Unregistered Land

About 15% of land in England and Wales remains unregistered. Much of this relates to landed estates and vast tracts of countryside but there are still significant pockets of unregistered title even in urban areas. Registration of land first…

Let Picasso Pay

The family of Lee Kun-hee, the late chairman of Samsung Electronics, are reportedly donating 23,000 works of art to South Korean Museums in order to reduce his estate’s $10.8bn inheritance tax bill. The inheritance tax liability (which equates…

We are ready – are you?

Earlier this month Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed speculation and extended the stamp duty holiday, which had been due to end on 31 March 2021, by three months in an attempt to mitigate the impact of the most recent coronavirus lockdown. The…

Stamp Duty Land Tax Surcharge for Overseas Buyers

What is the new surcharge? New rules introduced by the UK Government mean that overseas buyers of property in the UK will be required to pay an additional 2% tax on top of the current residential SDLT rates. The surcharge is applied on top…

Rentcharge Redemption

Rentcharges are found commonly in Bristol, Bath and other cities and originated in the early part of the 19th century or indeed earlier and were a means for builders to develop land without paying a premium to the owner of the Land. Landowners…

Business Interruption? You’re Covered!

In our article posted in June 2020 (‘Business Interruption – Is Your Business Covered?’), we explained how the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) were bringing a test case, to establish whether insurers need to pay out on claims for…

WEEKEND WILLS – POSTPONED

Edit - Unfortunately, due to the National Lockdown announced on 31 October 2020, we have had to postpone our Weekend Wills event. We will announce a new date as soon as possible.  There’s only so many hours in the day and sometimes it seems…

Yes They Will!

In what has been called the biggest shake-up to Wills in 183 years, The Ministry of Justice has stated that Wills and Codicils which have been witnessed via video conferencing platforms (such as Zoom and Skype) WILL be deemed legal. The statutory…

Rumoured Changes To Stamp Duty In 2020

Those thinking about buying or selling property will be keen to hear the the reforms to stamp duty land tax (“SDLT”) which the the Chancellor is expected to announce tomorrow on 8 July 2020. Tomorrow, the Chancellor is due to unveil the…

Divorce – Things can only get better!

The rise in divorce rates is sadly a common trend that is seen in times of economic turmoil.  Unfortunately, with couples currently being forced to spend unprecedented amounts of time together and with job losses and financial difficulties…