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If you discover that you have overpaid VAT, you may be entitled to a refund. However, this raises the question of the tax status of the additional profit generated by the refund. Is it taxable or not? This point was contested at the First-tier Tribunal by...

Two adopted children stand to benefit from a £3 million trust fund despite the fact that the trust was set up when adoption did not automatically confer inheritance rights. The High Court so ruled, applying European Convention articles against...

The Court of Appeal has recently heard the first substantial appeal concerning a claim for ancillary financial relief (a financial settlement on the break-up of a marriage or civil partnership) following the breakdown of a civil partnership. The case...

The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 require consent to be obtained for the use of cookies and similar technologies for storing information, and accessing information stored, on a user’s equipment,...

Landlords and tenants should be aware of changes to the law relating to tenancy deposits paid under shorthold tenancies. These came into effect on 6 April 2012. Previously, measures introduced in April 2007 under the Housing Act 2004 meant that any...

When a mortgage brokerage agrees to arrange finance for a customer, does that mean that it has provided a guarantee that the required funding will be found? This question was the subject of a recent case in the Court of Appeal concerning a former business...

With the economy still struggling, dubious business practices can be expected to be more common than normal, as is evidenced by the expulsion from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales of two members who have each recently been...

Disputed wills and estates are far from rare and it is often the least valuable assets in an estate that give rise to the bitterest arguments. In particular, a deceased person’s personal effects, such as their jewellery, pictures or even clothing,...

Since the Civic Amenities Act 1967 , over 9,000 conservation areas have been designated as areas of special architectural or historic interest in England alone. Planning law and local requirements apply wherever you live, but if you live in a conservation...

A recent tax case shows the lengths HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will go to when they think there is tax to be gained by adopting an aggressive attitude with taxpayers. It involved a family, consisting of a mother and her three children, who owned a...