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If building works on your home go wrong, strong legal representation can ensure that you are properly compensated. In a recent case, a couple who paid over £400,000 for a state-of-the-art home cinema, but did not get the architectural jewel they had bargained for, succeeded in a professional negligence claim against the award-winning architect responsible for the debacle. The couple engaged the architect to design the cinema, which was to grace the pool room of their substantial home. They wanted a sleek modern design, but what they got was a...

The legal ownership of property is not always the same as the beneficial ownership and disputes can arise when no documentation is executed to show the two are different. Such was the case in a recent dispute which occurred after a couple who had two children but never married broke up. The male partner worked in the IT industry and earned the greater part of their income. The female partner was a midwife, who switched to part-time working then gave up work to look after their young children. The couple...

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,...