Latest News

Parents Can Accept Gift of Property on Boy's Behalf

The Family Court recently considered an application by the parents of a 15-year-old boy for authorisation to accept a gift of a share in a property on his behalf, in exercise of their parental responsibility. The boy's father owned a property in...

ET Has Jurisdiction to Hear 'Same Disadvantage' Claim

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that where a provision, criterion or practice (PCP) puts people with a protected characteristic at a disadvantage, protection from indirect discrimination under Section 19 of the Equality Act 2010 can...

Homeowner Defeats Application to Modify Restrictive Covenant

A homeowner has successfully argued before the Upper Tribunal (UT) that an application by the owner of adjoining land to modify a restrictive covenant should be refused . A small cottage had originally stood on the adjoining land, but had been badly...

Head Landlord Wins Appeal Against Rent Repayment Order

A man who let a house to a company which in turn let rooms in it to tenants has succeeded in his appeal against a rent repayment order after the Upper Tribunal (UT) concluded that he was not the tenants' immediate landlord and therefore no such order could...

Court Authorises Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Treatment

When deciding whether it is in a patient's best interests to continue life-sustaining treatment, the courts will look to the patient's views and beliefs, where known, as well as the medical evidence. In a sad case concerning a 66-year-old man in a state of...

Half-Brother Entitled to Benefit from Family Trust

The High Court has recently ruled that a man is entitled to benefit under a family trust despite finding that he was not the biological child of the settlor. The trust had been set up by a businessman in 2003 and included as its beneficiaries 'the...

Family Court Rules on Meaning of Pre-Nuptial Agreement

A pre-nuptial agreement (PNA) will be taken into account when a couple divorces, as long as it has been freely entered into and it is fair to hold the parties to it. Recently, the Family Court was called upon to decide how the terms of a PNA affected the...

Prospective Tenant Loses Deposit After Failed Credit Check

When prospective tenants are asked to pay a holding deposit, they should ensure that they disclose any information that might affect a landlord's decision whether to offer them a tenancy. Recently, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) dealt with an application for...

Declaration of Parentage Granted Despite Missing Consent Forms

Unmarried couples who hope to have children together via fertility treatment must comply with a number of requirements in order for both partners to be legally recognised as parents, but if a mistake is made in the documentation, the courts can often assist....

Landlord Served With Improvement Notice Wins Appeal

Can a local housing authority serve an improvement notice under Section 12 of the Housing Act 2004 in respect of a hazard that may or may not exist? This question was raised in a landlord's recent appeal to the Upper Tribunal (UT). The landlord had been...

Businessman's Final Will Ruled Invalid

The High Court has ruled that a businessman's final will, which left most of his estate to his two youngest children and largely disinherited his two eldest children, was invalid. The businessman had been diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2010. Before making...

Life-Sustaining Treatment Not in Disabled Boy's Best Interests

In cases of serious injury or disability, judges may be called upon to make difficult decisions about whether it is in the patient's best interests to continue life-sustaining treatment. A tragic High Court case concerning a severely disabled four-year-old...

Wife's Needs Must Be Met Despite Pre-Marital Agreement

When couples divorce, the courts will take pre-marital agreements (PMAs) into account but will also consider the needs of each spouse. This principle was demonstrated recently in financial remedy proceedings before the Family Court. The couple had signed...

Woman and Ex-Husband Must Repay Funds Missing from Mother's Estate

A woman and her ex-husband who allegedly lost substantial funds belonging to the woman's mother have been ordered by a judge to pay back the missing money. After the mother died in 2019, at the age of 86, the woman's sister brought proceedings in an effort...

Tenant Succeeds in Reducing Insurance Costs

Tenants who feel that they are being overcharged for services in connection with their properties are able to challenge the reasonableness of their charges. The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) recently reduced the amount a tenant was required to pay for insurance...

RTM Company Cannot Recover Legal Fees from Tenant

When incurring costs in respect of a property, landlords should consider at an early stage whether these will be recoverable through the tenants' service charges. A right to manage (RTM) company recently failed to persuade the Upper Tribunal (UT) that legal...

Court of Appeal Overturns Finding of Inflicted Injury

The Court of Appeal has overturned a Family Court decision that tibia fractures sustained by a 10-month-old girl had been inflicted deliberately or recklessly by one of her parents. The parents were in a long-standing, stable relationship. The girl had...

Will Made Following 'Predatory' Marriage Set Aside

The will of a man who married his carer less than a year before he died and left everything to her has been set aside after his daughter challenged its validity. The man was 93 years old when he married his carer, who was then aged 54. Following the...

Pilot Illness Not Extraordinary Circumstance, Supreme Court Rules

Under Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) 261/2004 (Regulation 261), an airline is not obliged to pay compensation where flights are delayed or cancelled due to 'extraordinary circumstances' which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had...

Sign Prevents Acquisition of Right of Way

The Upper Tribunal (UT) recently ruled on an appeal against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) that a sign saying there was no public right of way over a staircase did not prevent a private right of way being acquired over it. The staircase had...

Financial Order Set Aside Due to Husband's Bankruptcy

The High Court has ruled that a financial remedies order requiring a husband to transfer his half share of the former matrimonial home to his wife could not stand because he had been made bankrupt by the time it was made. The couple had separated in 2017,...

Application to Modify Restrictive Covenant Succeeds

The Upper Tribunal (UT) has granted a social housing provider's application to modify a restrictive covenant so as to allow it to proceed with a residential property development. The relevant land was sold in 1975 subject to a conveyance limiting its use...

High Court Ruling in Will Forgery Case

An allegation that a will is a forgery can be hard to prove. However, such an allegation was successfully made out in a High Court case concerning an elderly man who died during the COVID-19 pandemic. The man had passed away in February 2021. A firm of...

Court Refuses to Order Girl's Return to Lithuania

When making decisions about where and with whom a child should live, the courts will prioritise the welfare of the child and will take the child's own views into consideration where appropriate. In a recent case, the High Court rejected a father's...

Ruling That LPAs Not Valid Upheld

Lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) allow you to appoint someone else to make decisions in respect of your property and financial affairs, and/or your health and welfare, in the event that you lose the capacity to do so yourself. However, an LPA must comply...
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