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Professional tax advice, however carefully considered, cannot always be correct, but you are generally entitled to rely on it. A tribunal made that point in relieving a retired executive of a tax bill that would have had a devastating impact on his pension. The Finance Act 2004 imposed a highly controversial charge to Income Tax known as the lifetime allowance charge (LAL). As from 6 April 2006, a threshold was imposed on lifetime pension savings. Any savings in excess of that threshold were subject to LAL when pension benefits were...

We are delighted to announce that Oliver Conway has been shortlisted for a Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year award 2021 in the Family category. Oliver is a trainee solicitor at Oliver Fisher Solicitors and will qualify in August 2021. Oliver is ideologically committed to legal aid work and is deeply concerned about access to justice. He is passionate about the children’s work and intends to specialise in this area when he qualifies. His innate empathy and compassion make him effective in representing clients who have learning difficulties, emotional and...

Judges often plead with divorcing couples to bury the hatchet rather than subject themselves to the financial and emotional self-harm of litigation. As a High Court case showed, however, such good advice is sadly not always heeded. The case concerned a couple who worked together in their construction business and, from small beginnings, built up an enviable property portfolio. They had three children and, more than a decade after their separation, they remained legally married. They had obtained a decree nisi but no decree absolute. Two years after their relationship ended,...

Making a will when you are close to death and without professional assistance is an effective means of fostering dispute between your loved ones after you are gone. As a High Court case strikingly showed, that is particularly so if you intend to leave your estate outside your immediate family. The case concerned an exceptionally intelligent man whose life had been blighted by mental health difficulties. He was eloquent and talkative and had built his life around friendships formed with lodgers in his substantial home. His complex and difficult personality...