Warning to landlords after court ruling: Emma Gosling writes for News On The Block
A recent case highlights the problems that can arise when drafting lease terms, and is likely to be welcomed by tenants, argues Emma Gosling.
Read moreA recent case highlights the problems that can arise when drafting lease terms, and is likely to be welcomed by tenants, argues Emma Gosling.
Read moreKathryn Copeland reviews the key developments in commercial landlord and tenant law in 2018.
Read moreFollowing Good Divorce Week, an annual campaign by Resolution that aims to raise awareness of how divorcing parents can limit the impact of divorce on their children, Jo’s comments on how to have a good a divorce were published by The Daily Telegraph.
Read moreI am investing in property in London and have a concern that one or two of the apartments I am buying will be leasehold. I realise that there is a government consultation coming up. Should I expect changes to the laws around leaseholds after that?
Read moreHead of Family, Jo Edwards wrote for The Times on spousal maintenance reform.
Read moreHMRC has surprised many with a statement that the government does not intend to remedy a defect in the tax treatment of offshore income gains arising in non-resident trusts.
Read moreAssociate in the Family team, Jonathan Lyness, writes for Professional Adviser on the wider context of civil partnerships for opposite-sex couples.
As the government prepares to legislate to allow opposite-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships, Jonathan considers the similarities and differences with marriage, as well as the continuing financial vulnerability of cohabitees.
Read moreXavier Nicholas and George Mitchell write for the International Law Office (ILO) on the Court of Appeal's decision in Ardmore Construction v HMRC.
Read moreKey issues for people and businesses who are interested in real property
Read moreJade Capper, associate in our Commercial Real Estate team, wrote an article for Property Law Journal exploring the rise and rise of the serviced office market.
Read moreResidential Property partner, Helen Marsh, responded to a reader's question in The Telegraph Money.
Read morePrivate Client partner, Kelly Noel-Smith, and associate, Alex Tamosius, have co-authored an article published in the August – September edition of the STEP Journal.
Read moreHead of Family, Jo Edwards advised a Financial Times reader on the query – Do I have a legal right to part of my husband’s pension?
Read moreThe Sunday Times article discussed the possibility of CrowdJustice opening its platform to people wishing to raise funding for divorce/related proceedings.
Read moreThe 2017 divorce statistics for England and Wales were released by the ONS on 26 September and showed a headline reduction of 4.9% since 2016.
Read moreHead of Private Client, Patrick Harney was quoted in an article on Bloomberg.com which discussed the contingency plans that some of the UK’s high net worth individuals are making for a Labour government.
Read moreAfter news leaked last week of their plans, the government today published its consultation on no fault divorce.
Jo Edwards was interviewed on the BBC News Channel about the detail of the consultation, previous attempts to change the law and her hopes this time.
Read moreIn the aftermath of news that the government is to consult on legislation to bring in no fault divorce, Jo was interviewed on the BBC News Channel and Radio 4.
Read moreHead of Private Client, Patrick Harney co-authored an article with US attorney Bruce Steiner entitled “Prince Harry’s Estate Planning”.
Read morePresenter Paul Lewis asked Jo whether the McLaughlin judgment, which rules that the government’s position not to extend bereavement benefits to unmarried parents is unlawful, actually changes the law for cohabiting couples; what is the prospect of law reform; and wider issues that cohabiting couples have to bear in mind.
Read moreIn the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in McLaughlin, the panel took calls from members of the public about whether the law should recognise cohabiting couples.
Jo explained their lack of rights at the moment and attempts to change the law.
Read moreHead of Family, Jo Edwards appeared on BBC 5 o’clock News, ITV News Weekday Lunchtime and Teatime and Channel 4 News on the day that the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Siobhan McLaughlin. Ms McLaughlin was denied access to widowed parent’s allowance, after her partner died, because they were not married. The couple had lived together for 23 years and had four children.
Read moreThe news that the Supreme Court had ruled that not allowing a cohabiting mother to claim bereavement payments, after her partner passed away, was discriminatory and a breach of human rights was published in The Guardian, The Financial Times,
Read moreJo Edwards, Head of Family discussed the Supreme Court judgment in favour of Siobhan McLaughlin, that refusing her and her four children bereavement benefits because she was not married to her late partner was discriminatory and a breach of human rights.
Read moreHead of Family, Jo Edwards wrote an opinion piece for the iNews entitled “Death-bed marriages are on the rise – the law is failing cohabiting couples.”
Read moreThe Guardian published two articles, one published online entitled the “Rise in deathbed weddings prompts call to protect cohabiting couples” and the other in print entitled “Give more legal rights to cohabiting couples, lawyers urge Government”.
