effects on those singled out for online abuse, has led the Government to commission an...
High Court Focuses on Essentials to Resolve Family Trust Dispute Even the most careful drafting cannot always succeed in dispelling ambiguity or in making provision for all future eventualities. As a High Court case concerning a family trust showed, however, the courts are always there to act as a neutral umpire in...
Reliance on Accountant Shows Reasonable Care If you rely on your accountant's advice regarding a tax issue, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will now regard you as having taken 'reasonable care' to get things right and will not impose a penalty. On 14 February, HMRC issued new guidance relating to the...
Premature Contract Signature Proves Expensive Signing a contract before you are sure you are willing to complete it can be a huge mistake: judges do not flinch from enforcing valid contracts, as a recent case shows . It involved a man who reneged on a deal to buy a family home for £5 million. He...
Direct Contact With Both Parents Best Promotes Child Welfare Family judges know that children normally do best when they have direct contact with both parents. The Court of Appeal underlined that point in a case concerning five ultra-Orthodox Jewish children whose transgender father had been ostracised by the close...
Victim of Hotel Jewellery Theft Wins Substantial Compensation Thefts from hotel rooms are thankfully not an everyday occurrence, but when such a crime is committed, who, if anyone, is liable to pay compensation can become an issue, especially as the perpetrators, even if caught, frequently turn out to be penniless. In...
Mistaken Belief Overturns Estate Split Agreement When the male partner of a cohabiting couple died, apparently without leaving a will, after they had lived together for more than 40 years, his estate was administered according to the laws of intestacy, with the result that no provision was made for his...
Non-Residents Beware - Ignorance of UK Tax Law is No Excuse About 900,000 UK citizens are long-term residents abroad, and it is no particular surprise that they may be less careful about managing their UK tax affairs than those who live in the UK. Many foreign residents retain UK properties, and when these are sold a...
No Pay, No Passport? In a consultation paper published just before the December holiday season , the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which is the Government department that deals with child maintenance payment arrangements, outlined significant powers that would enable...
DIY Approach to Property Purchase Proves Costly You might think that something as seemingly simple as buying a pitch for a caravan is straightforward enough to do yourself, but a recent example shows why no sensible person would consider entering into a property transaction without employing a specialist...
Air Travel Woes May Lead to Compensation After a ghastly year for flight delays, with British Airways suffering two major IT failures, Ryanair's problems with aircrew rotas and air traffic control disputes, a recent report reveals that nearly £400 million in claims could have been made for...
Reasonable Provision May Not Mean What You Think When a person is excluded from the will of someone on whom they were 'dependent', the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 provides that the dependent person can apply for 'reasonable financial provision' to be made for their...
What Do Points Make? Tax Penalties The automatic penalties attaching to late filing of tax returns have long been an unpopular issue for taxpayers. The system involves fixed penalties for missing deadlines and these are rigorously applied. Filing a tax return online just seconds after the...
Trust is No Replacement for Legal Advice Sadly, not all relationships that get off to a good start last, and it is vital to seek legal advice before entering into any financial arrangements, even with those who are closest to you. That point was clearly made by a case in which a woman attempted to...
Boys & Maughan offices closed from 3pm on Friday 2 March 2018 We are closing all our offices at 3pm today, Friday 2 March, to enable our staff to travel home safely. We will re-open at 9am on Monday 5 March, 2018. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this causes. ...
Court Approval Not Needed to Withdraw Treatment Situations where patients in an unconscious or minimally conscious state are being kept alive only because of intervention by medical technology are relatively commonplace. A recent case dealt with the issue of whether the approval of the court is...
Onerous Leasehold Terms to be Banned Following an outcry over the terms that apply to the purchase of new leasehold properties in some circumstances, the Government conducted a public consultation. This has now reported and legislation is expected soon to deal with the abuses identified. ...
Placing Trust in a Family Member Proves Unwise (Again) Even the most apparently trustworthy people can sometimes turn out to be anything but and that is one good reason why it is sensible to appoint a solicitor as executor of your will. In one case that proved the point, an ex-police officer took advantage of...
ISAs in Estates to be Tax Exempt One of the issues that proves difficult for executors of deceased persons who have Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) is that the interest on them is taxable once the owner has died. Many of these accounts are small and, given that interest rates have been...
Cohabitants Entitled to Bereavement Damages The legal implications of cohabitation are often poorly understood by those who choose to live together outside of marriage or civil partnership, and the lack of protection for cohabitants often comes as an unpleasant surprise to many, especially when a...
