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A claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision from a deceased person's estate must be brought within six months of the grant of probate or letters of administration being issued, unless the...

Landlords would be well advised to check the terms of their leases before undertaking any projects that may cause problems with issuing service charge demands. Recently, the Upper Tribunal (UT) ruled that a local authority landlord must wait to collect...

Disputes over ownership of land all too often become protracted and lead to costs out of proportion to the value of the land involved. Recently, the Upper Tribunal (UT) ruled on a dispute over a strip of land with an area of just 2.2 square metres. The...

A marriage is generally recognised in English law if it is valid under the law of the country in which it takes place, a legal principle known as lex loci celebrationis (the law of the place of the celebration). That principle was central to a recent...

The drafting of an offer of employment can be crucial in determining whether its acceptance leads to the creation of a legally binding contract. Recently, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that a man's acceptance of a job offer had created a binding...

When savers deposit money in a fixed-term account or an account that requires notice of withdrawals, they may well assume that, if they incur a penalty for early withdrawal, they will only have to pay tax on the net amount of interest received. However, such...

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has rejected a challenge by a descendant of the artist Pablo Picasso to an application to register the word 'Picasso' as a trade mark . A company had applied to register 'Picasso' as a trade mark in respect of whiskey...

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed its compensation scheme for car buyers who were not given important information when taking out motor finance. The scheme covers motor finance loans taken out between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024....

Dependants who have not been adequately provided for in a deceased person's will may be able to make a claim for financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 . Recently, the High Court considered such a claim by...

Companies intending to raise funds through schemes that offer tax relief to investors should always obtain expert advice to ensure they comply fully with the rules applying to those schemes. Recently, two companies that had issued shares under the Enterprise...

Where a mortgage lender claims possession of a property that has been let without the lender's permission, the Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010 gives tenants the right to apply to the courts to postpone the date for delivery of...

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a failure by a litigant in person to include his Particulars of Claim when making an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) was a minor error, overturning the EAT's decision that he should not be granted an...

The government's website provides guidance for landlords on changes contained in the Renters' Rights Act 2025 . Key changes which will take effect on 1 May 2026 include: The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs). All existing ASTs will...

In certain circumstances, the courts are able to grant permission for continued storage of gametes or embryos where the strict legislative requirements for consent to such storage have not been complied with. Recently, the High Court considered 15...

Business agreements should always be formally documented, and failing to do so is a recipe for dispute in the future. Recently, the Court of Appeal dismissed a man's appeal against the rejection of his claim that he had been promised a 50 per cent share in...

The Presidents of the Employment Tribunals in England & Wales and Scotland have issued a joint Ninth Addendum, updating earlier Presidential Guidance issued on 5 September 2017, announcing the rates payable for the three bands that are used by Employment...

The Income Tax rates and allowances for the 2026/27 tax year are largely unchanged from 2025/26. The Personal Allowance – the amount you can earn before you begin to pay Income Tax – remains at £12,570. It reduces by £1 for every...

Where a partnership's members include a company, the company's share of the partnership's profits is calculated as if the partnership's trade was carried on by a company, by virtue of Section 1259 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 . The Court of Appeal...

From 1 May 2026, changes brought in by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 will provide more rights and better protection to tenants in the private rented sector. Changes introduced by the Act include: The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies. All...

A woman's family have succeeded in their challenge to a will purporting to leave her £500,000 estate to her partner after a judge ruled that the will was a forgery. The woman had made a will in 2022 leaving her estate in trust to her daughter. After...