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Stepping up from the ranks to become a full partner in a limited liability partnership (LLP) involves a fundamental change in status from employment to self-employment. The tax consequences of that shift came under analysis in an important Upper Tribunal (UT) decision. The case concerned a clothing retailer which operated as an LLP and paid bonuses to its employees under a long-term incentive plan (LTIP) by reference to profits made over a period of time. After five employees were promoted to become full partners in the LLP, they received bonus...

Judges play a crucial enforcement role in the planning process and those who fail to comply with their orders can expect stern punishment. In one case, a homeowner who breached planning control when he built a huge subterranean leisure facility under his garden received a suspended prison sentence. The man spent about £1 million constructing the building, which incorporated a sports hall, gym, tenpin bowling alley, casino bar and children's play area. He contended that it was a permitted development, not requiring formal planning permission, but the local authority for...

Even the most carefully drafted will can contain inadvertent clerical errors that leave room for doubt as to the document's true meaning. As a High Court ruling showed, however, judges happily have the power to correct such mistakes so as to ensure that the intentions of the deceased are honoured. The case concerned a woman who made her final will more than 20 years before her death. By far the largest asset in her relatively modest estate was her home, which was worth about £140,000. The document stated in clear...

An intransigent and dogmatic approach to divorce is an infallible way of making the process far more painful and costly. A man who insisted that his ex-wife's financial entitlements should be reduced to reflect the poor quality of their short, childless marriage found that out to his cost. The couple's marriage lasted not much more than three years, including two periods of separation. Following their divorce, the husband, a very successful businessman, argued that, in the light of the brevity of their childless union, the wife's award should be calculated...