A couple have won a dispute with their neighbour after Japanese knotweed invaded their garden, knocking £50,000 off the value of their property. Adam and Eleanor Smith had bought their Cornwall home for £200,000 in 2002 from Rosemary Line. Mrs Line’s kept some of the neighbouring land, which had Japanese knotweed growing on it. The
A school dinner lady has been awarded £45,000 in compensation after she was subjected to bullying because she reported a breach of policy by her colleague. Neydi Vasconcelos worked part-time at Medlock Primary School in Ardwick. She became aware that some of the kitchen equipment was being taken off site for private use by a
A review of inheritance tax thresholds could make it easier for parents to give their children money to buy a home, fund their education or set up a business. Currently, the maximum sum that can be gifted tax free is £3,000 a year. Any additional funds are subject to 40% inheritance tax if the donor
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has started giving refunds to people who were overcharged when setting up lasting powers of attorney (LPA). It has set aside £90m to cover the cost of the refunds. Between April 2013 and March 2017, the operating costs of the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) came down as more
Divorce can be one of the most stressful events anyone has to face in their lives, especially if it descends into recriminations and disputes over money and care of the children. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be that way. The government, with the backing of many family lawyers, has been trying to promote a more
Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division has recently provided further details of new specialist courts being piloted to deal with the financial aspect of divorce proceedings. In December 2017, Munby set out a blueprint for the financial remedies courts (FRC), which are part of wider efforts to separate divorce administratively from its financial
An executive at a recruitment company who was taunted with being a tinker and a ‘gyppo’ has been awarded £283,000 compensation in an unfair dismissal and race discrimination case. Edward Bell, who is from Belfast but now lives in Manchester, worked for recruitment company Cordant People Ltd, formerly Prime Time Recruitment Ltd. He claimed that
The government has announced new measures to prevent unfair and abusive practices within the leasehold system. They include a ban on leaseholds for almost all new build houses. Changes will be made so that ground rents on new long leases – for both houses and flats – are set to zero. It will also become
Nearly two out of three adults in Britain do not have a valid will, according to a survey carried out by MacMillan Cancer Support. The charity surveyed more than 2,000 people and found that 63% had not made a will, including 42% of people over the age of 55. The survey also uncovered various “will
Widespread belief in the myth of common law marriage is putting millions of cohabiting couples at risk of financial hardship if their relationship breaks down. The warning comes from the family law group, Resolution, after it commissioned a survey showing that most cohabitants don’t realise that they don’t have the same automatic rights as married