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Concerns that children may be used as pawns amidst the cut and thrust of divorce proceedings are often expressed by one side or the other. However, a High Court ruling in the context of a big money case showed that family judges are aware of such risks and adept at minimising them. The case concerned a very rich couple who enjoyed an extraordinarily high standard of living during their marriage. The acrimony of their divorce was heightened when the husband made the deeply wounding discovery that he was not the...

Parents generally owe no legal duty financially to maintain their adult children. That principle proved decisive in the case of a businessman who was worth almost £2.2 million when he died, but who left not a penny to his daughters. Having enjoyed a rewarding career in accountancy and merchant banking, the man died at the age of 68 from a brain tumour. By his will, he left almost all of his estate to his second wife. He bequeathed nothing to the two daughters of his first marriage, which had lasted...

Failing to accurately respond to insurers' questions when taking out a policy is highly likely to render your cover worthless. A businessman found that out to his cost after losing a £190,000 Rolex watch whilst on a skiing trip. The man launched proceedings after his insurer refused to pay out for his loss. The insurer required him to provide strict proof of how the loss occurred and argued that it was in any event entitled to avoid the policy. That was on the basis that, when the policy was applied...

The tax regime is subject to constant change and it is generally up to taxpayers to keep their knowledge up to date in a fluid landscape. However, as a case concerning tax charged on high-income recipients of Child Benefit showed, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is also under a duty to keep the public informed. Until January 2013, Child Benefit was not means tested. However, the introduction in that month of the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) meant that those who earned more than £50,000 a year were subject...