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Where people lack the mental capacity to make important decisions for themselves, judges will step in to ensure that their best interests are served, as was demonstrated by an unusual case in which the Court of Protection (CoP) authorised the planned Caesarean delivery of a disabled woman's baby, despite her expressed wish for a natural birth. The woman, aged 25, was born with microcephaly and has learning and behavioural difficulties. Living in sheltered accommodation, there was evidence that she understood only simple language and had no inkling of the complications...

When a couple wished to avoid paying Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on the purchase of a property, they hit on what looked to them like a great idea. Instead of buying the property outright, they paid for it in two stages…a deposit, plus the purchase of an annuity to be assigned to the seller. The annuity paid annually was very small, but the seller had the right to redeem it for a lump sum (£726,750), which corresponded to the expected balance due based on the market value of...

Companies are notoriously difficult to value, and particular problems can arise when they form the principal assets to be divided in divorce proceedings. In a big money case on point, the High Court bridged a huge gulf between the value placed by a wife and a husband on the latter's business interests. The couple, who had two children, were married for about seven years. The husband's business interests, principally his 40 per cent shareholding in the company he worked for, represented by far their biggest asset. There was a gaping...

If you feel that you have suffered a wrong of any kind, a delay in taking legal action can put paid to your chances of obtaining justice. A widow who was left nothing in her deceased husband's will found that out to her cost when her hopes of obtaining reasonable financial provision from his estate were dashed. The couple had been married for 13 years but had separated about a year before the husband died. The wife had lodged a divorce petition, but those proceedings were interrupted by her husband's...