Victims of Crime and Compensation It is normal for victims of crime to think that the conviction and punishment of the criminal marks the end of the process entirely. However, that is not always the case as, when appropriate, compensation can be sought from the criminal. A good example is a...
Service Standards Must Be Appropriate for Properties Owning a share of the freehold is often cited as a selling point to flat buyers – but tenant democracy is no panacea and there is little advantage to it if residents do not get on. In one case, a dispute between wealthy apartment dwellers over cuts to...
Do You Still Believe in the 90-Day UK Tax Residency Myth? Read This! It is an enduringly popular misconception that all you need to do in order to establish that you are not UK resident for tax purposes is spend fewer than 90 days per year in this country. However, the true position is much more nuanced than that, as one...
Family Attachment a Critical Factor in Adoption When the Family Court was asked to consider an application for an adoption order made by a couple, two factors proved crucial in deciding whether it should be granted. The first was that the boy's natural parents could not reasonably be considered able to...
Regulation of probate research companies Did you know that there is regulation available to the probate genealogy industry? The International Association of Professional Probate Researchers ( IAPPR ) was set up in 2016 and its aim is to provide reassurance for companies, organisations and members...
Power of Attorney registration fee refunds You could be due a refund of up to £54 if you registered a Power of Attorney in England or Wales between April 2013 and March 2017. Under a new Government scheme announced on 2 February 2018, those who paid a registration fee for a Lasting Power of...
Casting Aspersions to Change Inheritance Proves Unsuccessful Wills made or varied just before death are a frequent source of dispute and court appearances, and it was just such an occurrence that led to a High Court hearing recently . The case concerned the estate of a woman who died in 2014, two days after making a...
Ripped Off By a Rogue Trader? You Can Be Compensated! Elderly people and those who are vulnerable are sadly prime targets for rogue traders, but the law is not powerless when it comes to helping those affected. The successful prosecution of a rogue builder promises more than £200,000 in compensation for...
Court Bypasses Wife's Attempts to Stymie Sale One of the potential disadvantages of having more than one owner of a property is what to do when they take different views of whether it should be sold. In a recent case, a husband went to court to force the sale of a property he owned with his wife (she...
Tax Net to Loosen for Trusts, Tighten for Offshore Affairs In the recent Budget, the Government committed itself to a review of the operation of trust taxation in the UK. Since reforms were introduced in 2006 to counter what appear to have been little-used tax avoidance schemes, trusts have been used less often...
Advocate-in-training Ebun Adeniran scores the winning point Ebun Adeniran has won the final of the inaugural Boys & Maughan Solicitors Civil Advocacy Competition, which took place in the University of Kent’s Law School Mooting Chamber on 18 January 2018. Ebun is in her final year of study at the...
Certain Inheritance Can Be Financial Resource in Divorce Settlement Under English law, a person is able (within limits) to decide absolutely to whom their estate should pass. However, many countries have 'forced heirship' laws, under which a deceased person's estate must pass in specified proportions to a particular person...
Informal Wills on the Way? We have written on numerous occasions of the danger of either failing to leave a will or of not taking professional advice when making your will. Among the difficulties that can arise with DIY wills are challenges by family members who have been excluded...
Solicitors Are Under a Lifelong Duty to Guard Client Confidentiality One of the advantages of placing your trust in solicitors is that they owe a lifelong duty to maintain the confidentiality of any information you give them. That point was underlined by a High Court case in which a solicitor was banned from taking...
Minor Drafting Error Corrected - £1 Million Saved Under Inheritance Tax (IHT) law, certain types of trust have a ten-yearly charge to IHT on the value of the trust assets. The legislation, which imposes IHT of 6 per cent on the 'relevant property' in the trust settlement, was introduced in 2006 and applied...
Council Must Consider Planning Application People who seek advantage by going beyond the bounds of planning permission they are given can expect to be taught a very expensive lesson by the courts. However, the law does guarantee the right of a person to have a planning application considered, as was...
Judge Sees Through Attempt to Hide Assets When a couple divorced in 2014, the ex-husband was ordered to pay his ex-wife periodical payments of £120,000 per year after he was found to have used a variety of stratagems to make himself appear worse off than he really was. A mere three months...
Business Tycoon's Wife Well Served by Lawyers Who Drafted Her Will A solicitor's primary duty when drafting a will is to follow faithfully their client's instructions after giving accurate and level-headed advice. In a professional negligence case triggered by the early death of a business tycoon's wife, the High Court...
