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We have often stressed the importance of obtaining high-quality legal advice in any dispute and starting any necessary legal action as soon as possible, and a recent divorce dispute illustrates why. It involved a couple who were divorced in 2015. The financial settlement was made by way of a consent order and, as a result, the ex-wife received a cash settlement in excess of £1.7 million and financial support from her ex-husband for herself and their children. In 2018 she went back to court, claiming that the original settlement had been...

Background Ms Griffith is an Tenant of Mrs Kaur having entered into an Assured Shorthold Tenancy on 6 December 2016. This ended on 5 June 2017 and became a Statutory Periodic Tenancy. A section 21 notice was served on Ms Griffith and an order for possession was made on 13 June 2019. Ms Griffith made an application to set aside the possession order and subsequently instructed Oliver Fisher Solicitors to act for her. A hearing for the defendant’s application to set aside the possession order took place on 25 July 2019...

It is normally essential when creating a legal document to get the procedures right, and failure to do so can cause unnecessary complications. A recent case dealt with the problem of what happens if a person creates a document that contains an error but loses mental capacity to correct the mistake before the error is noticed. In 2016, a woman had executed two lasting powers of attorney (LPAs). One was to deal with her health and welfare and the other her financial affairs. Her husband and two solicitors were appointed as...

Yet another sad case reported recently shows the wisdom of appointing only those who are absolutely trustworthy and/or insured professionals as trustees over your assets. The court heard how a trustee appointed to safeguard the assets of a 17-year-old boy helped herself to up to £2,000 a month out of the trust assets before her fraud was uncovered. The boy's parents both died of natural causes over a short space of time and he was left a lump sum of £125,000 plus a small monthly income. They had appointed a friend...