An executor who stole more than £80,000 from the estate of a client faces a jail sentence for his crime. The man, who operated as a ‘will writer’, also faces a confiscation order against his assets. Much of the money was used to finance a...

An easement is a right over someone else’s land, such as a right of way. Once granted, rights of easement are frequently forgotten about, but a recent case shows the importance of making sure that an easement does not lapse through disuse. It...

The argument put forward by a farmer that he should retain the family farm after his divorce, because it had been in his family for generations and his wife was aware that it was the family tradition for it to be handed down from generation to generation,...

Following a series of cases involving unqualified will writers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has announced that it has approved a Code of Practice which will apply to members of the Institute of Professional Will Writers (IPW). The code of practice will...

Those who buy new homes 'off plan' now have significant new protection under the Consumer Code for Home Builders , which came into affect on 1 April 2010. The Code requires builders of houses to keep buyers informed of the progress of the construction...

The penalties for failure to pay child maintenance, which can be severe, are not affected by the statute of limitations that normally applies to debts. A father who had failed to pay maintenance for several years recently found himself subject to a...

When an estate containing assets such as property or unquoted shares is to be distributed amongst several beneficiaries, there is potential for dispute over the valuations of assets. A case which is now starting to occupy court time illustrates this point....

An owner of an estate was recently successful in preventing the creation of a public right of way, thanks to a previous owner who had disputed a planning enquiry nearly 30 years previously. The dispute involved a pathway which a local planning...

Divorce is rarely a simple process: the financial negotiations can be time-consuming and difficult, particularly if business interests form a substantial part of a couple's wealth. There are certain problems which are particularly relevant to...

One of the more contentious issues in the administration of estates arises when the deceased had remarried, leaving ‘old’ and ‘new’ families, which often take different views about how the estate should be divided. The High Court...