“An Englishman still remains at liberty at his death to dispose of his own property in whatever way he pleases or, if he chooses to do so, to leave that disposition to be regulated by the laws of intestate succession” Re Coventry (deceased) [1980].

We are continuing to see increasing numbers of contentious probate enquiries but what are the practical considerations to think about before embarking on this sort of litigation.

The Parliamentary Group for Inheritance and Intergenerational Fairness has been looking at IHT since February 2019 and has come up with some wide-ranging recommendations including reducing the current 40% inheritance tax rate to 10 – 20%, removing the tax-free CGT uplift on death, and abolishing APR and BPR.

Learn more about what constitutes unreasonable behaviour in divorce and how it could be considered in your divorce settlement.

Exploring the funding or payment options which are available for your legal fees is an important step before you decide which firm to instruct to represent you. On the face of it, a No Win, No Fee agreement might be attractive but deferred payment agreements can be less costly if you are successful with your claim. Both options are explored further in this article.

A common factor in all the maternity-related scandals I’ve commented on over the past 10 years or so is staffing. Now, a report by the Royal College of Midwives underlines the chronic understaffing in some parts of the country by revealing the high number of vacancies with some Trusts having to increase their reliance on bank or agency staff.

The new Renters' Rights Act 2025 includes the only House of Lords amendment to be accepted by the Commons, namely one that relates to agricultural tenancies, something that should interest farmers who let residential properties as part of their diversification strategy. The ending of no-fault evictions (Section 21) under the legislation has dominated the headlines, but there are several other elements that landlords need to be aware of, specifically the nature of the tenancies, rents, and enhanced regulation.

Wright Hassall LLP, together with Charlotte John of Gatehouse Chambers, represented the successful claimant in a long-running dispute concerning the estate of Yeamon Keith Care.

A significant change to worker rights set to be introduced in April will ensure flexible working is more accessible than ever before and demonstrates the traditional 9-5 working pattern is ‘no longer the norm’, according to an employment law expert.

According to the latest set of statistics from the Office for National Statistics, the proportion of people in a relationship and cohabiting has increased from 19.7% in 2012 to 22.7% in 2022, a trend that looks set to continue. Although there are many reasons why people in long term relationships choose to not to marry it is likely that only a few have considered the legal implications of not doing so.