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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...

The recent Budget contained an announcement that will be unwelcome news for some property owners. The sale of a person's principal private residence has always received favourable treatment for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes. Normally such sales are exempt from CGT. The relief has traditionally extended to properties which have been the main residence of the owner for only a part of the period of ownership. In such cases, the gain on the sale of the property is apportioned on a time basis between the period it was used as the...

Proposals to link the cost of being granted probate over an estate valued at more than £5,000 (currently fixed at £215 for those applying individually or £155 if applying through a solicitor) to the value of the estate were announced in 2017 but were quickly dropped amidst a storm of protest. That, however, was not the end of the matter, because the proposals have been brought back in modified form. Under the new plans, those with an estate worth less than £50,000 will have probate granted without charge, but a...

The leasehold system in the UK has been crying out for reform for years, and the Government has decided to tackle the issues through the medium of a new consultation paper called 'Fixing our broken housing market'. The chief target for the Government has been the use of leaseholds for the sale of new properties, which is seen as a way that developers can receive a passive income as well as their development profit. One of the solutions to this problem will be capping the ground rent per property at...