When a couple break up, the division of the assets they own is often problematic, whether they are married or not. In a recent case, the Court of Appeal was asked to consider the appropriate division of assets when an unmarried couple broke up after being together on and off for more than a decade. The couple began living together in 1992, then separated in 1995. In 2001, they got back together, living in the man’s house until 2002, when they bought another property in joint names in which they lived until it was sold in 2007. The man was…
Commercial property update This first appeared in the Solicitors Journal in October 2013 as is reproduced with their permission Magnus Hassett looks at the forthcoming changes to the rules on recovery of commercial rent arrears, the introduction of a period of temporary rates relief for empty new build commercial property, and HMRC’s recent clarification of last year’s VAT changes, affecting landlords who let out property for storage purposes The common law remedy of distraint for arrears of rent will finally be abolished on 6 April 2014, when the commercial rent arrears recovery procedure, originally proposed by the Tribunal Courts and…
If you have negotiated a divorce settlement and then find out that your ex-spouse has lied about personal finances, the court can reopen the matter. In a recent hearing, the judge decided that a businessman had not been entirely truthful when he made his financial disclosures. His ex-wife claimed that her ex-husband had substantially undervalued his assets, by claiming that shares he owned in a company had no value, when they were worth more than £700,000. In addition, she claimed that he had failed to disclose other investments he held that were worth more than £800,000. The wife successfully applied…
First published in the Solicitors Journal for 11th March 2014 and reproduced with their kind permission Ring-fencing inherited assets, separating out property owned before the marriage, keeping business interests apart; all these are common aims when entering into a pre-nuptial agreement. But is the pure ‘what’s mine is mine’ approach to drafting prenups, in which one party receives nothing at all from the wealthier party on a future divorce, now seriously endangered? State of flux Drafting agreements that deal with unknown future events is difficult. Doing so when the law is in such a state of flux is doubly…
Councils using controversial lie detector tests to catch benefit fraudsters ‘Voice risk analysis’ being used by 24 English authorities at a cost of millions – despite scientists’ claims that it ‘does nothing’ Local councils are using voice risk analysis software against benefit fraudsters, even though the Department for Work and Pensions has dropped the technology. Photograph: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images More than 20 councils have used or plan to use controversial lie detector tests to catch fraudulent benefits claimants, even though the government has dropped the technology having found it unreliable. Responding to freedom of information (FOI) requests, 24 local authorities…
The service charge accounts for my block of flats says various “arrears of service charges” and have I discovered this refers to the legal costs of using solicitors to chase other leaseholders for arrears. Can a freeholder pass the legal costs of pursuing leaseholders who don’t pay their charges promptly on to leaseholders who do? The answer largely depends on the exact wording your lease. There must be a specific term permitting the landlord to add solicitors’ and other legal fees incurred in chasing other leaseholders to your service charges. The lease must be contain a clause in clear and…
Employers often have a problem knowing if they can sack an employee on long-term sick leave. If an employee is off for a long time such as a year, the key issue is whether the employer can be expected to wait any longer, before making a decision to dismiss Relevant factors are the length of the absence, the impact of the absence on the employer’s business, and the cost of the absence to the employer. The employee has to carefully balance these factors and consider them thoroughly. The employee must be consulted and his views taken into account If the…
The division of bonuses received after a couple have separated can be contentious. Differences can arise when assessing income for the purpose of future maintenance payments, and where bonuses have been earned over a lengthy period of separation. The starting point in law is as follows: ‘On exit from the marriage, the partnership ends and in ordinary circumstances a wife has no right or expectation of continuing economic parity (“sharing”) unless and to the extent that consideration of her needs, or compensation… so require.’ There are many conflicting cases, and different judges have to be persuaded to your point of…
Unhappy couples who stuck it out on during the recession have now decided that they can afford to split up. Couples had been waiting for the value of their house to recover or to get back into work. The trend for divorce later in life also continued to grow. This is a result of couples having to spend time with each other in retirement, improving health and life expectancy giving people a new lease of life in their 60s, making new links through Facebook, dating websites and other social media. Divorce is still much more likely to take place much…
