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Inheritance Tax (IHT) is not only payable on the value of the estate of a deceased person, but can also be levied on 'transfers of value' from the deceased's estate in the seven (exceptionally 14) years prior to their death. But what counts as a transfer of value? A recent court case led to a conclusion that many might see as unfair and rather counter-intuitive. It involved a woman who had been divorced from her husband since 2000. As part of the financial settlement on divorce, a 'pension split' was agreed...

You might think that where the boundaries of property lie should be clear, but boundary disputes are a fruitful source of argument in the courts. A recent case arose when, between contracts being exchanged on a property and the completion of its purchase, a row of hedging plants and trees that lay between the property and the neighbouring house had been cut back by the neighbours to the level of the earth bank on which they grew. The buyer claimed the plants were on her property, whilst the neighbours disputed...

It is a mark of a civilised society that anyone who suffers a wrong at the hands of state authorities is entitled to compensation. In a case on point, a prisoner whose release was considerably delayed when the Parole Board was stricken by staff shortages has won the right to substantial damages. The man was sentenced to imprisonment in 2008 after he was convicted of a serious assault. He was ordered to serve a minimum of three years and five months in prison. However, he was only released in 2017...

It may sound overcautious to say so, but it is always worth taking legal advice before entering into any significant arrangement, even when it is with a trusted member of the family. Failing to do so has proved to be an expensive lesson for a woman who has now lost her home as a result of an agreement she entered into with her son. The facts were straightforward. The woman's son needed money and persuaded his mother to let him take out a mortgage on her home. In order to accomplish...