Manual Handling The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has reminded employers of their legal duties with regard to manual handling, after an employee was injured when a 50kg sack of basmati rice fell onto the back of his neck…
The combination of a deathbed marriage, a millionaire and a new will was always likely to end in a court battle, and so it proved recently when a family challenged their late father’s will, which left everything to his…
When an obvious error is made, the courts will sometimes be willing to correct the mistake – but not always. In a recent case, the court was asked to consider wills executed by an elderly couple. Each will was…
The newspapers have recently reported several incidences of the exploitation of vulnerable elderly people. In one such case, Stevenage care worker Jo-ann Tharle has been jailed for the theft of savings of more than £10,000 from an elderly man…
A double-taxation agreement between the UK Treasury and the Cayman Islands was signed last month. Described as ‘an arrangement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion’, the agreement spells bad news for tax evaders who…
On 6 April 2011, many trusts will cease to be as attractive a vehicle in which to hold assets as they were when they were originally set up and so now is a good time to review any trusts with…
Wills It is a common misconception that following your death, your assets will pass automatically to your nearest and dearest. However, this may not necessarily be the case. If a person dies intestate (without making a will) the "Rules of…
Will Stands Despite Family Challenge It is often the case that families consider they are entitled to inherit the estate of a relative, but in most cases people are free to distribute their assets as they see fit. In a…
IHT and Agricultural Property - Europe Demands Equal Treatment The European Commission (EC) has requested the UK to cease its discriminatory application of Inheritance Tax relief for agricultural property. What the EC is objecting to is not the relief, but…
The Law on Enduring Powers of Attorney has Changed We understand that not all of our clients have Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) and we would like to bring the following to your attention. From 1st October 2007 EPAs were…