Libel by Internal Email Proves Expensive Many people think that for a libel to occur, the statement made has to be both false and made in public, but in fact that is not so, as a recent libel case confirms . The libellous comments were made by a care worker at a hospital about a colleague in an...
Boys & Maughan Christmas 2017 opening hours Here are our 2017 Christmas opening hours: Friday 22 December 9am to 12.30pm, except our Canterbury office which will close at 12pm Closed Saturday 23 December to 1 January 2018 Re-opening Tuesday 2 January 9am to 5pm We would...
Planning to Participate in a Tax Avoidance Scheme? Read This First! Anyone tempted to participate in a tax avoidance scheme would be wise to take note of one case in which a businessman complained in vain that he had been subject to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) inquiries for almost seven years, with no end in sight. The...
Facing Compulsory Purchase of Your Home? Home ownership is generally regarded as providing safety and long-term security, but this is not always the case as properties can be compulsorily purchased by public authorities to make way for socially beneficial developments. Any householders affected are...
Take Care When Appointing a Non-Lawyer as Your Executor When you appoint a solicitor to be the executor of your will, you can be assured that they will understand their duties and can be relied upon to comply with them. However, as a High Court case showed, the same sadly cannot always be said of friends or...
Court Corrects Parenthood Bungle When a same-sex couple undertook fertility treatment which led to the birth of a baby girl, the intention was that both would be listed as her legal parents. However, due to mistakes made in processing the necessary forms, only one of the couple was shown as...
HMRC Fail in IHT Challenge on Livery HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have challenged a number of property-based trading businesses, seeking to deprive them of the Inheritance Tax (IHT) and Capital Gains Tax advantages that are normally available. In a recent case, HMRC sought to persuade the...
Flat Tenants - Taking Over Management Can Be a Legal Minefield Most leaseholders would like to obtain the right to manage their own premises. However, as one tribunal case shows , there are many potential pitfalls, so seeking professional legal advice is always a wise precaution. The four qualifying tenants of a block...
Failure to Use Solicitor for Will Leads to Challenge Charities are generally thought of as being mild and benevolent organisations and in many ways they are, but some can also be very aggressive when they are expecting to receive money from an estate and their hopes are dashed. The extent to which some will...
Insurance Extension on the Cards? Under UK law, it is compulsory for all vehicles that are used on public roads to be insured, and third-party liability insurance, which covers accidental injury to others, is the legal minimum. There is even a compensation scheme, funded by UK insurance...
Government Must Prove its Case to Obtain Deportation Marriages of convenience are normally entered into in order to give one of the spouses the right to remain in the UK. At present, EU citizens normally have the right to remain in the UK. However, that right can be removed if it is shown that it has been...
Mis-Sold an Interest Rate Hedging Product? Don't Miss the Time Limit for a Claim Mis-selling of interest rate hedging products (IRHPs) by lenders has caused acute financial pain to a great many businesses and individuals and, as one High Court case shows , you should contact us immediately if you have the slightest suspicion that you...
Change of Use Over Time Leads to Four-Day Court Battle Rights of way over land are a constant source of dispute and, because the law relating to land is complex, such disputes all too frequently end up in avoidable court proceedings. A recent case heard by Bristol County Court was brought by a man who claimed...
Ignoring Advice Not Path to Success There really is little point in instructing lawyers to represent you if you do not then listen to their advice. In one case which illustrates this , two women dispensed with the services of not just one but two legal teams, after they were advised to...
But I Wrote a Cheque It is not often that the facts about how much of a mortgage was repaid are a matter of dispute, but in a recent case that was what happened and the decision led to a judge being criticised for her unorthodox approach to the evaluation of evidence. A couple...
HMRC Aren't Always Right According to the Government's GOV.UK website, if you are a company director, you have to file a tax return every year. It says that every UK company director must send in a personal self-assessment tax return annually, and that this must be done even without...
Take Extra Care When Buying Abroad It is estimated that more than 800,000 Britons now own property abroad. What used to be highly exceptional may now seem rather commonplace, but that is no reason why buyers should relax their vigilance over the process. In particular, it is absolutely vital...
Executors and Taxes An executor of an estate is personally responsible for his or her actions, so as well as there being significant duties, on occasions the role can also involve significant risks. One example of this would be where an executor completes the estate...
Family Proceedings - Anonymity Orders v Freedom of Expression Family courts routinely grant anonymity to children involved in care proceedings, but that inevitably has an effect on parents and others who might wish to publicise their objections to judicial orders. Exactly that issue arose in one case in which a...
