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Family judges will approach pre-nuptial agreements with greater respect following a landmark Court of Appeal ruling in a 'big money' divorce case. The Court agreed with Lord Phillips' opinion in Radmacher v Granatino that failing to honour such agreements, if reasonable and freely entered into, on the basis that the Court knows best would be both 'paternalistic' and 'patronising'. The case concerned a middle-aged former couple who had been married for over 20 years and had three adult children. Their matrimonial assets were valued at £273 million. Much of that...

It is a common term in a lease for the tenants to have to seek permission from the landlord if they want to do something new to or with the premises they let. Typically, such clauses specify that permission will not be 'unreasonably withheld'. However, what seems reasonable to one person may seem unreasonable to another, as a recent dispute shows. It involved a tenant who wished to apply for planning permission for its let commercial premises to be used for residential purposes. Under the lease, the application required the...

There are special rules for people working in the UK on short-term secondment from employers based abroad. Many do not become taxpayers under the UK tax system. When one such person contacted HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to clarify his position, he was told that as he earned less than £100,000 in a tax year, he would not have to file a UK tax return. He also enquired about the deductibility of various expenses such as rent and maintenance and was told that if he were a UK taxpayer, these...

With the holiday season upon us, a recent case shows that there are limits to the liability of tour operators when accidents occur, especially when they are the result of rash behaviour. The case involved a man who fell from the balcony of his hotel in Tenerife and sustained serious injuries. When he and his family closed the sliding door, it had locked them out. In order to effect a re-entry to their room, the man decided to climb onto the adjoining balcony. However, he placed his weight on a...