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Those who pay their taxes late can expect punishment – but there is such a thing as a reasonable excuse. In one case, a man who failed to notify the tax authorities of his obligation to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge was relieved of financial penalties by the First-tier Tribunal (FTT). Over a period of about five years, during which his annual earnings were in excess of £50,000, the man should have paid the charge. He failed to notify HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of his liability. He...

When faced with a bank's formal demand for payment, individual debtors can feel that there is little they can do but comply. However, as a High Court ruling showed, with the right legal advice they are very far from powerless. A bank served a man with a statutory demand requiring payment of £236,538. Such demands are frequently a precursor to bankruptcy proceedings. The man was said to owe the sum under loan facilities that had been entered into more than eight years previously. The demand was, however, set aside by...

Where words used in a will are ambiguous, judges will strive to interpret them in a way that gives effect to the deceased's intentions. An instructive Court of Appeal decision on point hinged on the little-known fact that the Channel Islands are not formally part of the United Kingdom. The case concerned a man who, at the date of his death, owned assets in Russia, England and Jersey. By his will, he left all his 'UK assets' to his children. After his death, an issue arose between the children and...

Can the economic havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic justify the re-drawing of final financial orders made following a divorce? The High Court has ruled in a guideline case that the answer to that question is 'probably not'. The case concerned a couple whose principal asset was a business in the education sector. A judge ruled on the financial aspects of their divorce in October 2019, a few months prior to the onset of the pandemic. She ordered that, of total assets worth £4.75 million, the husband should receive 58...