Power of Attorney or Deputyship? In the same week that a former policeman was convicted of stealing a house and £200,000 from his disabled cousin by abusing a power of attorney in his favour, a judge advanced the case for using a court-appointed deputy to manage the affairs of a...
Boys & Maughan wins five trophies in national conveyancing awards We won no fewer than five trophies at the ESTAS Conveyancing Awards on Friday 20 October 2017. Presented by TV property expert Phil Spencer at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, Boys & Maughan won: Best Local Group, 2-5 branches (national)...
Couple May Lose House After Denying Neighbour Access to Meter Disputes between neighbours can blight the lives of all concerned and it is always wise to seek legal advice before matters get out of hand. In one case, an elderly couple face losing their home under the weight of legal bills following a long-running row...
Tax Domicile - HMRC Upping the Ante? With an increasingly peripatetic workforce, more and more people are finding that the issue of their fiscal residence has a significant effect on their tax position. The response to this in the UK has been that tax legislation surrounding residence has been...
Denied Divorce Case Heading to Supreme Court It has been revealed that the widely reported case last March in which a wife was not granted a divorce from her husband because she could not demonstrate that his behaviour had been unreasonable will be decided by the Supreme Court. Under English law,...
Mutual Will Voids Thirteen Later Wills Although a worryingly high proportion of the population never make a will, a fairly large number of those who do make more than one. It is sensible to make a new will or add codicils to an existing will if your circumstances change significantly. However,...
Only Gifts Without Reservation Are Effective in Minimising IHT Giving away your assets to the next generation before your death can be an effective means of minimising Inheritance Tax (IHT) liabilities. However, as one tribunal case showed , such gifts have to be absolute and bring you no personal benefit in order to...
Don't Delay in Completing 'Formalities' There is a tendency to think that procedural matters are mere formalities and there is no need to be in a rush to dot the i's and cross the t's, but sometimes failing to deal with them promptly can cause significant problems, as a recent case involving a...
Parenthood is Not a Trump Card to Avoid Imprisonment Imprisoning parents is inevitably traumatic for their children, and striking a balance between child welfare and appropriate punishment of criminals is a dilemma confronted by judges every day. However, a Court of Appeal ruling has emphasised that parenthood...
Estranged Daughter Gains Share of Late Father's Estate The dangers of concluding that estranged children who have been disinherited will have no claim against a deceased person's estate were made very clear after a widely reported case decided last year. They have again been highlighted in a recent case in...
Everyone Has a Civic Duty to Assist Judges in Resolving Disputes It is a civic duty to assist the courts in the resolution of disputes, and judges have the power to compel reluctant witnesses to give evidence. Exactly that happened in one case in which a solicitor was required to attend court to testify in respect of a...
What is an 'Existing Building'? - Tax Tribunal Clarifies the Law A property owner who demolishes an existing dwelling house and replaces it with an entirely new one is entitled to reclaim VAT on the costs of construction – but what happens if part of the original building is retained? A tribunal considered that...
Boys & Maughan makes the 2017 ESTAS shortlist We are delighted to announce that we have once again been recognised for our outstanding customer service to clients by the biggest award scheme in the UK residential property industry. The ESTAS Group, which highlights the best firms for customer service...
Equality of Division of Assets on Divorce Abolished? Hardly The popular press has made a great deal of a recent Court of Appeal case , reporting that there had been a significant departure from the general principle that the assets built up by a couple during their marriage are to be split more or less equally on...
Court Upholds Restrictions on Holiday Homes The old adage that 'an Englishman's home is his castle' is only partially true and the impact of planning law on a property owner's rights can be far-reaching – even extending to limiting the right of occupation. This is particularly an issue in areas...
Commercial lease renewals - reasonable modernisation and the effect of the Energy Act 2011 Tenants who have a business lease that is about to come to an end do not necessarily have to leave their premises and may well be entitled to negotiate a new deal on better terms. The occasion also presents opportunities for landlords. Here Laura Cobb gives...
High Court Dementia Ruling - Judge Acts to Protect Widow Amidst an ageing population, the role of judges in protecting the weak, vulnerable and infirm is of ever increasing importance. In one case that proves the point, the High Court stepped in to set aside land transfers made by an elderly farmer with dementia...
Private Investors - Beware of Wolves in Sheep's Clothing! There have always been wolves in sheep's clothing ready to take unfair advantage of private investors and they can be difficult to spot without professional advice. In one case, a company that participated in the sale of coloured diamonds to the public at...
Using Fansites? Take Care What You Say Among football fans it is very well known that the owners and supporters of Blackpool FC are not on good terms. It is also common knowledge that comments on fan websites can be very immoderate at times. However, a recent case shows that no matter how deep...
