Secret trusts are uncommon and the law is complex. A secret trust arises when the testator makes a will leaving, on its face, a gift to a beneficiary outright, but where that beneficiary previously agreed with the testator to hold the gift on trust for ultimate beneficiaries. In his will, T left most of his …
Continue reading “Wills – secret trusts”
Note that many HMLR forms have been amended a result of a change to the postcode for HMLR’s PO Box address. Most applications will be made via the portal these days, but do not be caught out if it is necessary to use a form. Source the latest version from the HMLR website. Source: www.gov.uk.
HMLR has updated PG74 (searches of the index of proprietors’ names). This is an important search which enables the applicant to establish whether there are any registered titles against the name/s. It can be useful for PRs, for example, but cannot be used as a mere ‘fishing exercise’. Section 2 has been updated to remove …
Continue reading “HMLR – PG74”
New guidance on the use of covert recordings in children proceedings has been published by the Family Justice Council. The guidance is aimed at both professionals and LIPs and comes against the background of an increase in covert recordings by private individuals in family proceedings. The FJC says there is a need for clear guidance, …
Continue reading “Procedure – covert recordings; children”
Under s44(2) ACA 2002, the court may not grant an adoption order unless the proposed adopter has given notice to the appropriate LA. Compliance with s44(2) is essential. In this case, the adoption application was allowed to proceed even though notice had been given to the wrong LA. For the purposes of s44(2), the ‘appropriate’ …
Continue reading “Adoption – procedure”
HMLR has updated PG21 (using our forms for complex and more unusual transactions). Section 14.1 has been amended to reflect current HM Revenue & Customs practice on submitting online SDLT returns for multiple properties. Section 14.1 now reads: ‘14.1 Stamp Duty Land Tax In most cases where there are multiple properties, the Land Transaction Return …
Continue reading “HMLR – PG21”
In the course of care proceedings, the LA applied for full care orders and placement for adoption orders in respect of a two-year-old girl (P). P had been living with her maternal grandmother since birth. In October 2024, the judge dismissed the LA’s application for a placement order and the LA appealed, arguing that the …
Continue reading “Adoption – placement order”
H was not permitted to appeal a financial order until he complied with an LSPO order, the CA has ruled. The decision came against the backdrop of what a judge in the lower court called ‘a blizzard’ of destructive litigation in a very high-value divorce case. The court has power to make an LSPO under …
Continue reading “Unless Orders – LSPO”
D was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years following the attempted murder of his estranged wife (W). He had a history of violence and was already subjected to a NMO barring him from contacting W. D appealed his conviction, unsuccessfully, on several grounds. However, the CA found that the judge …
Continue reading “Sentencing – aggravating factors”
The LA successfully appealed a finding that a baby’s injuries occurred during an assault by F on M, rather than a subsequent event before a second admission to hospital. The child (C), the youngest of five children, suffered severe head injuries in November 2023 at just three weeks old. The parents gave differing and changing …
Continue reading “Children – fact-finding of injuries”