A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a document that may be used so that the finances or other issues of a person who cannot deal with them themselves may be attended to by a trusted third party – normally a solicitor or a family member. When an LPA is presented to a bank or other financial institution, it appears to have become normal practice that it must be certified and dated by a solicitor or notary on each page of the document. Source: Concious
Many vulnerable people who fall into debt are tempted to raise cash on the security of their homes. However, a case in which an elderly couple came within an ace of losing the roof over their heads stands as a warning to all that such arrangements should never be entered into without first taking professional advice. In response to a newspaper advertisement, the couple, who were in dire financial straits, contacted a company that promised to put them back in the black. After they were persuaded to sign a blank...
Very rich people often live jet set lifestyles of ceaseless travel, so pinning down the country in which they are domiciled can be a serious challenge. The High Court faced exactly that difficulty in a case concerning the acrimonious breakdown of a relationship between a wealthy divorcee and her boyfriend. The divorcee, who was a woman of immense means, for a number of years enjoyed a lavish and peripatetic lifestyle with her boyfriend, whom she had met at the gym where he worked. After they separated, she launched proceedings against...
A recent case decided by the Scottish Courts shows the wisdom of not making irrevocable decisions that you may later come to regret. It involved a woman who gifted her house to her daughter and son-in-law, retaining a tenancy for life over the property. The couple had lived with her, selling their own house when the son-in-law lost his job. The gift of the title to the property was made about a year later and the new ownership was registered at the Land Registry. As so often happens in such arrangements,...