Court Unsympathetic When Mum Takes Law Into Own Hands No matter how much you may be tempted, taking the law into your own hands is not a good idea. When a mother who was divorcing her husband in Hawaii obtained the agreement of the US court to take the couple's children, aged 9 and 11, back to the UK for a...
You Can Make Your Council Tidy Up Bad Housing Unoccupied and decaying properties can have a serious impact on the neighbourhood and can become a focus for vandalism and anti-social behaviour. However, as one case showed , local authorities have a range of powers to deal with such eyesores, even if...
Don't Litigate Without a Lawyer to Tell You When You're Wrong! One reason why it is rarely advisable to represent yourself in litigation is that you need a good lawyer to tell you when you are wrong. That point could hardly have been more clearly made than by a case in which a widower claimed that his sister had made...
India House Margate Heritage Open Day 2017 We are opening the doors of India House to the public on Saturday 9 September to mark its 250th anniversary as part of Margate's Heritage Open Day events. Grade II* listed, India House is one of the finest and most unusual buildings in...
Small Pension Pots - Planning Possibilities People aged over 55 who have only a small (less than £30,000) pension pot in a defined benefit (final salary) scheme or in some instances in a defined contribution scheme paying only a small pension – but not where the pension pot has been used...
Insurer Must Pay Missing Driver Claim When a person has an accident involving a car and a claim results, it is usually dealt with by the insurer of the driver concerned. If the driver is not insured or is untraced, a procedure exists to ensure a claim can still go ahead, only in this case the...
Skulduggery in Divorce Proceedings Will Do You No Good Resorting to skulduggery in divorce proceedings is sadly common but almost never does either side any good. That was certainly so in one case in which a man surreptitiously took documents from his ex-wife's home and sought – unsuccessfully – to...
Court Rejects Rerun Argument in Property Dispute Problems with covenants affecting land are common and sometimes a dispute can resurface years after it seems to have been settled. In a recent instance, a landowner was successful in reopening the battle over a covenant after persuading the court it was...
HMRC's Tough Approach to Penalty Rejected by Tribunal Just how tough HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can be was illustrated by a recent case in which they imposed a penalty of £1,300 for the late filing of a tax return by a businesswoman who, as well as running her own business, was also caring for her...
Court Rejects Will in a Crisp Packet Unfulfilled hopes of substantial inheritance are commonplace, both in fact and fiction, but not often do they lead to such ham-fisted attempts at forgery as that shown by a disappointed widow after her husband left her just £25,000 of his...
Mired In Debt? Get Professional Advice You Can Rely On The position of those in debt is normally far from hopeless and much can be done to save them from penury. However, they are particularly vulnerable and, as a decision of the Upper Tribunal (UT) showed , the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) tries its...
Mothers Denied Child Residence Orders When a couple split up, it is very common for one of them to wish to move away, often to the area where they grew up or have family. This can create significant issues as far as the children are concerned and disputes in such cases are common. In a recent...
High Court Blocks 'Super-Basement' Extension Plans Basement extensions are increasingly popular, particularly in areas where property prices are high, but are not always looked upon favourably by neighbours. In one case, an objector obtained legal advice and succeeded in blocking plans for a three-storey...
HMRC Provide Calculator for New IHT Relief Like many pieces of tax legislation, the 'additional threshold' (AT) for Inheritance Tax (IHT) – which, in simple terms, limits the potential IHT charge on high-value residential properties – is a lot more complicated than it looks at first...
Managing the Affairs of Missing People Law Passed With the general election hogging the headlines, the passing of the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017 , which received Royal Assent on 27 April 2017, went almost unreported. Although the date on which the Act will come into force has not yet been...
Sale of Goods Law Provides Route to Compensation for Holidaymakers An interesting use of the law relating to the sale of goods helped a couple whose all-inclusive holiday was ruined by gastroenteritis claim compensation from travel group First Choice recently. They claimed damages under the Supply of Goods and Services...
Court Unwilling to Force Family Home Sale Taking legal advice when borrowing for any purpose is important, as a recent case in which a wife faced the possibility of the sale of her home when her husband was made bankrupt shows. When he faced financial difficulties in 2005, the husband raised a...
Your Right to Claim Tax Relief on Losses Dies With You You can claim tax relief if assets that you have acquired become worthless or loans that you have advanced prove to be irrecoverable. However, in a case that will be required reading for tax professionals, the Upper Tribunal (UT) has ruled that the right...
