Cohabitation without a living together or cohabitation agreement is a common source of legal dispute when a relationship breaks up, as a recent case involving a very wealthy businessman and his ex-girlfriend shows. When the couple split up, the businessman claimed that the house in which his ex-girlfriend lived was held on trust for him, despite the fact that his name was not on the deeds. He had paid the £100,000 deposit on the £650,000 house, the costs of its purchase and all the instalments on the mortgage. However, the property was in his ex-girlfriend’s sole name and the First-tier…
Over the past couple of weeks, there has been a lot of reporting around the planned child tax credit changes, and the protests by Scottish SNP MP, Alison Thewliss, about their “medieval” nature. However, when looking at the details behind the proposals, it’s unsurprising that the Government and George Osbourne are attracting such a lot of negative attention. The changes surround eligibility for child tax credits, which will see a two-child limit placed on parents in terms of how many children they are able to claim for. At Hylton-Potts, we handle queries from families on a daily basis who have…
There have been many stories in the news recently about the Universal Credit reform and what it means for the millions of families across Britain. Here at Hylton-Potts, we’ve written numerous posts too, to try to help you understand the facts and guide you through the claims process. However, recently the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published its first annual fraud and error findings for its Universal Credit programme. This critique forms part of their more general report on the benefits system across the 2015/16 period. We thought, given the attention that this reform has received, that we’d…
An article the solicitors Journal www.solicitorsjournal.com on 19 April 2016 is well worth a look The judges are moving away from a needs only approach to deciding spousal maintenance. The judge must to consider whether a ‘clean break’ can be achieved, and no spousal maintenance is paid (child maintenance is dealt with separately). If the judge decides to make a maintenance order, he must consider imposing a term sufficient to allow the financially weaker party to reach financial independence without ‘undue hardship’. The cases of Miller and McFarlane created the three guiding principles of ‘needs’, ‘compensation’, and ‘sharing’ in determining …
Undergoing a divorce can be upsetting and stressful, but it is often made worse when you don’t know the facts and aren’t prepared for what’s to come. If you want to make sure you’re in as strong a financial position as possible after your divorce is over, then it is imperative that you consider the following three questions. It’s important to remember throughout divorce proceedings though, that communication is vital. If you and your spouse can agree on some of these questions in advance, then the process itself will likely be less painful and complex. Financial expert and Editor of…
If you’re a regular reader of the Hylton-Potts blog, you’ll know how important it is to us that we keep you up to date on the latest changes to the law when it comes to your benefits and tax credits. Our experts are always on hand to give you the help and advice you need, but in today’s post, we think it our duty to inform you about the recent claims being made about Universal Credits. Recently, the government launched its newly reformed version of the six social security payments: income support, jobseeker’s allowance, employment and support allowance, housing benefit,…
The date of the British referendum that will decide whether the UK stays within the EU or leaves, is drawing ever closer. Brexit, as it has been dubbed by popular media, continues to worry and confuse professionals wanting to head to the UK for work, which is why we’re here to explain things simply for you. At Hylton-Potts, we completely understand how difficult it can be to get to grips with the ins and outs of EC Rights within the ever-changing context of the current Brexit situation. However, in today’s blog post, we’d like to explain to you exactly why…
When you reach breaking point within your relationship, thoughts will flash through your mind about your children, your house, your financial commitments and what the future holds. All of this is painful enough without the stress and anxiety that inevitably follows with regard to legal proceedings. At Hylton-Potts, we’ve helped hundreds of couples through this turbulent time, and people have even come to us on a consultation basis before having the initial conversation with their spouse about filing for divorce. Although we would urge you to come to us for a discussion as soon as possible, we’ve put together a…
According to recent reports, the government will phase out the current Tax Credits system in favour of a new, single scheme called Universal Credits. On the surface, this may sound like a good way to cut confusion, but in reality it means that some 3.2 million families will be worse off as a result. So, with experts warning everyone to act now if they think they may be entitled to Tax Credits, or risk being added to the statistics, what’s all the fuss about? Who does this affect and how by how much? Why is this something to be concerned…
We receive thousands of emails, letters and phone calls to do with suspected benefit fraud. In our experience though, it is often the case that when claims are investigated, mistakes have been made and errors have occurred rather than any malicious intent being found. It should come as no surprise then, that recent research by Ipsos MORI, an independent research organisation commissioned by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), found further concrete evidence of this to be true. The research, published just last year, explores the ways in which Local Authorities tackle fraud and error within Housing Benefit. In…