Read moreHead of Family, Jo Edwards appeared on BBC Radio 4’s iPM radio show hosted by Luke Jones.
Read morePrivate Wealth partner, Fiona Smith discussed lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) on BBC Radio 5’s Afternoon Edition.
Read moreA recent judgement in the TCC (Imperial Chemical Industries Limited v Merit Merrell Technology Limited) contains some strident criticism of the experts giving evidence in the trial. In addition, although the Judge (Fraser J) reserves his most direct criticism for the experts, he was clearly unimpressed with the lawyers who had instructed them. There are therefore lessons both for experts and
Read moreSoon-to-be-qualified lawyer in the Family team, Jonathan Lyness wrote alongside Gary Yan, a partner at Coote Family Law in Melbourne, on a number of family law issues relating to same-sex couples.
Read moreThe Sunday Times published a feature entitled “It's over : splitting spouses ‘go private’ to speed up divorce”.
Read moreThe recent changes to the taxation of trusts settled by non-UK domiciled individuals have given rise to a potentially adverse tax consequence for trusts which invest in funds that give rise to offshore income gains (OIGs).
Read moreHead of Family and past Resolution chair, Jo Edwards, was interviewed on BBC Radio 4 by Clive Coleman and ABC Radio Sydney by Josh Szeps about the recent Supreme Court decision in Owens v Owens, highlighting the calls for no-fault divorce.
The Mirror also published a comment piece by Jo.
Read moreIn a recent article for Estates Gazette, Ben Barrison, Property Litigation partner, and Rahul Varma of Selborne Chambers consider the impact of company voluntary arrangements on landlords and the steps they can take to protect themselves.
Read moreOn 18 July, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Mills v Mills.
Read morePrivate Client partner, Fiona Smith, provided comment for an article discussing lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) in The Times.
Read moreJo Edwards wrote a piece for Brides magazine raising key questions that couples should consider before marriage.
Read moreSarah Heatley, associate in Forsters' Property Litigation team, was published in Property Law Journal.
Sarah's article, entitled 'Upsetting the apple cart', looks at a decision which adds a further layer to the process of repossession when serving a section 21 notice.
Download PDFOn 28 June 2018, Kelly Noel-Smith participated in STEP’s roundtable discussion at the Law Society as part of a select group of private client specialists.
Read moreThe Ministry of Justice quarterly statistics for January to March 2018, released on 28 June, show that some divorce centres are taking up to twice as long as last year to process applications for Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute, taking up to 27 and 51 weeks respectively.
Read moreOn 27 June, Rebecca Steinfield and Charles Keidan won their appeal when the Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Partnership Act 2004, which permits such unions for same sex but not opposite sex couples, was discriminatory and in breach of their human rights.
Read moreLeading family lawyer, Rosie Schumm, was quoted in The Times Brief discussing the landmark case of Graham Mills.
Read moreForsters partner and leading private client lawyer, Carole Cook, was quoted in an article by The Law Society Gazette.
The article, entitled 'Fiscal Ferment' explores the rate of change in the increasingly complicated global tax environment.
Read moreJo Edwards, Head of Family and past Resolution chair, featured on BBC Radio 4's Law in Action to answer the question 'should it be easier to end a marriage?'.
Read moreThe Finance (No 2) Act 2017 requires disclosure of acts of historic non-compliance to HMRC by 30 September 2018. These provisions are known as the requirement to correct rule.
Trustees should be considering how they may be affected by this rule. In particular, the rule covers the obligations upon trustees to report and settle inheritance tax ten yearly charges.
Download PDFHead of Family, Jo Edwards discusses the case of Mr and Mrs Owens, as calls continue for divorce reform in England and Wales.
Read moreJo Edwards, Head of Family, wrote a piece for The Guardian making the case for a no-fault divorce system that would free spouses from apportioning blame for the breakdown of their marriage.
Read moreHead of Family, Jo Edwards was invited onto BBC2’s Victoria Derbyshire programme alongside Penny Mansfield and Natasha Brittan to provide expert opinion on England and Wales’s current divorce system and calls for divorce reform. During the programme Jo discusses the potential benefits of no fault divorce, including reducing conflict, particularly in cases involving children.
Read moreCarole Cook, partner in our Private Client team, was quoted by The Law Society Gazette in their article 'On the money'.
Read moreJo Edwards, Head of Family, answers a reader's question in the Financial Times about the court's approach to maintenance on divorce where someone has had time out of the workplace to raise children.
Read moreLeading family lawyer and partner in Forsters' Family team, Rosie Schumm and trainee solicitor, Jonathan Lyness, wrote a piece for Spear's magazine discussing the upcoming Supreme Court Judement as Charles Keidan and Rebecca Steinfeld campaign to extend civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples.