Car Bonnet Will is Valid, Rules Court There are a number of requirements that must be met for a will to be valid and one of these is that the signing of the will must be witnessed by two people who are not beneficiaries. A recent case before the High Court turned on that point. It was brought...
Couple Ordered to Demolish House Built Without Planning Permission Planning laws are complex and before starting any building work it is always wise to seek professional advice. In one case that proves this point, a couple who almost doubled the size of their country cottage without planning permission were ordered to...
Put it in Writing It is astonishing how often disputes over the beneficial ownership of assets become the subject of lengthy court proceedings. In a case decided in March, an argument about the ownership of a property ended up (at huge cost to the loser) in the Court of...
Birchington solicitors appoint conveyancer to meet property demand We have appointed Licensed Conveyancer Lucy Allen to our Birchington office . Stephanie Power , Partner at Boys & Maughan Birchington (pictured left) explained: “Our work volumes are growing steadily as people move into the area and...
Failure to Take Advice Proves Costly in Family Arrangement No matter how much you may trust relatives or close friends, you should never sign important documents without independent legal advice. In one case that proves the point, a man put his name to a deed that was put before him by his brother but which...
Have You Checked Your Investment Adviser's Credentials? Investment advice is best obtained from authorised professionals and it is unwise to rely on friends' recommendations, no matter how trustworthy they may appear. In one case that proved the point, a currency trader who turned to fraud and lost £500,000...
Power of Attorney Fees Fall With the recent furore over the Government's proposed increase in the cost of obtaining probate on larger estates, currently on ice owing to lack of parliamentary time in the run up to the General Election, it is nice to see that the direction of change in...
High Court Enforcement Officers: can't pay, can they take it away? All you have to do is turn on your television, skip a few channels and you will almost certainly find a program that is following High Court Enforcement Officers (“HCEO”) recovering unpaid debts for people who have gone to court and obtained a...
Danger of Subletting Exposed as Court Orders Flat Sale Owning a long leasehold, particularly one in a block of flats or which is part of a larger development, can be very different from owning a freehold. Typically the obligations of tenants are more proscriptive, being based on an acknowledgement that parts of...
Uninsured Drivers and Compensation Claims When accidents cause damage or injury and the responsible driver is uninsured, a claim can be made to the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), an organisation financed by motor insurers with the intention of compensating those who have been involved in accidents...
Tax Law No Respecter of (Cultural) Tradition An argument that assets which HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said belonged to a deceased man (and were thus subject to Inheritance Tax) were actually owned in whole or in part by his son was rejected by the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) recently . After the son...
High Court Encourages Social Workers to Make Use of Facebook In the Internet era, it is wholly acceptable to use Facebook or other social media to make contact with those who have to be notified of family proceedings. The High Court made that point after being forced to abandon an adoption hearing due to a failure...
Cocktail of Drugs Not Sufficient to Overturn Will Disputes about the validity of wills frequently centre on allegations that the deceased lacked 'mental capacity' when they created a will. In a recent case, the court had to consider whether a man who died less than two months after writing a will was...
Noise Is Not the Only Form of Disturbance - High Court Ruling Disturbance can take many forms and noise is just one of them. Planners made that point in heeding the concerns of residents of a quiet cul-de-sac and scotching plans for a 30-flat supported living development on the edge of a seaside town. The would-be...
Indemnity Insurance Comes to the Rescue in Identity Fraud Case On the rare occasion that a professional adviser makes a mistake or behaves improperly, clients should be able to be confident of being compensated in full. A recent case shows how a client's potential loss at the hands of identity fraudsters was met by...
Financial Advice to Become More Common? We have often written about the dangers of taking advice from unqualified and/or unregulated advisers. A recent change in the regulations surrounding financial advice will cause some concern for those with friends or relatives who may be influenced by...
Giving Up Your Career to Get Married? Think Twice! A person who voluntarily prioritises their marriage over their working life may not be entitled to compensation for the earnings foregone if their relationship ends in divorce. The Court of Appeal made that point in ruling on the case of a former headteacher...
Assets of Elderly Are Target of Wrongdoers Where there is money, there is opportunity for wrongdoing and a steady stream of cases show that vigilance is needed to prevent the assets of the deceased or elderly being misappropriated. In one case, three cleaners of a deceased South Wales man claimed to...
Court Urges Simplification of 'Right to Manage' Rules As a recent case shows , whilst there is legislation which, in certain circumstances, allows leaseholders to obtain the right to manage the buildings they occupy, the process is replete with traps and it makes sense to proceed in such cases only with the...
