According to recent research from Key Equity Release, adult children living at home could be costing UK parents a combined £17 billion each year. More than 3.8 million families are estimated to have an adult child living at home, with parents spending...
Following the commencement of parts of the Renter's Rights Act 2025 on 1 st May 2026, the Government has now announced the timeline for the roll-out of the new National Landlord Registration Service commonly known as the PRS Database. For...
A franchise resale involves an existing franchisee selling their business to a new incoming franchisee, or another existing member of the network. In the same way as selling any other type of business, there are two different ways to structure a resale...
In England & Wales we have “testamentary freedom”, which means that people can leave everything to whoever they want in their Will. Can siblings challenge a Will? A Will can be challenged by anyone who has “ standing ”....
I was reading about the recent case of Thirsk v Thirsk & Ors [2026] EWHC 1501 (Ch), a case whereby a surviving spouse advanced a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, despite having been left a tax-free legacy of...
Section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985 governs the court’s powers to remove executors from their position as administrators of a deceased person’s will. Applications to the court used to be few and far between, but have been...
In the majority of matters, clients approach us once they have already agreed the terms of a deal for the sale of their business. However, there are often tips and advice that we can share prior to that stage that can add value to their deal, either by...
Having recently and very publicly declared that the only reason he will ever marry his long-term partner of over 40 years (novelist Jane Fallon) is to avoid paying inheritance tax, Ricky Gervais has highlighted one of the financial advantages of being...
Many of you may have recently watched the BBC drama “I, Jack Wright” which in some quarters is being described as a “UK Succession”. The series follows self-made millionaire, Jack Wright, whose apparent suicide is later...
When dealing with the financial implications of divorce, it is understandable that the parties’ main priority is to ensure that both they and any children of the family are suitably housed and have sufficient income to support themselves. However,...
Trusts are commonly used to protect assets, provide for family members, and manage wealth for future generations. The trust deed is the key document that creates the trust and sets out how it should be administered. If the original trust deed has been lost...
Social media has become a window into our daily lives, capturing everything from holidays and nights out to major life events. But what many people don't realise is that the content they share online can also play a significant role in divorce...
For many years, the concept of a “common law marriage” has been one of the most enduring myths in family law. There is a widespread misconception that couples who have lived together for a significant period, or who have children together,...
An executor (also known as a personal representative) is someone who has been appointed in a Will to deal with the administration of a person’s estate after they have died. An executor’s role involves collecting in the estate assets (e.g. closing...
Gary Pammen, a television psychic who was well known as the “Cockney Bard” has lost a legal challenge to his late father's will and has been ordered to pay £216,000 in legal costs. The case is a stark reminder that suspicion alone...
In my recent blog " what happens if you’re promised a property but left out of a will " I looked at how proprietary estoppel can apply to the family home when promises are made and later broken. A recent claim brought by Harry Lambert...
Losing a loved one is always difficult. When you also have doubts about whether their Will truly reflects their wishes, the situation can feel even more distressing. If the person who died had dementia or was showing signs of cognitive decline in the months...
Losing a loved one is one of the hardest experiences a family can face. When there’s no Will in place, that pain can be compounded by uncertainty and, in many cases, disagreement among those left behind. Without a Will, strict legal rules determine...
The decision in McDaniel v Talbot (2026) offers a useful illustration of how adult child claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 ( “the 1975 Act” ) can succeed, even where the claimant has long been excluded...
One of the questions we are frequently asked by clients is “Can I split my Land Registry title?” The short answer is no, it is not that simple! HM Land Registry will not simply divide an existing title into two or more separate titles. A new...
Discovering that a loved one’s Will doesn’t reflect what you expected, or what you believe they truly wanted, can be deeply unsettling. Whether you suspect the Will was made under pressure, that the person lacked the mental capacity to make it,...
Dealing with a loved one’s estate is rarely straightforward, and it can be deeply distressing when the executor responsible for administering it fails to keep you informed. You might be receiving no updates at all, vague answers to straightforward...
The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the “Act”) allows certain people to bring claims against estates if reasonable financial provision has not been made for them. Who can claim under the Inheritance (Provision for...
The recent reporting surrounding Liam Payne’s estate has once again demonstrated why Wills are not just for the over 50s, homeowners, or the ultra-wealthy. Court documents have revealed that the former One Direction singer died at the age of just 31...
The High Court recently examined a long-running family dispute (Teixeira v Moaven) over the true ownership of valuable London properties within a deceased’s estate and, crucially, whether last-minute “Declarations of Trust” could...
For decades, upward-only rent reviews have been a cornerstone of commercial leases, offering landlords certainty and investors predictable income. That may now be about to change. A largely unexpected provision in the English Devolution and Community...
Did you know that the beauty industry produces over 120 billion units of packaging globally each year? Most of it is plastic and most of it isn’t recyclable. From shampoo bottles to face cream tubs, plastic packaging contributes massively to...
On 10 th June 2026 the National Energy System Operator (“NESO”) published an update that 58% of connection offers for renewable energy projects in the pre-2030 pipeline (713 out of 1,223 projects) have now been issued. a { ...
I’ve recently been thinking about how many people still focus on the day-to-day but perhaps overlook the longer-term plan. When the next generation step into the day-to-day running of the family’s mixed farm, they will often think that the hard...
Recent headlines surrounding Katie Price and her reportedly missing husband have once again drawn attention to the realities behind whirlwind romances, especially those that lead to a walk down the aisle within a matter of days of meeting, as was the case...
