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Adoption of children outside their natural families is always a last resort and will only be permitted if nothing else will do. The Court of Appeal made that point in coming to the aid of a couple whose son was taken from their care when he was just two days old. Social workers removed the boy due, amongst other things, to concerns about the family's chaotic lifestyle, his parents' over-chastisement of their older children and his mother's mental health difficulties. After the couple admitted offences of child cruelty and neglect,...

If you are involved in a dispute with your builder, taking sound legal advice is by far the best means of ensuring that matters do not get out of hand. One householder who failed to take that sensible course found himself embroiled in costly legal proceedings and on the receiving end of a substantial bill. The man engaged a building firm to deal with some persistent leaks in his basement. Rather than entering into a fixed-price contract, he orally agreed to pay the firm a daily rate for its work....

Co-ownership of land by family members can be intensely problematic if they do not see eye to eye as to the use to which it should be put. A High Court case on point focused on a naturalist's ambition to 'rewild' farmland he and his brother had jointly inherited from their father. The naturalist said that the seven plots of land had been in his family for over 600 years and objected to his brother's proposal to sell five of them to a neighbour for £845,000, far in excess of...

New rules surrounding the payment of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on profits made on the sale of a residential property are now just weeks away. Taking effect on 6 April 2020, the changes will reduce the amount of time individuals have to pay their CGT bill and could significantly increase the CGT due on the disposal of a residential property. Current legislation will change in regard to Letting Relief, CGT liability and the tax exemption period on principal private residences. In summary, from April: Residential property disposals will have...