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A will purported to have been made by an elderly woman during lockdown has been declared invalid because she had not signed it in the presence of two or more witnesses, as required by Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 . The will was dated 25 April 2020,...
A food producer has agreed to compensate an employee who was electrocuted while working at one of its factories. Having plugged in a portable vibration bed machine that had been placed under a conveyor belt, the man leaned forward to check that it was...
Where the record of a property's title at the Land Registry contains a mistake, Paragraph 5(a) of Schedule 4 of the Land Registration Act 2002 allows the register to be altered to correct it. The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) recently granted a homeowner's...
It is essential to ensure that court orders are complied with during divorce proceedings. Recently, the Family Court refused a wife's application for relief from sanctions due to her failure to file and exchange her witness statement in accordance with a...
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has come to the aid of a taxpayer who claimed that he had been a victim of fraud in relation to claims for Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) relief, granting permission for him to make a late appeal against assessments and...
The High Court has upheld a woman's challenge to a will allegedly made by her late father, finding that the defendants had failed to establish on the balance of probabilities that it was genuine. The will had purportedly been executed in 2019, the year...
The High Court has dismissed a pub chain's appeal against an award of damages of £4,500 to a former employee after it gave out her mother's mobile phone number to her violent and abusive ex-partner. The woman had worked at one of the chain's pubs for...
In a guideline case, the Court of Protection has granted an application by an observer to a hearing for disclosure of the parties' position statements . The proceedings related to a patient who was suffering from a prolonged disorder of consciousness. The...
The Law Commission is to review the law relating to the product liability regime set out in the Consumer Protection Act 1987 . The regime was intended to give consumers a straightforward route to claiming compensation for certain harms caused by defective...
In a case relating to the division of assets under a pre-nuptial agreement (PNA), the Family Court has ruled that a wife should be allowed to amend her case to formally plead conduct under Section 25(2)(g) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 . It was common...
It is wise to seek legal advice before making an application to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) for a determination of liability to pay service charges. Recently, the FTT was unable to rule conclusively on whether the tenants of two flats were liable to...
A significant compensation settlement has been negotiated for a cyclist who was seriously injured in a road traffic accident. The cyclist was on her way to work when a car travelling in the opposite direction suddenly veered into her path and collided with...
It is important to ensure you fully understand the rules of any tax reliefs claimed and take advice if necessary. Recently, the Upper Tribunal (UT) dismissed an entrepreneur's appeal against a decision that the provision of a Director's Loan Account (DLA)...
A holidaymaker who suffered a broken foot when a defective wardrobe door in her hotel room fell on her has received compensation from the tour operator. The accident happened on the last night of the young woman's holiday in Greece. She and her partner were...
The High Court recently rejected a challenge to the will of a woman who had experienced memory issues prior to making it. The woman had made the will in 2008. She left her interest in her and her husband's house to her elder daughter. After bequests of...
A woman in her 70s who suffered a serious shoulder injury after falling down steps at the golf club where she worked has obtained a compensation settlement. She was dazzled by lights as she was walking down the steps, which did not have a handrail. She lost...
When considering issues relating to parental responsibility for children, one of the factors the courts will have regard to under Section 1(3) of the Children Act 1989 is the children's wishes and feelings, in the light of their age and understanding....
The register of a property's title can be rectified if it contains a mistake. The question of what constitutes proof of a mistake was the subject of a recent case in which the Upper Tribunal (UT) allowed a homeowner's appeal against a decision that title...
A cyclist who sustained a serious leg injury after she was hit by a car has secured a compensation settlement. The accident happened when the driver of the car failed to give way at a roundabout. The cyclist was knocked off her bike and fractured her right...
The Government has published its response to the final report of the Digitisation Taskforce . The Taskforce has been assessing how the UK can eliminate the use of paper share certificates for traded companies, which create inefficiencies and costs for...
When deciding what is in the best interests of a patient who lacks capacity to make decisions about their care, the courts will take into account any wishes and feelings expressed by the patient as well as the medical evidence. Recently, the Court of...
The best way to ensure that your estate will pass to those you wish is to make a will and ensure it is kept up to date. Having a will in place will also make it easier to administer your estate. Figures from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) show that the...
The Court of Appeal has allowed a husband's appeal against a High Court decision upholding the validity of a pre-nuptial agreement (PNA), ruling that the wife's failure to disclose a significant proportion of her assets rendered the PNA invalid. The...
All land in England ultimately belongs to the Crown. In a recent case which serves as something of a cautionary tale , a couple who were the directors and shareholders of a company that had owned a property when it was dissolved have been unsuccessful in...
A woman has secured compensation for injuries she suffered when another car collided with hers. The accident happened when she was driving around a traffic island. The other car veered into her lane, leading to a collision. Following the accident she went...
