How many beneficiaries of wills complain about an executor, who is too slow and expensive? Nearly all, and often the criticism to justified. A professional executor’s client is dead so it can easily go to the bottom of the pile. Here at Hylton-Potts Legal Consultants, we help you replace the Executor with you the beneficiary, to take over the winding up on an estate for a fraction of the price of a professional executor and much more quickly. The costs are usually less than £1000. A Mr David Khan is applying to the High Court. Keep an eye on the…
Imagine the scene. You and your wife board a BA flight, and you find yourself sitting next to a 12 year old boy travelling alone. The steward asks you to move. You ask why, and are told that this is a policy, which in effect treats all men as perverts. A fairy story? Not at all. This is a case before the Slough County Court where a humiliated and furious businessman, with a wife and children of his own has had enough of it. All of us should boycott BA flights until this outrageous discriminatory unlawful practice is stopped. What…
Where a wife (usually) suspects that her husband is concealing assets, she turns detective. Copying documents, steaming open post, listening to phone calls and rummaging through his papers, to find secret bank accounts, credit cards and assets held in a third party names. often a mistress. In the case of Hildebrand the Judge ruled that a document left lying around can be copied, and used in a divorce financial claim. The celebrity chef Pierre Marco White is hitting back and is taking his ex-wife and her solicitors to court for dirty tricks. Shivers have gone down the spine of family…
Goodwill arises from the business and personal relationship between the person who runs the business, and its clients or customers and the reputation of the business. It has a value. It can often have a higher value, than a lease or fixtures and equipment. Judges have talked about cat goodwill, dog goodwill, rat goodwill and even rabbit goodwill, and when you hear what they all mean, they mean, you will laugh but your head will spin. The tax man attempts to tax goodwill but this can and should be resisted, with expert advice. Also the split of the price between…
A very common scenario when you move into a property, is to find that the seller has taken everything, sometimes literally down to light bulbs and loo rolls. The shit and has even stop you having one! Always inspect just before your lawyer, pays over the money on completion. You should be fully aware of what is a fixture and a fitting. Unless it says so in the contract, the seller cannot remove any fixtures in place on exchange. Many buyers instruct solicitors or conveyancers who offer a cheaper service. Fair enough but if a dispute like this comes up…
In the United Kingdom and the United States, the current fashionable trend, in the credit crunch, is for the tax man to offer amnesty. Typically reveal your offshore accounts and only pay a 10% fixed penalty. As so often the devil is in the detail. and the small print. A 10% fixed penalty is attractive, but the decision is not one to be taken lightly or quickly. Think: 1. Is everything you are disclosing complete and accurate? 2. Does it include all offshore assets, and all unpaid taxes and duties over the last 20 years, on or offshore? 3. Has…
We all remember Tony Martin but what about Munir Hussain, a respectable married businessman with children. A burglar enters his house. Mr Hussain catches the burglar and with the help of his son overpowers him hitting him on the head with a cricket bat. Result. The burglar walks free and Mr Hussain is now in jail sentenced to two and a half years in jail. The current law allows householder to respond to a burglar with “reasonable force”. This should be immediately changed to allow householders to defend their homes and families unless they have responded in a “grossly disproportionate”…
The Guardian and others, have sneered at Simon for his idea of having political debates with public voting like the X Factor. They should think again. The rules could be easily set out. A non-profit making show with any excess going to charity. One vote per phone and leading politicians being involved as debaters. John Sergeant would be an admirable moderator, with his experience on Vote For Me and Kelvin Mackenzie and Lorraine Kelly could also be added. With all the leading parties running scared of binding referendums, which have completely changed the political landscape for the better in California,…
This is dealt with by a government agency not the court although it can intervene with “topping up” if the family is wealthy. CSA – www.csa.gov.uk (there is an online at calculator) or phone 0845 713 4000 The maximum income on which the CSA payments are calculated is £2,000 per week. It is calculated on the basis of net weekly income; 15% for 1 child 20% for 2 children 25% for 3 children or more Net income is net of tax, NI and Pension contributions. Roughly speaking this come to a maximum of; £ 300/week for 1 child £ 400/week…
