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The Renters' Rights Act 2025 - Changes for Tenants

From 1 May 2026, changes brought in by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 will provide more rights and better protection to tenants in the private rented sector. Changes introduced by the Act include: The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies. All...

Woman's Family Successfully Challenge Forged Will

A woman's family have succeeded in their challenge to a will purporting to leave her £500,000 estate to her partner after a judge ruled that the will was a forgery. The woman had made a will in 2022 leaving her estate in trust to her daughter. After...

Husband's Pensions Did Not Become Matrimonialised, Court Rules

The Family Court has ruled in financial remedy proceedings that a significant part of the value of a husband's pensions had accrued during the marriage, but rejected the argument that his pensions had become fully 'matrimonialised'. The husband and wife...

Steel Company's Challenge to Planning Permission Rejected

The High Court has rejected a challenge brought by a steel company to a grant of planning permission for a development that would require it to vacate land it occupies at Chatham Docks. The owner of a site including the land used by the company had...

Government Guidance on Lasting Powers of Attorney

The government provides guidance on its website on Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs), including how to make and register an LPA, choosing an attorney and when you need to report changes. An LPA is a legal document that allows you to appoint one or more...

Council Orders Couple to Remove Garden Fence

A couple who installed a fence around their house in place of a hedge have been ordered by the local council to remove it because it is too tall. The couple had bought the house in April 2024 and moved in four months later. While the house was being...

High Court Grants Father's Application for Girls' Return to Zimbabwe

The High Court has ruled that two girls, aged 10 and six, whose mother brought them to the UK without their father's consent should return to Zimbabwe . The girls and their parents were Zimbabwean nationals. The parents had married in 2014 but never lived...

Beneficiaries Must Pay Costs of Administration Bill Assessment

Under Section 71(3) of the Solicitors Act 1974 , where a trustee, executor or administrator is liable to pay a solicitor's bill, any person with an interest in the property out of which it may be paid can apply to the court for an assessment of it. A High...

Certificate of Lawful Development Granted for Annexe

A woman has succeeded in obtaining the right to continue living in an annexe next to her son's house. The annexe was situated on a farm the woman owned and had originally been a stable block. When planning permission to convert it into an annexe was granted...

Family Court Departs from Equality in Big-Money Divorce Case

The Family Court has ruled in financial remedy proceedings that a departure from an equal division of assets was appropriate in view of the fact that riskier and less liquid business assets would be retained by the husband. The husband and wife had met in...
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