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Imprecise drafting in a will is a recipe for litigation and dispute later on. A recent High Court decision on the interpretation of an ambiguous clause in a man's will illustrates the kinds of issues that can arise. The man had made a will in 2007 leaving...
Failures by a taxpayer's agent are generally treated as failures by the taxpayer for the purposes of whether there is a good reason for failing to bring an appeal in time. A recent case in which a taxpayer was refused permission to appeal more than three...
Under Section 58(5) of the Family Law Act 1986 , the courts cannot make a declaration that a marriage was void at its inception. That recently proved fatal to an application for a declaration as to marital status by a husband who had undergone a marriage...
When applying for a boundary determination, it is crucial to gather as much evidence as you can in support of your application. Recently, a couple's application for a determination of part of the boundary between their home and neighbouring land was...
When deciding what is in the best interests of a patient who lacks capacity, the courts will take into account any wishes and feelings the patient has previously expressed but will consider them in the context of all the evidence. Recently, the Court of...
The law affords people a high degree of testamentary freedom, and those seeking reasonable financial provision from an estate must satisfy the courts that it was unreasonable that adequate provision was not made for them. Recently, the High Court ruled that...
The High Court has ruled that a three-year-old girl was not habitually resident in England and Wales and it therefore did not have jurisdiction to determine her father's application for her return from the UAE. The girl's mother was a citizen of Pakistan...
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has upheld a taxpayer's appeal against a decision by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that he was resident in the UK in the 2019/20 tax year, finding that 'transit days' and an extra day he spent in the UK after his flight was...
The High Court has ruled that a will made by an elderly woman with dementia, in which she disinherited one of her sons, was invalid due to lack of testamentary capacity and want of knowledge and approval. The woman's previous will, made in 2018, divided...
In certain circumstances, owners of leasehold flats have a legal right to buy the freehold of the building together with other leaseholders. This process is known as collective enfranchisement. For collective enfranchisement to be available, the building...
