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An argument that assets which HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said belonged to a deceased man (and were thus subject to Inheritance Tax) were actually owned in whole or in part by his son was rejected by the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) recently. After the son was subject to a tax assessment of more than £57,000 and penalties of more than £6,000 for failing to comply with a notice from HMRC, he took his case to the FTT. He argued that evidence concerning Indian cultural traditions would support his assertion that...

In the Internet era, it is wholly acceptable to use Facebook or other social media to make contact with those who have to be notified of family proceedings. The High Court made that point after being forced to abandon an adoption hearing due to a failure to successfully track down a young boy's natural mother. The boy had been taken into local authority care following a breakdown in his living arrangements with his parents. He was placed with a foster parent who wished to adopt him. Adoption proceedings were launched,...

Disputes about the validity of wills frequently centre on allegations that the deceased lacked 'mental capacity' when they created a will. In a recent case, the court had to consider whether a man who died less than two months after writing a will was mentally competent to do so, given that he was taking a cocktail of drugs and had shown delusional behaviour. The man had shared his home with his second wife for many years and the will he created directed that his half share of the property should not...

Disturbance can take many forms and noise is just one of them. Planners made that point in heeding the concerns of residents of a quiet cul-de-sac and scotching plans for a 30-flat supported living development on the edge of a seaside town. The would-be developers wished to demolish a two-storey house in the cul-de-sac in order to provide an access route to the development site. However, outline planning consent was refused by the local authority and that decision was later confirmed by a central government planning inspector. The latter found that,...