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When lending money to friends, acquaintances or anyone else, the terms on which sums are advanced may be entirely clear to you in your own mind. However, as a High Court ruling showed , the absence of a professionally drafted loan agreement is a positive...

There is nothing wrong with an employee being paid in a tax-efficient manner. As an Employment Tribunal (ET) ruling showed, however, where such arrangements stray into the realms of unlawful evasion the consequences are likely to be severe. The case...

Children do not, as a matter of law, have capacity to make important decisions for themselves – but that does not mean that their wishes and feelings are irrelevant. In an unusual case on point, the High Court gave effect to a teenage foster child's...

Sick and vulnerable people can be prone to the malign, even fraudulent, influence of relatives or others who are intent on maximising their inheritance. However, as a High Court case showed , such conduct is unlikely to go undetected. The case concerned a...

Restrictive covenants that forbid property owners from causing annoyance, nuisance or disturbance to their neighbours commonly appear in title deeds – but how are they to be interpreted? In the context of a dispute between residents of a housing...

Rich individuals often have their feet firmly planted in more than one country and that can give rise to disputes as to where they should be taxed. In a guideline case, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) considered the position of an extremely wealthy man with...

So-called 'big money' divorces may grab the headlines, but lower-value disputes can often be the hardest to resolve. In a case on point, a family judge laboured to meet the reasonable needs of a divorcing couple whose debts far exceeded their modest...

There is ultimately only so much that you can do to prevent your loved ones falling out over inheritance issues after you are gone. However, as a High Court decision showed, the threat of bad blood developing can be greatly reduced by making an expertly...

When buying land it is vital to have a full understanding of any restrictions on the use to which it can be put. In a striking case on point, a couple were caught unawares by one such restriction and had their hopes of constructing an equestrian training...

No matter how much you respect and trust your friends, lending them money can be fraught with risk and should never be done without first taking professional advice. A case on point concerned a couple who lent £210,000 to a neighbour to help him fund...