LATEST NEWS

You are never too old to make a will, but failing to consult a solicitor before you reach advanced old age can be a positive invitation to dispute amongst your loved ones after you are gone. That was certainly so in the case of a woman who was 94 when she signed her last will in a shaky hand. The wealthy woman's niece considered that their relationship was a close one. After receiving a legacy of £100 in her aunt's will, she challenged the document's validity. She argued that her...

When people go missing and are not heard from for years, there has to be a point where the law recognises that they have died. The High Court performed that sad task in the case of a much-loved young man who vanished without trace over 30 years ago whilst on a backpacking trip to Canada. After the 20-year-old travelled to Canada to see the country and visit members of his family, he stayed in touch with his mother, with whom he had a close and loving relationship. However, his contact...

Poor quality property conveyancing is a sadly common source of neighbour disputes and that is why it is so crucial to engage specialist solicitors to do the job. A case on point concerned a poorly demarcated boundary which went unnoticed for years before it became the focus of conflict between rural homeowners. The case concerned a farmhouse and a barn which were in common ownership until 1986 when the barn was sold off. The conveyance used an inadequate plan to show the intended boundary between the two properties. The written...

Sensible people accept that they have a moral responsibility financially to maintain their children, whether or not they are born in wedlock. As a High Court case showed, the extent of such responsibilities largely depends on needs, reasonable lifestyle expectations and the availability of resources to meet them. The case concerned a couple who never married but whose relationship endured for about seven years, yielding a planned and much-wanted daughter. The father, a highly successful entrepreneur, was worth about £190 million. The mother asserted that, while they lived together, there...