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If a loved one upon whom you depend financially fails to make reasonable provision for you in his or her will, judges have the power to put that right. However, there are time limits that apply to such proceedings and that is why it is vital to consult a solicitor straight away. In a recent case, a woman who wished to bring such a claim succeeded in persuading the Court of Appeal that the circumstances of her case meant that the time limit should be extended. The woman was in...

Family judges are always absolutely focused on the welfare of children and will not shrink from grasping nettles to give them the best chance of leading fulfilled and happy lives. That was certainly so in one case in which a judge ordered that a baby boy be taken from his troubled mother's care and sent to live with his father. The mother had been diagnosed as suffering from traits of a personality disorder and her two older children had already been taken into care and placed for adoption. Her history...

Responses to a report from the Civil Justice Council (CJC) setting out proposed measures to better support and protect vulnerable witnesses and parties in civil proceedings are due to be considered following public consultation. The CJC wants to ensure 'a sufficiently proactive and consistent approach to enabling the proper participation in civil litigation of those who are, or may become through involvement in the process, vulnerable'. Its report considers vulnerable parties and witnesses in all types of civil litigation, but was spurred by a recommendation coming out of an independent...

Trust deeds can be an effective means of managing family wealth and minimising tax liabilities but, as a High Court decision strikingly showed, any mistakes in their drafting can have serious repercussions for generations to come. The case concerned a family trust with substantial assets that was created in the 1930s by a woman in contemplation of her son's marriage. It had been amended more than once over the years, most recently by a deed of appointment which created a sub-fund for the benefit of an unmarried male member of...