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Where a British child inherits foreign property, tricky legal issues can arise. However, as one case showed, English judges are well able to deal with such difficulties by applying the overriding principle that the child's welfare is always paramount. The case involved an 11-year-old boy whose father died without making a will. Under Italian law, he automatically inherited a 25 per cent share in an Italian holiday home owned by his parents. His mother, who held 75 per cent of the property, wished to sell it at a good price...

Wounding statements that can have a devastating impact on your professional and personal life take moments to type but can spread like wildfire on the internet. As a High Court case concerning two sports journalists showed, however, lawyers can move fast to ensure your reputation is vindicated. A journalist took legal action after a number of posts appeared on social media. They were the work of a rival sports writer. They clearly referred to him and, amongst other things, accused him of being a shameless liar and cheat who had...

COVID-19 has without doubt drastically affected the fortunes of some very wealthy people. As a High Court ruling in a big money divorce case showed, however, the pandemic does not by itself amount to a good reason for failing to meet legal and financial obligations. The case concerned an extraordinarily wealthy businessman who was ordered to pay his ex-wife a total of £64 million, comprising the mortgage-free matrimonial home, which was worth £15 million, and a lump sum of £49 million. The order, amongst other things, set deadlines by which...

Confronting mortality is never easy and many people put off making decisions critical to their own future, and that of their loved ones, until after the onset of serious illness or old age. Such a course involves serious legal risks but, as a High Court case showed, they can be effectively offset by taking professional advice. The case concerned a woman who died at the age of 60 after enduring many years of ill health, including two strokes. Four years previously, she had purchased her home at a discounted price...