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Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) have many advantages over normal savings accounts – chiefly that the investment income earned on them is tax free and gains within them are not subject to Capital Gains Tax. They are, not surprisingly, widely regarded as a staple tool in the financial planning toolbox. A UK resident can invest up to £20,000 each tax year in an ISA. However, there are disadvantages, one of which is that ISAs are always held by one individual and cannot be held jointly. This means that on death, an...

The widespread belief that 'an Englishman's home is his castle' can all too easily lead the unwary into breaching planning rules. That was certainly so in a case concerning a householder who found herself in serious trouble after splitting her home into two self-contained residential units without planning permission. The woman had built a side-extension to her semi-detached urban home and was authorised to use it as a guest bedroom with an en suite bathroom and a play area. Kitchen facilities were, however, at some stage added and the extension,...

When an investment is made in a capital asset that subsequently becomes valueless, the loss can normally be used to reduce future liabilities to Capital Gains Tax when a capital asset is sold at a profit. There are also rules which permit trading expenses and losses to be set against other income for Income Tax (IT) purposes, reducing the IT liability. When a businessman lent his father's skip-hire business money that the latter was unable to repay, he claimed IT deductions for the resultant bad debts, which totalled more than £147,000. The...

If parents engaged in child contact disputes take up entrenched positions, it is very nearly always the child that suffers most. Such disputes can often be defused by taking legal advice at an early stage in order to promote dialogue and an amicable resolution. In one case where this did not happen, a father ended up being banned from having any direct contact with his nine-year-old daughter. Since the parents' separation, the girl had lived exclusively with her mother, who had married another man. During five years of relentless litigation,...