Bank Mistake - HMRC Still Levy Penalty When a taxpayer named Mr Coomber sent his cheque by post to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to settle his tax demand, he thought that would be the end of the matter. He paid the tax bill on 2 February 2016 and, as late as 1 March 2016, HMRC mistakenly told...
Divorce: Asset Division Not Always Equal In general, there is a presumption that on divorce the assets will be split more or less equally, but that is based on case law interpretation of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 , not statute. Currently, a Bill in the House of Lords (the Divorce (Financial...
Accountant Forged Mother's $50 Million Will Will disputes can be extremely bitter and the kind of skulduggery depicted in fiction sadly sometimes reflects reality. In one case, the High Court found that a well-respected accountant had forged his mother's will in order to gain control of business...
Probate Charges Increase Likely to Be Delayed The Government has acknowledged that the upcoming general election makes it unlikely that probate fees will increase significantly in May as planned, as there will not be time for Parliament to pass the legislation. The planned changes to the fees payable...
Charity Report Highlights Need for Trustee Vigilance The need for charities to exercise strict controls over the disbursement of significant sums was made clear in a recent report by the Charity Commissioners into a small charity. The charity, which operated to promote active sports among the disabled,...
Definitive Plan Decides Boundary Dispute Boundary disputes are commonplace and, unless skilfully mediated, can often spiral out of control, ending up in legal action the cost of which far exceeds the value of the land under dispute. One of the more important principles in such disputes is often a...
Tax Penalties Avoided for Those Affected by IT Glitch With HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) pressing ahead with plans to make 'customers' deal with them only digitally, it is good to see that when a system issue with the EE network meant that some of the company's customers were unable to access the HMRC website...
Court Enforces Pre-Nuptial Agreement When the marriage of a wealthy couple broke up, the English court had the opportunity to consider the impact of two pre-nuptial agreements the couple had made before they wed. The couple, both Swedes, married in 2000 and had had two children by the time...
Problems for Family Unaddressed as People Still Shun Wills The latest research from National Savings and Investments shows that a staggering 64 per cent of adults in the UK have not made a will, and that 38 million adults have made no arrangements for their retirement or provision for long-term care, although half...
Driver Need Not Enforce Wheelchair Space on Bus, Rules Court The Supreme Court has ruled on the long-running dispute between First Bus and a disabled passenger who sued the bus company after a driver declined to intervene when a passenger occupying the wheelchair space refused to move. The disabled passenger, who...
Failure to Reveal All Proves Costly for Developer The standard pre-contract enquiries made by a solicitor when a client is intending to purchase a property include querying whether there are any disputes which may affect the value of the property being purchased. When a woman bought a flat in a block of...
Woman Aged 96 Wins £223,000 for Negligent Investment Advice The complexities of financial advice can be bamboozling, particularly for the elderly, but one High Court case – in which a 96-year-old woman won more than £220,000 in damages in respect of negligent advice – strikingly showed that expert...
Court Corrects Bureaucratic Nightmare for Family One of the most important roles played by judges is to protect individuals against unlawful treatment by the state. In one unique example, the High Court came to the aid of a couple who found themselves caught in a legal nightmare after their twins were...
Solicitor Evidence Crucial in Proving Will Valid A recent case shows the importance of involving a solicitor in the preparation of a will, especially where it is considered that an attempt to invalidate it on the grounds of lack of mental capacity may be made. It involved an elderly man who changed his...
Unexplained Delay Denies Right to Give Evidence A recent case in which a litigant who waited more than a year to file its final defence against a claim had its late submissions rejected by the court is a reminder that tardiness in legal proceedings can have serious consequences. After receiving the...
Tax Evasion Assistance - Changes in the Law New rules which came into effect on 1 January 2017 will see professionals who deliberately aid clients to evade (not avoid, which is legal) tax saddled with penalties of the higher of £3,000 or 100 per cent of the tax they helped their client evade. ...
Carrying Out Building Works? Consult Your Neighbours First! Disputes between neighbours can be agonising, both emotionally and financially, but taking advice at an early stage can swiftly draw the sting. In one case where matters were allowed to get out of hand, a pensioner was left at risk of losing his home after...
Boys & Maughan conveyancing team shortlisted for prestigious national award We have this week been shortlisted for the Solicitors Journal national Conveyancing Team of the Year Award. Our firm, which has offices across Thanet and in Canterbury , is one of five finalists. The shortlist is being judged by a respected judging...