A woman who was injured when she fell over a paving stone on the first day of her holiday has obtained compensation. The woman was on a package holiday in Turkey with her husband. They were on their way to dinner and were walking along a path consisting of...
The Government has confirmed plans to bring most unused pension funds and death benefits within the scope of Inheritance Tax (IHT) from 6 April 2027. The plans were originally announced at the Autumn Budget 2024. This was followed by a technical...
A grocery wholesaler has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and fined £1 million following an accident in which a worker was killed by a reversing HGV. The man and a colleague were making a delivery to a store when the accident...
The High Court has ruled that a will made by an elderly woman less than two years before she died was invalid because she lacked testamentary capacity when it was made. The woman had died in October 2014 at the age of 95. In January 2013 she had made a...
In a ruling that clarifies the circumstances in which non-matrimonial assets can become 'matrimonialised', the Supreme Court has upheld a decision of the Court of Appeal that a transfer of assets from a husband to a wife as part of a tax planning exercise...
A woman who was seriously injured in a hit-and-run incident in a supermarket car park has obtained substantial damages. The driver had been involved in a violent confrontation before leaving in his car. He was driving recklessly through the car park and ran...
Paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 gives the Court of Protection the power to exercise its functions under the Act in relation to an adult who is habitually resident in England and Wales. It is therefore sometimes necessary for the...
The licensing regime for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) exists to protect the safety and welfare of tenants. Recently, four tenants of an unlicensed HMO obtained rent repayment orders totalling £23,177. The tenants had rented a four-bedroom...
A man who was left with permanent paralysis when the carbon forks on his gravel bike snapped has secured compensation. The accident happened when the man, who worked as a doctor for the NHS, was riding on a grass slope. He suffered a severe spinal cord...
Anyone who requires assistance with their tax affairs should ensure that they deal with a reputable and appropriately regulated advisor. Recently, a courier who claimed rebates for work expenses on the basis of misleading advice was unsuccessful in his...
A young man whose finger had to be amputated after his hand became trapped in a machine is set to receive compensation. The teenager was an assistant supervisor at a recycling centre. He had been working there for less than two months when his hand became...
The Family Division of the High Court has granted a mother's application for her younger daughter, who was living with her father in the USA, to be returned to the UK. The mother and father had decided to separate in 2020 but, due to the COVID-19...
Recent figures from HM Courts and Tribunals Service show that the waiting time for grants of probate has remained steady for several months, following delays in processing probate applications in recent years. The average time from submission of a probate...
In certain circumstances, a member of a club whose membership is unfairly terminated may be able to obtain legal redress. In a recent case, a woman who was expelled from a prestigious golf club after she was accused of cheating in a competition has succeeded...
A substantial compensation settlement has been secured for a man who suffered life-changing injuries when his motorcycle was hit by a car. He was riding back from work at night when a car that was involved in a police chase hit him at high speed while...
The leaseholders of a flat in a separate wing of a country house have succeeded in their appeal against a determination that they were liable to pay service charges in respect of the common parts of the house. The leaseholders had purchased the flat in...
Under the Animals Act 1971 , a keeper of an animal that does not belong to a 'dangerous species' is liable for damage caused by the animal if: the damage is of a kind which the animal, unless restrained, was likely to cause or which, if caused by the...
The Family Court has ruled on an application for financial remedies in a case which involved a range of assets and was characterised by animosity and dispute. The husband and wife had married in Cyprus in 2008 and subsequently lived in London. They...
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has rejected a woman's argument that her former husband was liable to tax on half of the income from a rental property they jointly owned. She and her husband had bought the property in 2013. In 2015 her husband went on...
In cases regarding medical treatment, judges sometimes have to make difficult decisions urgently in very sad circumstances. Recently, the Court of Protection ruled that it was in the best interests of a woman with anorexia to be fed while under general...
A steel fabricator has secured damages after his foot was crushed in an accident at work. His employer had instructed him to weld together a skid for use in the mining industry. However, he was not given appropriate instructions on how to carry out this...
A woman who stole her daughters' inheritance has been handed a prison sentence and ordered to pay back the money. The woman's mother passed away in 2013. The woman received an inheritance of about £40,000 from her mother's house, while £50,000...
An investigation by consumer champion Which? has revealed that a number of 'eco plugs', which are widely available on online marketplaces, are ineffective and potentially dangerous. The plugs are marketed as being able to reduce electricity usage by...
The Family Division of the High Court has granted a couple's application for a parental order in respect of a boy who was born to a surrogate mother in California. The case raised an important welfare issue in that the intended parents were both in their...
The Upper Tribunal (UT) has rejected a landowner's appeal against the dismissal of his application for the determination of a boundary between a strip of land he owned and the garden of a neighbouring house. He had originally owned a large house with...
