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The confidentiality of the process by which an adopted child becomes part of a new, permanent and inviolable family unit is, for very good reasons, sacrosanct. A judge made that point in refusing a man's application for his biological parenthood of an adopted child to be formally recognised. The man was not named as the child's father on her birth certificate but a DNA test had confirmed his paternity. After unsuccessfully opposing her adoption, he sought a judicial declaration that he was the child's parent. If granted, that would permit...

One of the best things you can do for your loved ones is to sign a professionally drafted will. As a High Court case showed, failing to take that easy and cost-effective step is to risk plunging those closest to you into legal difficulties after you are gone. The case concerned a German national who died intestate. Under German law, his widow was entitled to half his estate with the remainder being shared between his five children equally. As a result, his youngest son, aged 16, inherited a one-tenth share...

Parents who send their children to private school are entitled to expect that they will receive a reasonable standard of education – and, at the very least, that the school concerned has lawful authority to teach them. In a rare case on point, a couple and their teenage son who, in both those respects, were badly let down received substantial compensation. The boy was just short of his 15th birthday when his parents moved him to a well-regarded private school to study for his GCSEs. The school was, however, at...

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...