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Freehold owners of land generally believe that, subject to planning permission, they can develop their properties in whatever way they wish. However, as a High Court ruling strikingly showed, that is by no means always the case. Two men wished to build homes for themselves on a parcel of land they owned in the heart of a pretty village. Planning consent for the proposed development had been obtained. The land, however, was subject to a restrictive covenant which dated back to 1960. It required them to obtain a neighbouring landowner's...

It is obviously right that fathers should pick up a fair share of the tab for raising their offspring, but exactly how deep into their pockets should they be made to dig? The High Court tackled that issue in considering whether a wealthy father should be required to cover the cost of employing a nanny for his toddler. The father, a very high earner, was able to pay any sum he might be ordered to towards his child's maintenance. He agreed to provide the child's mother with a £1.35 million...

Couples generally either own their homes as joint tenants or as tenants in common. The distinction between the two may not be widely understood but, as a High Court ruling in an inheritance case showed, it can matter very much indeed. The case concerned a married couple who made mirror wills which, in broad terms, were intended to ensure that when the first of them died, their jointly owned home could continue to be occupied by the survivor. Following the death of the second spouse, the intention was that the...

At what point can it be said that an embryonic business has begun to trade? A tax tribunal pondered that fundamental issue in a case concerning a claim for entrepreneurs' relief on the sale of a nascent business asset. An investor sold his minority stake in a limited liability partnership (LLP) that was established for the purpose of building and operating a biomass energy plant. His claim for entrepreneurs' relief – which would have greatly reduced his liability to Capital Gains Tax arising from the sale – was rejected by...