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You are in principle entitled to bequeath your worldly wealth to whoever you choose. However, as a High Court decision made clear, the law will intervene if you ignore your moral obligations when making your will. A successful motor dealer and property investor, who died at the age of 95, left the whole of his seven-figure estate to his granddaughter. His son and sole surviving child received nothing. The son's response was to launch proceedings under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, seeking reasonable provision from his...

DIY house builders are entitled to refunds of VAT they pay on materials used in their projects. However, as a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) showed, seeking such rebates is far from straightforward and a strict time limit applies. A man applied for a VAT refund after self-building a house for himself in the grounds of his father's home. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), however, refused the application on the basis that it had not been made within three months of the property's completion, as required by the Value...

A change to intestacy law recently announced by the government has increased the sum of money that spouses and civil partners of people who die without having made a will are entitled to receive. The change has been introduced via a statutory instrument – the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (Fixed Net Sum) Order 2020 – which came into force on 6 February. It means that the statutory legacy entitlement for a surviving spouse or civil partner has risen from £250,000 to £270,000. It is important to remember that, under current...

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,...