Trust, Wills and Probate

The power of trust beneficiaries to direct in certain circumstances the actions of the trustees of the trust under which they benefit was clearly shown in a recent High Court...

When the owners of houses that were built on piles discovered that the walls of their properties were cracking, they established that the reason for the problem was that the...

In 2011, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) challenged more than 10,000 Inheritance Tax (IHT) returns, according to accountants UHY Hacker Young. Each challenge yielded an average increase in IHT payable...

Mistakes are mistakes, but in law, when a legal claim is made, the fact that a mistake was made is only the first step to obtaining damages. The second step...

With costs rising and government funding being cut, councils are increasingly seeking to make savings in their care budgets – and for elderly disabled people, this can mean substantial increases...

When the developer of a block of flats (who owned the freehold) decided to relocate the parking spaces allocated to the tenants so that it could build another block of...

When a Yorkshire farmer disinherited his son and left the whole of his estate to his daughter, the son challenged the will in court. The son had worked with his...

The general rule that in litigation the loser pays the winner’s legal costs does not always apply, as a successful claimant found recently. The claim was made in the...

When a couple inherited a house from the deceased parent of one of them, they decided that they did not wish to retain it in the long term and subsequently...

In 2011, there were nearly three million unmarried cohabiting couples, with or without children, in the United Kingdom. Many of these may not be aware that if their relationship were...