Massive Increases in Probate Charges on Large Estates on the Way Probate fees, which rose sharply only three years ago, are about to rise again. Under the present scheme an application for probate by an individual costs £215 and by a solicitor £155, but from May 2017 a new tariff is being introduced which...
New Powers Proposed to Make Family Financial Settlements Effective The problem of making family financial settlements or court rulings in divorce 'stick' is well known. Following an extensive consultation process, the Law Commission has made proposals designed to improve the situation for those affected when payments are...
Supreme Court Overturns Daughter's Will Claim Award A surprising Court of Appeal decision that a daughter was a 'dependant' of her estranged mother and thus entitled to benefit from her estate has now been overturned by the Supreme Court. Heather Ilott had been deliberately excluded from the will of her...
Attorney Who Forged Will to Accelerate Inheritance Given Jail Term When an elderly man died owning both a house and a half share in an attached property with his sister, whose financial affairs were already being administered by a cousin under a power of attorney, the scene was set for the cousin to seize ownership of the...
Where is a Taxpayer 'Ordinarily Resident'? The answer to the vital question of whether a taxpayer is 'ordinarily resident' in the UK depends on many factors. In one such case, a billionaire businessman received an £84 million tax bill after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) refused to accept that...
Housing Association Tenant Pays Price for Unlawful Subletting Social housing tenants are not normally permitted to sublet their properties. Where it is discovered that they have, an Unlawful Profits Order (UPO) can be made to recover any profit made by the tenant. This is normally based on the difference between the...
Should I seek compensation through a small claims court? A small claim is one where the amount claimed is no more than £10,000 (the amount in personal injury claims is different). Many people find that they can avoid or minimise legal fees when they decide to make a claim. Here we provide...
Bankruptcy Can Be a Fresh Start - But Only For Those Who Cooperate! Bankruptcy gives debtors the chance to wipe the slate clean and make a fresh start – but such opportunities are only open to those who cooperate with creditors: the law is tireless in its pursuit of those who do not. That point was made by one High...
Court Orders Must Be Obeyed - But Caring Pensioner Was Wrongly Jailed Disobeying court orders is ultimately punishable by imprisonment – but only as a last resort. In the context of a family case, the Court of Appeal has ruled that a woman in her 70s, who honestly believed that she was doing her best for a vulnerable...
Investment Opportunity? Take Advice First Promises of generous returns on backing novel products can be awfully tempting for investors, but such investments should only be undertaken with the benefit of professional advice. In one case that underlined the point, the creator of a weight-loss drink...
Changes in Trustees - Who Appoints New Trustees? Trusts are relatively common and the death of a trustee is by no means rare. A trust deed normally contains a clause stipulating how new trustees are to be appointed in the event of the death, incapacity or inability to serve of a trustee, and normally it is...
Expert Resolution of Boundary Dispute 'Final and Binding' Neighbours engaged in boundary disputes would generally be wise to submit their differences to an independent expert for resolution, rather than fighting it out in court. However, as one High Court case underlined , it is important to remember that the...
IVAs and Mental Capacity - Test Case Ruling Can individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) be valid if debtors who enter into them lack the mental capacity to make rational decisions? In an important test case that has clarified the law, the High Court answered that question in the affirmative . The...
Reliance on Accountant's Advice Prevents Penalty When a man inherited a property, he and his wife rented it out and later put it on the market for sale. In May 2010, they exchanged contracts for sale. They moved into the property at the end of June that year and lived in it for nearly a month, moving out...
What is a statutory declaration and how can they be used? A statutory declaration is a formal statement made affirming that something is true to the best knowledge of the person making the declaration. It has to be signed in the presence of a solicitor, commissioner for oaths or notary public. Statutory...
Trustee of Deceased Bankrupt Cannot Claim Payment From Spouse Financial problems are frequently connected with marital problems, and the interplay between family law and insolvency law can produce legal complications. In a recent instance, the court had to decide what to do about a claim from the receiver in...
Lack of Diligence Costs House Purchaser House buyers often regard any inspection of a property beyond that undertaken by the surveyor acting for their mortgage provider as unnecessary. A recent case shows why this is a risky approach to take. Under British law, the purchaser of a property takes...
Court Rejects Unprovable Claim of Property Gift Arguments over the division of estates are unfortunately common where the value of the assets they contain is substantial, especially if family relationships are fractious. In such circumstances, the distribution of an estate can be delayed by legal...
Council Held to Account Over False Claims Press releases circulated by public authorities enjoy a high level of credence and are widely published across the media. However, their accuracy is not guaranteed and, in one case, a man who was wrongly accused of causing the death of rare breed cattle in...