LATEST NEWS

Where one parent moves abroad with his or her children, leaving the other behind, the result can be an international tug of war. As a High Court ruling showed, when called upon to play the part of referee in such contests, the paramount focus of family judges is always on the children's welfare. The case concerned two US citizens who had two daughters, aged 12 and 11. After their marriage came to an end, the mother moved to England on a three-year work assignment, taking the children with her. The...

Not every life is profitable, at least in financial terms, and it is important to remember that your debts do not die with you. A High Court ruling showed the serious problems that dying insolvent, without putting your affairs in order, can create for your loved ones. The case concerned a once highly successful businessman whose fortunes suffered greatly in the 2007 financial crisis and who was heavily indebted when he died. His widow set about administering his estate. Some years later, after acknowledging that the estate was bankrupt, she...

When seeking investment advice, it is vital to only use the services of authorised practitioners who are highly qualified and regulated by law. As a High Court case showed, it is otherwise all too easy to fall into a fraudster's clutches. A woman was introduced by an acquaintance to a man who held himself out as an investment specialist. She quickly placed her full confidence in him and entrusted him with £2.1 million, effectively her entire fortune. Less than half of the money was in the event returned to her....

If you buy goods that fail to live up to a salesman's hyperbole, you may be entitled to compensation and should consult a solicitor immediately. In one case, a homeowner who had solar panels installed in the forlorn hope that they would pay for themselves within 10 years was awarded thousands of pounds in damages. The government was at the time running a green energy incentive scheme by which householders who had solar panels fitted received payments both for generating electricity and for exporting it to the national grid. After...