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Neighbours engaged in boundary disputes would generally be wise to submit their differences to an independent expert for resolution, rather than fighting it out in court. However, as one High Court case underlined, it is important to remember that the expert's decision is final and, unless appealed, binding, warts and all. The case concerned a narrow strip of land between two suburban homes. A couple that owned one of them argued that the boundary line was marked by a timber post that had stood at the front of the properties....

Can individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) be valid if debtors who enter into them lack the mental capacity to make rational decisions? In an important test case that has clarified the law, the High Court answered that question in the affirmative. The case concerned a woman who, with her husband and others, was said to owe £224,000 in unpaid tax. She entered into an IVA but, after she failed to keep to its terms, a bankruptcy order was obtained against her by HM Revenue and Customs. Some years before she signed...

When a man inherited a property, he and his wife rented it out and later put it on the market for sale. In May 2010, they exchanged contracts for sale. They moved into the property at the end of June that year and lived in it for nearly a month, moving out again on 22 July in advance of the completion of the sale on 23 July. Their accountant advised them that they could claim principal private residence (PPR) relief for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) for the last three years...

Financial problems are frequently connected with marital problems, and the interplay between family law and insolvency law can produce legal complications. In a recent instance, the court had to decide what to do about a claim from the receiver in bankruptcy of a man who had died. The bankrupt man and his wife divorced in 2008 after nine years of marriage. The divorce settlement provided that the man should repay to his former wife £1.4 million that he had borrowed from her under an informal agreement and pay her £24,000 a...