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It is estimated that more than 800,000 Britons now own property abroad. What used to be highly exceptional may now seem rather commonplace, but that is no reason why buyers should relax their vigilance over the process. In particular, it is absolutely vital to employ solicitors who are of good repute and entirely independent of the vendors. One case that resoundingly proves the point concerned a development of luxury homes in Italy that was alleged to have been a money-laundering front for the IRA and the Mafia. Almost 200 UK and...

An executor of an estate is personally responsible for his or her actions, so as well as there being significant duties, on occasions the role can also involve significant risks. One example of this would be where an executor completes the estate administration and distributes the assets only to find that there was an unknown liability of the deceased, or an estranged relative brings a claim for financial provision to be made for them under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. One of the principal duties of...

Family courts routinely grant anonymity to children involved in care proceedings, but that inevitably has an effect on parents and others who might wish to publicise their objections to judicial orders. Exactly that issue arose in one case in which a couple's freedom of expression rights prevailed against a local authority's attempt to use an anonymity order, made when a court ruled that the couple's children should be taken into care, to prevent them from seeking to gain support for their opposition to the decision. A judge had made care...

In the same week that a former policeman was convicted of stealing a house and £200,000 from his disabled cousin by abusing a power of attorney in his favour, a judge advanced the case for using a court-appointed deputy to manage the affairs of a person who is no longer able to manage their own, instead of creating a lasting power of attorney (LPA). It is true that giving a power of attorney (an LPA or the older enduring power of attorney, which is no longer available) over one's financial...