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When the Family Court was asked to consider an application for an adoption order made by a couple, two factors proved crucial in deciding whether it should be granted. The first was that the boy's natural parents could not reasonably be considered able to care adequately for him. The second was the clear attachment the boy had formed to his prospective adoptive family. In the circumstances, the Court found it straightforward to make the order allowing the boy to be adopted by the couple. Source: Concious

Wills made or varied just before death are a frequent source of dispute and court appearances, and it was just such an occurrence that led to a High Court hearing recently. The case concerned the estate of a woman who died in 2014, two days after making a will leaving everything to one of her two daughters, who was also made executor of the estate. The other daughter contended that the will was procured by 'fraudulent calumny' – the casting of untruthful aspersions against someone else's character which 'caused the...

Elderly people and those who are vulnerable are sadly prime targets for rogue traders, but the law is not powerless when it comes to helping those affected. The successful prosecution of a rogue builder promises more than £200,000 in compensation for his victims. The builder's modus operandi was to con householders, mostly pensioners who lived on their own, into paying extortionate sums for unnecessary work that was shoddily carried out. One victim paid more than £300,000 for work which was assessed as being worth only £1,500. The builder was ultimately jailed...

One of the potential disadvantages of having more than one owner of a property is what to do when they take different views of whether it should be sold. In a recent case, a husband went to court to force the sale of a property he owned with his wife (she having a very small share) when she refused to cooperate and took significant – and successful – steps to scare off potential purchasers. The wife bombarded prospective purchasers with misinformation regarding the property, designed to persuade them to withdraw...