My partner and I are separating, what are my rights as a parent? Family lawyers tend to use the term “parental responsibility” rather than “parental rights”. A mother automatically has parental responsibility for her child. However, parental responsibility is only granted to a father if he: Is married to the child’s mother when the child…
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Tax is often quite low down the list of priorities as something to think about, particularly during a relationship breakdown. However, we recommend taking tax advice at an early stage during divorce proceedings. Unless you are properly advised by a taxation specialist, an unexpected tax bill may arise, which is the last thing you will…
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The nightmarish experiences of Kate Garraway in trying to cope with the consequences of her husband Derek Draper’s incapacitation by COVID have been made even worse, as she has explained, because the couple had not made Lasting Powers of Attorney. This has left her unable to get hold of critical financial assets, and with no…
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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to everyone’s lives. Although the government guidance evolves on a daily basis, the current advice is to stay at home unless it is necessary to leave home. This, of course, is impacting the way that we work with our clients. We have, however, introduced new and efficient ways of working that we will continue…
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Basic principles – the Three Steps First, if you own something jointly with someone else, then property law may operate automatically to pass your share to the surviving co-owner/s, outside your estate. This applies only to joint assets held under a ‘joint tenancy’. If an asset is jointly-owned under a ‘tenancy-in-common’, then your share does…
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The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/962), known as the MEES Regulations for reasons that will become obvious, require a “minimum energy efficiency standard” to be met before properties can be let in certain circumstances. The aim is to improve the energy efficiency of both residential and commercial private…
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The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has today confirmed that the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) holiday introduced last year as part of the government’s package of measures to combat the economic impact of Covid-19 is to continue to 30 June 2021. On 8 July 2020 the Chancellor announced that, as a temporary measure, buyers would not…
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How do I know if my lease is protected or not? You should be able to ascertain whether your lease is “inside” or “outside” of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 (“the ’54 Act”) Part II security of tenure provisions quite easily from looking at your lease. You have to “opt out” of them if…
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You have been doing some reading and your home is clearly the most valuable asset in your estate and if you gift it to your children, your estate will not have an expensive Inheritance Tax bill to pay. Or perhaps you have a number of properties and are thinking of giving your second home to…
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If you are a landlord of residential property and have been experiencing problems with your tenant(s) over the last 12 months, you may have served the tenant(s) with a section 21 or section 8 notice to bring the tenancy to an end. If you have issued possession proceedings, you will no doubt have been very…
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