If a social tenant grants a holiday let, they are committing a criminal offence under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013. Sometimes a prosecution can be avoided by submitting a mitigation package or handing back the keys,with an amnesty. If you are under investigation for subletting your flat take expert legal advice. Hylton-Potts advising on social housing throughout the country, operate highly-competitive fixed fees and have an excellent track record of persuading local authorities not to prosecute. Phone 020 7381 8111 or a 24-hour email legal service at [email protected]. “We would be interested in your comments, please leave…
The Court of Appeal has told the ex-wife of a millionaire racehorse vet, she could not have a meal ticket for life at her husband’s expense and she should get a job. This has repercussions not just for multi-millionaires but it brings more routine cases in line with Scotland and Europe where generous long-term maintenance payments are discouraged and the parties are encouraged to get work and stand on their own feet. Tracey Wright, 51, said she should not have to work but the Judge said that could not go on indefinitely especially after his retirement at 65. Where a…
Most financial claims involve a wife claiming from a husband but we live in modern times. A househusband is perfectly entitled to claim from his wife and this applies to civil partners where the “homemaker” can claim against the partner who pursues a career. The law is gender neutral and it is perfectly possible for a househusband to claim maintenance against his ex in this way. Rupert Nightingale, a freelance photographer, was a househusband married to Kirsten Turner a partner in a leading firm of accountants earning £420,000 per annum. If you are involved in a divorce and want to…
Where civil partners break up there can be a “divorce” (dissolution) settlement between them of their financial assets. Helen Roocroft accepted £160,000 when she split from Ms Ainscow, her lesbian partner, in 2013 after 19 years together. Later when Ms Ainscow died it transpired that she was worth not £750,000 but £6million. Had Helen known that she would not have accepted the modest pay-out. Accordingly, it was open to Helen to make a claim against the estate and to re-open the civil partnership settlement, which she successfully did. If you are or were involved in…
A litigant in person is given latitude by the judges but you still have to follow the family procedure rules. These can be found at http://www.justice.gov.uk. You must look at these and if appropriate print out the ones that apply to your case. If you are stuck do not be afraid of asking the judge what the rules mean or for directions. “Directions” means a Court Order specifically saying what you have to do. Far better to understand fully where you are and what you have to achieve than to guess and remain quiet and be “shy”. The first hearing…
Preparing your case. Work out what your case is. A good way is to write it down calling yourself the Claimant and the other party the Defendant. This is a prelude to actually what the claim looks like. It might go something like this. The Claimant asked the Defendant to build a conservatory on his house. The cost was agreed at £7,500 plus VAT recorded in an exchange of emails on 3 October 2014. When the work was completed, the Defendant asked for a further £1,500 claiming there were extras to which the Claimant had agreed verbally. The Claimant denies…
This is the third of the three hearings and if you have got this far, it is a great shame. That is because by that point costs, and stress, can go up sharply. A trial which is the hearing to determine the financial split, can last anything from two hours to two weeks depending on the complexity of the matter. In a typical case where the assets involve a house a pension, a car and 2.4 children etc, a one or two day hearing would be typical. Including preparation and a good barrister the costs of that typical…
If you cannot pay your debts you could be made bankrupt, or make yourself bankrupt. Other options are an individual voluntary arrangement (‘IVA’) which means that you pay your creditors a percentage in the pound over a period such as 2-5 years. 75% of your creditors by a value have to accept that arrangement. It can avoid terminal damage to your credit rating, and means that the creditors get something. Institutional creditors like banks and finance companies have a different policy. American Express has a different policy from Diners Club. Expert legal advice should be taken at an early stage.…
An excellent article in the Law Society Gazette 26 January 2015 (www.lawgazette.co.uk) gives guidance on spousal maintenance. Mr Justice Mostyn the leading Family Court Judge, setting the pace and tone of reforms and developments. The first question is whether spousal maintenance should apply at all. The most common reasons were motherhood has interfered with the career of the mother making it necessary for her to need support. The exception is should sharing and compensation principles apply and the Family Court Judges including those in London, will follow Mostyn’s comments carefully when he says that the court must consider a termination…
Litigation gets people irate and often rightly. Nevertheless there is no certainty, and it is often worthwhile considering an out of Court settlement even if you do not get all that you want. Far better to “split the difference” with your opponent and go down to the pub for a stiff drink and to put it behind you, than risk more stress and expense in going through with a full Court hearing. This is not weakness but good commercial sense. If you are involved in litigation and want to talk settlement take expert legal advice at an early stage. …
