Despite the recent scandal in which it was revealed that the government’s hard-line stance on benefits claimants has resulted in more than ten thousand unnecessary deaths, the crackdown still continues. The main targets of the crackdown are those who deliberately commit fraud by claiming money to which they are not entitled to through the use of deception or through the deliberate concealment of information. As is always the case, many innocent people are also caught out by the detection procedures, and tragically some of them are even prosecuted and wrongfully convicted. Wrongful conviction can occur when a person is innocent…
For a long time now, the UK has been particularly cagey on matters related to marriage and divorce between British nationals and foreign spouses. Their concern is that a sizeable number of these marriages turn out to be bogus, entered into only for the purpose of allowing somebody to enter and work in the UK and obtain privileges that would otherwise be difficult to obtain. Entry into the EEA and EU compounded these concerns greatly because of the tremendous freedoms that are supposed to be granted by mandate. Like many other areas of law at the moment, there is a…
Surely it is only a matter of time before politicians come to their senses and finally implement no-fault divorces in the UK. This is one area where we are dragging behind other countries, and frankly it is an embarrassment to our legal system. Judges and lawyers are well aware of this problem but our hands are tied until legislators get around to actually revising the laws so that we get a fairer system. While we are waiting for that day, we must act within the bounds of the written law, whether we agree with it or not. Here at Hylton-Potts,…
Deliberately perpetrating a fraud is a very risky activity to undertake. An even more risky – or perhaps I should say silly – thing to do is to commit a fraud and then self-publish the evidence of your fraud to the entire world. Not by accident, mind you, but completely intentionally, as an act of vanity. You may find it difficult to believe, but there really are people in the world as foolish as that. A report from LBC states that up to 400 Americans have some serious explaining to do after investigators discovered that the individuals had posted images…
Solicitors Journal The muffled voice of the child: part three Feature |7 April 2015 There is a real opportunity for the old proverb ‘Children should be seen and not heard’ to become a thing of the past, say Carla Ditz and Helen Greenfield In the last update (SJ 159/9), we looked at how the law supports children’s desire to be heard when they are the subject of court proceedings. But how does this actually happen in practice? Existing regime There are a number of different means by which children are given a voice: Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service…
With the current shortage of medical and other professionals in the UK, it should be easy for anyone with the appropriate qualifications to find employment or set up an independent practise. A difficulty in doing either of these things is that there are many quite strict, complicated, and sometimes confusing rules that can restrict entry to this opportunity. The following guide provides some information about the different processes for EEA and Non-EEA doctors and dentists, and what the criteria are for each category. EEA Doctors and Dentists Doctors and dentists who are from the European Economic Area (EEA) will find…
The following article is well worth a look – www.thetimes.co.uk Living together and cohabiting is not the same as being married, and for unmarried couples even with children they are largely unprotected, if the partner dies or they split up. Millions of people live together just as if they were man and wife, but there is no marriage license. The solution is to sign a living together agreement. This can be done quickly and cheaply, and Hylton- Potts provide the service the £595 including VAT. It may seem unromantic, but unforeseen things can happen, such a serious injury and nobody can…
An Article in the Solicitors Journal 21 July 2015 www.solicitorsjournal.com is well worth a look. It is said that 1 in 8 of couples in the UK who live together are not married, both in different and same-sex relationships. The legal rules affecting living together are confusing. There is no such thing as a common-law wife, although in a survey 58% thought otherwise. When these relationships break down, the fallout can be significant, particularly when the couple have children. Hylton- Potts can help with problems like this. We operate from London offices but help clients all over the country at highly competitive…
An article in The Times 24th July 2015 page 7 www.thetimes.co.uk is well worth a look. If you worry about temptations facing your fiancée, after marriage consider a prenuptial contract with a fidelity clause. This means that if either partner is unfaithful they will lose much of their share of any divorce settlement. Rodney Hylton-Potts one of London’s most prominent divorce lawyers, said that adultery clauses were now a common feature of pre-nuptial agreements. They have yet to be upheld in British courts, however, and the idea of identifying fault in divorce cases runs counter to the trend in courts to…
No matter what anyone tells you, divorce is never as simple as you expect it to be. This is the case even when a couple is in complete agreement with each other that it is time to each go their separate ways, and even when there is no dispute over who gets what. That is an ideal divorce, and it still is very likely to be far more complicated than you would initially expect. When a couple parts on less-than-friendly terms, which is very often the case, the result can be far worse. Divorces are usually emotionally charged. Even though…
