Following a recent case where a man who had split up with his co-habiting partner 17 years ago, and was awarded a half share in the house they once lived in, even though he had never paid the mortgage.
Please contact Pam Wilson on 0161 830 4600 to discuss the implications further.
For further advice and detail please contact Pam Wilson on 0161 830 4600
Clients who want to make a Will should be encouraged to sign a lasting power of attorney at the same time, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Junior justice minister Bridget Prentice is concerned that only 100,000 LPAs have been registered so far. In an interview on the BBCs Today radio programme, she said that increasing life expectancy means that every person in Britain should have an LPA in place, ready to be used when necessary.
The material was collected from members of the society's Probate Section. Members submitted tales of shoddy wills that leave the deceased's estates wholly or partially intestate, or which include poor tax planning. One submission described a will-writing company being wound up and disappearing with all their clients' will documents. Some firms advertised low-cost wills but later presented a much larger bill, typically padded by storage fees.
Lord Hunt states "most of our fellow citizens would surely be taken aback to learn that anyone can currently set himself or herself up as a will-writer and also that some aspects of probate activity can take place outside the regulatory net"
Flexible Working
The right to request flexible working under the statutory flexible working regime is now extended to employees with children under the age of 17.
SMP
Statutory Maternity Pay, paternity pay and adoption pay increases to £123.06 (from £117.18) per week and statutory sick pay increases to £79.15 (from £75.40) per week.
Annual Holidays
The statutory minimum annual holiday entitlement increases from 24 to 28 days for a full-time employee (inclusive of public holidays).
The four one-hour episodes of “The Barristers” aim to give viewers an insight into the life and work of advocates in criminal, family and other branches of civil law, and into the BVC and pupillages.
The series is co-produced by the Open University. Gary Slapper, Open University professor of law and academic adviser to the series, said: “People are aware of the Bar, but their knowledge is based on fiction – what goes on in courts and how barristers work are still largely a mystery.
The case involved a collision with a horse at a riding school and the defendant instructed loss adjusters to defend the claim. The loss adjusters carried out investigations, obtained witness statements and, in the judge's words, "all types of work which would normally be carried out by solicitors in the context of this type of litigation".
An increase in the national minimum wage from £5.52 to £5.73 an hour for adult workers has come into force.
Employees do not need to explain to their employers what was the ‘last straw’ that made them resign to rely on constructive dismissal.
In Thornton Print v Morton (UKEAT/0900/08/JOJ), the EAT upheld the original tribunal’s finding that Morton did not have to refer to the ‘last straw’ in his grievance letter because it was merely the occasion that led him to accept an earlier repudiatory breach which had not been waived.
Given recent events in the financial markets, it is perhaps timely to revisit the issue of lump sums versus periodical payments in taking an award for damages.
The scheme offers paralegals who have little chance of securing a traning contract the opportunity to become solicitors as long as they achieve certain standards laid down by the SRA. Nottingham Law School will be acting as external assessor.
Those with training contracts will face a toughened up assessment process, based on the same SRA outcomes, which it is hoped will help the raise the quality of all newly qualified solicitors.
Road traffic accident cases comprise approximately 75% of personal injury claims. This new streamlined procedure provides for early notification of claims valued between £1,000 and £10,000.
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