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A professionally drafted will is something every adult should have. Not only does it provide certainty as to who should inherit your possessions after your death, but it will also make things a lot easier for your executor at a time that is usually stressful. A recent case illustrates this point. It concerned the death of a man whose failure to make a will stating his intentions threatened to deprive his ex-wife and two children of their rightful inheritance when he died suddenly. During the course of his first marriage, the...

Judges interpret tax statutes in the real world and are experienced at looking beyond the detailed provisions of intricate transactions to discern their actual purpose. In a case exactly on point, the Court of Appeal found that Capital Gains Tax (CGT) was payable on the sale of shares in a listed company for £14.3 million. The shares were held in Scottish trusts that had been established by a wealthy family. With a view to avoiding CGT, 'mirror trusts', with Irish-resident trustees, were established in Ireland. By way of put options,...

In order to sue someone, they have to be served with a notice of claim unless the service of the notice can be properly dispensed with. Can the notice of claim be properly dispensed with if the person being claimed against is not only unidentified, but unidentifiable? In a recent case, the Supreme Court decided the answer was no. The case arose after a traffic accident which was the fault of the driver of a Nissan Micra. Another driver was injured but had failed to take the particulars of the driver...

The process of divorce in the UK has for many years been seen as rather long-winded and tending to produce more conflict than need be. One of the reasons for this is that the grounds which demonstrate an 'irretrievable breakdown' of a marriage – the justification for a legal divorce – effectively apportion blame for the breakdown. This can cause the debate to become more argumentative than is necessary. The Government launched a consultation last year and changes to the system were proposed to bring in 'no fault' divorce. These...