Read moreJo Edwards, Head of Family, was quoted in The Telegraph discussing the unequal rights of and financial pitfalls faced by unmarried couples upon the death of a partner.
Read moreThe Finance (No. 2) Act 2017 contains provisions requiring disclosure of historic non-compliance to HMRC by 30 September 2018: the "requirement to correct" rule. This is part of a range of legislation targeting offshore tax evasion.
Download PDFJames Brockhurst, senior associate, and Raffaella Maisto, associate, both of Forsters' Private Client team, consider the recent consultation on capital gains tax (CGT) payment requirements relating to disposals of UK residential property in a recent Q&A style article for Lexis PSL Private Client.
Read moreJo Edwards, Head of Family, was quoted in an article by The Guardian about the Supreme Court case of Siobhan McLaughlin, who is fighting the state’s refusal to pay widowed parent’s allowance to an unmarried mother.
Read moreJo Edwards, Head of Family, was quoted by The Guardian discussing no-fault divorce.
Read moreSenior associate, Amanda Sandys and associate, Christine Abbotts have written for YourMoney.com on the non-disclosure of assets upon divorce.
Read moreJo Edwards, Head of Family, joined host Paul Lewis on BBC Radio 4’s Money Box to discuss the upcoming Supreme Court case of Siobhan McLaughlin, who is challenging the rules that refuse her and her four children bereavement benefits because she was not married to her late partner.
Read moreNatasha Rees, Head of Property Litigation, wrote for Property Law Journal reviewing the decision in Mundy, which saw the Court of Appeal analyse current valuation methods.
Read moreThe new figures, released on 29 March 2018, relate to cases in the family courts in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Read morePartner, Rosie Schumm, and associate, Dickon Cedeal wrote for Family Law Journal discussing the potential options for the reform of the law relating to cohabitants. The article, entitled 'Cohabitants: Ripe for reform?', is available behind a paywall.
Read moreJo Edwards, Head of Family, wrote a piece for Brides magazine on prenuptial agreements.
Read moreQuestion: We are buying a property, part of which has been described as a “flying freehold”. What is a flying freehold, and what problems can arise from it?
Read morePartner, Rosie Schumm and associate, Anna Ferster, wrote for Spear's magazine.
Read moreJo Edwards, Amanda Sandys and Jamie Gaw have written for Family Law Journal contributing what will be a regular column focusing on family dispute resolution (DR).
Read moreThe new figures, released on 28 February 2018, cover marriages formed in 2015, including the first full year's figures for same sex marriages.
Read moreForsters responds to the HMRC consultation regarding the radical changes to the taxation of gains by non-residents in respect of UK land.
Read moreJo Edwards discusses a huge growth in the number of litigants in person in family cases and what is being done, as well as what remains to be done, to help them.
Read moreQuestion: As a commercial landlord we are increasingly seeing interest from our tenants for the installation of electric vehicle charging points. What are the issues that we should consider?
Read moreHead of Family, Jo Edwards, was quoted by Spear’s Magazine in a piece discussing Tim Loughton’s Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths Bill.
Jo commented positively on the issue, noting that it helped draw attention to the lack of legal rights for cohabitating couples.
Read moreThe recent liquidation of Carillion is a stark reminder that even the biggest companies can fail. Every day seems to bring further worrying news about well-known retailers and restaurants, many of whom have large leasehold property portfolios.
Read moreQuestion: As a commercial landlord we are increasingly seeing interest from our tenants for the installation of electric vehicle charging points. What are the points that we should consider?
Read moreFamily partner, Rosie Schumm, wrote an article for The Times’ Brief on the proposed Bill on Civil Partnerships, comparing the situation to other jurisdictions and emphasising the bigger problem of the lack of legal protection for cohabiting couples when relat
Read moreI entered into a building contract with a contractor who has just entered into an insolvency procedure mid-way through the carrying out of the works. What should I do now?
Read moreHead of Family, Jo Edwards, appeared on ITV’s Tonight Show, “Divorce Wars”, to discuss no fault divorce and answer questions on whether UK divorce law is in need of reform.
After the show, Jo took part in a live Facebook Q&A answering questions from viewers and members of the public.
Read moreJo Edwards, Head of Family, had published a letter to the editor of The Times.
Read moreWith effect from 1 April 2018, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Regulations (“MEES”) will require a minimum EPC rating of E for all new leases, and for renewals or extensions of existing leases.
Read moreHead of Family, Jo Edwards, answers a reader question featured in the Mail Online This is Money.
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