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More than 100,000 people have used various government schemes to buy a home over the last four years. Households have taken advantage of schemes such as Right to Buy and Help to Buy. The Right to Buy scheme gives people who have lived in a council property for at least five years the right to
Ministers say children will be better protected and family disputes will be less stressful following changes to legislation relating to divorce and separation. The main changes are that separating couples will be obliged to attend mediation sessions to try to reach agreements regarding childcare and finances, before they can take their disputes to court. If
A woman’s will has been declared invalid after a court ruled that it had been forged by her son. The woman originally made a will in 1999, stating that she intended to split her estate equally between her two children. The son claimed the mother made a new will while she was dying from cancer
A court has ordered that a six-year-old boy should live with his father because the mother had constantly ignored contact orders over several years. The two parents separated before the boy was born and the mother became the primary carer following the birth. The father tried to establish contact with his son but the mother
Divorcing couples are being urged to use mediation to settle their disputes instead of engaging in lengthy court battles. The latest figures released by the Office of National Statistics show that more than 100,000 people get divorced each year. Family Justice Minister Simon Hughes says mediation can help settle disputes over issues such as money
On 6 April 2014 a major part of the Government’s programme of employment dispute reform will come into force with the introduction of ACAS Early Conciliation. The new scheme will require an employee who believes that they have a claim against their employer to notify ACAS of the dispute before they can issue a claim
A woman has failed to get an improved divorce settlement even though her husband had misled the court about the extent of his wealth. The case involved a couple who separated after 17 years of marriage. The assets were divided with the wife getting around 65% in cash and properties, giving her a total of
A court has ordered that two boys should live with their father because their mother was too permissive and acted “more like a friend than a parent”. The couple divorced in 2002 and the boys went to live with their mother. The father was entitled to contact at weekends, but was regularly denied this by
After many years building up a business, directors often worry about how to bow out successfully while ensuring that the firm continues to thrive. The key to ensuring a smooth succession is to start planning as early as possible ahead of your target retirement date. The first step is to hold meetings with those who
A landlord company has won its appeal to be paid money owed by a commercial tenant which had gone into administration before completing the surrender of its lease. The case involved a retail group that leased several properties. It got into financial difficulty and began proceedings to surrender the leases. Money was held in escrow