Private Client Litigation

Our dispute resolution expertise is aimed as much at private clients as our business clients. We represent Claimant and Defendant (or Respondent), in all litigation arenas. Our aim is to achieve the best results for you both legally and commercially, if possible, without resort to actual litigation. You can do this through a variety of formal or informal means collectively known as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

We will, where relevant, discuss with you such insurance as you may have to cover our charges.

We have experienced litigators who have a wealth of experience in their own particular area of specialism and who will deal with your area of concern speedily and efficiently.

Private Client Litigation:

Employment issues
Property Disputes
Wills & Probates

Divorce and the Company Director

Divorce is almost never easy and the financial negotiations can be protracted and difficult, particularly when there are business interests involved. In this article we consider some of the issues surrounding divorce for company directors. In the first...

Your Rights as a Consumer

UK consumer protection legislation is robust, giving them substantial rights and imposing significant obligations on traders. Indeed, in some cases the actions of a vendor may be sufficient to constitute an ‘unfair commercial practice’ (UCP). UK...

Assessing Mental Capacity - Guidance

One of the conditions which must be satisfied for a will to be valid is that the person making it must be of sound mind. With an ageing population, cases involving disputes over a testator’s mental capacity are becoming more common – it is...

HMRC Guidance on Tax Residence

Following changes in the tax legislation governing the income tax payable by non-domiciliaries, and some relevant tax cases, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have issued a guidance booklet (HMRC 6) . This replaces the old guidance, which was contained in...

What can the Court Order?

The Court can potentially deal with: The matrimonial home and all other assets including land, contents, life policies, stocks and shares, motor vehicles, pension benefits, maintenance and in limited circumstances, maintenance for the child of the family. ...

What is the basis for Negotiations?

Statute Before a court makes an order, it has to look at a checklist of considerations. These are set out in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. These factors are listed below but provide scant guidance as to how the Courts apply the factors....

Shoreditch House Press Release

Family Judges and Lawyers commit to take Bitterness and Cost out of Divorce 6 Years on, London Family Lawyers Celebrate the Success of Collaborative Law Keynote Address by: Lord Kerr Justice of the Supreme Court The RT Hon the Lord Kerr of...

The Power of Goodbye

Does the recent financial turmoil affect your marriage or relationship? The sad answer is that it’s very likely that it does. If you are thinking of separating or are in the process of separating then in most cases the main family asset is likely to...

What is the basis for Negotiations?

Legal Jargon Explained

An explanation of the Legal Phrases you may Encounter Acknowledgement of service form – the form by which the respondent (or co-respondent) acknowledges having received the divorce petition. Affidavit – a formal statement sworn on oath...

What Can The Court Order?

IHT Guidance From the Tax Man

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) offer useful guidance on the mechanics of the transfer of the unused IHT ‘nil rate band’ between spouses or civil partners and gives several examples of this complex relief. One important point for executors is...

Start of Year Tax Planning

The early months of the tax year are a good time for savers to think about tax planning for the current year. In particular, now is a good time to think about investments that produce regular income – if you can find them. If you expect to have a...

Estates - What Happens if Values Fall?

One of the biggest problems now facing executors is that as the recession progresses, most assets, other than cash, are falling in value, which can mean that the value of an estate for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes is greater than the market value later on....

Child Maintenance Explained

The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) – a statutory non-departmental public body – was established in 2008 to take on the work of the Child Support Agency. At the same time, the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act ...

Heir Hunters - Take Advice!

Until the recent publicity afforded by television shows on the subject, many people might not have realised that ‘heir tracing’ companies exist, let alone that they research ‘promising’ estates by looking at public records and then...

Buying Abroad - Considerations

After another cold, wet summer and with dull economic prospects at home, you might be thinking of buying a property abroad or even making a permanent move to foreign climes. If so, as well as it being essential to take independent and high quality legal...

Stamp Duty Land Tax: Beginner's Guide

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a self-assessed tax. The onus is on the taxpayer to make the necessary land transaction return, calculate the tax and pay it across. This is a fundamental change from the old Stamp Duty regime which taxed documents of...

What Happens on Intestacy?

The levels of statutory legacy (the amount that surviving spouses or civil partners are allowed to inherit if their spouse/civil partner dies without leaving a will) were increased from 1 February 2009 to the following: • £250,000 (from...

Fact Sheet - Disclosure to Mortgage Lenders of Incentives for Buyers

This fact sheet provides guidance for those involved in the development of residential properties whether new builds or conversions of existing properties . On 1 September 2008, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) introduced new procedures in...

Selling Your Property at Auction

In recent years, increased mobility and growing rates of home ownership have meant that ever-larger numbers of people nowadays inherit properties from relatives who lived many miles away. Similarly, many buy-to-let properties have been purchased in areas...

Mortgage Exit Administration Charges - Consumer Redress

When you ask for a redemption statement from your mortgage lender, it can come as an unpleasant surprise to see an additional charge termed ‘mortgage exit administration fee’ (MEAF), which, while it will be shown in the mortgage offer letter, is...

Inheritance Tax Update - Transferable Nil Rate Bands

The Nil Rate Band For 2007/2008 the nil rate band was £300,000 and this rose to £312,000 for 20/08/2009 and to £325,000 from 6 April 2009. The nil rate band (NRB) is the proportion of your estate which will not be subject to any...

Reform of Empty Rates Relief

To incentivise the use of empty properties, the Government introduced several changes to empty rates relief which became effective in April of this year. Prior to 1 April 2008, all empty properties benefitted from reduced business rates of up to 50% of the...

Land and Buildings - Opting to Tax From 1st June 2008

Supplies of land and buildings (e.g. sales and lettings) are usually exempt from VAT which means that no VAT is payable on these transactions, however this also means that the supplier cannot recover any VAT on their expenses. To enable the supplier to...

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Dispute Resolution

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Private Client Litigation

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