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It is not uncommon for affection and trust to survive the end of a marriage – but legal advice is still almost always required to ensure a fair outcome. In one striking case, a woman who waited until almost 20 years had passed since her divorce before seeking financial support from her ex-husband ended up with nothing but a family judge's sympathy. The woman was aged 17 when she married a man who was almost a decade her senior. Their 13-year marriage ended in divorce in 1995, but she continued...

It seems trite to say that the law is what the law is, but in cases where a decision is reached that is correct under the law but which seems unfair, or not in accordance with an underlying principle, it will nevertheless stand. There is a general principle in UK law that assets left on death to charities are excluded from the deceased person's estate for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes. When a Jersey-domiciled woman died in 2007, she left a UK estate of some £1.8 million. The UK estate was left...

Insurers are often less than happy to pay up gracefully in the event of a claim and legal advice is sometimes necessary to enforce your rights. In one case, lawyers representing the owner of a listed building that was gutted by fire won a Court of Appeal ruling that insurers were obliged to pay more than £2 million towards the cost of reinstatement. After the fire left the building in a ruinous condition, the insurers sought to avoid paying out on the policy on various grounds, including misrepresentation and non-disclosure....

When a couple break up, a financial settlement is normally agreed between them as part of the proceedings and that, usually, is that. However, in a recent case involving civil partners who had split up, the death of one partner shortly after the financial settlement had been concluded was followed by clear evidence that she had misled the court over the extent of her wealth when the settlement was made. Her former civil partner went to court to claim that the settlement in her favour should be rescinded and a more...