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A surprising number of cases are brought to court each year in which allegations are made that the true ownership of an asset is something other than the 'paper' ownership, and these often involve properties. A recent case involving a divorced couple is not untypical. The couple were married under Sharia law and an investment property was subsequently purchased which was in the wife's sole name. They were later divorced. Some time after that, the husband was imprisoned after being convicted of conspiracy to defraud and his ex-wife sold the...

We recognise that moving house can be one of the most costly and important steps that anyone makes, and one of the most stressful of life’s experiences. We offer a service designed to minimise problems wherever possible and to keep you informed at every important stage. We have a wide range of experience, working on different types of property and transactions. As well as assisting with residential property transactions of all sizes ranging from high value properties to studio flats for use as a home or as an investment, we...

The requirements of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 are strict and any procedural error by fertility clinics can cause untold legal complications and misery. That was certainly so in one case in which a form-filling error led to a woman adopting her own child – even though she was already its legal parent. The birth mother, X, had agreed from the outset that her same-sex partner, Y, whom she later married, should have equal parental rights in respect of the child. The child was born following sperm donor...

Data published recently show that the new £100,000 additional 'private residence' exemption for Inheritance Tax (IHT), which is due to be introduced in April 2017 and will increase thereafter, could not come soon enough for many people. More than two thirds of properties in outer London which sold in the first seven months of the year exceeded the current £325,000 IHT limit. Where a property is jointly owned between spouses or civil partners, a 'double limit' may be available on the death of the second owner. However, one in 13...