Welcome to the summer issue of our A PRIVATE WORD, keeping you up to date courtesy of a quarterly round-up of news from the world of law.
There has been much in the news about financing care lately and it’s certainly an issue many of our clients come to see us about on a regular basis. Saga estimates that one in five people will require the most expensive type of care, but most will be unable to afford it. There are ways to plan, however. Annuities and other financial solutions are there to be considered so talk to us about a plan to finance care and protect your assets; there are paths we can explore for you. The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Bill, has recently been introduced in the House of Lords. It is hoped the Bill will make it easier for insurers and insured parties to know their rights and obligations. Currently, the law calls for consumers to volunteer information about anything a “prudent insurer” would consider relevant. However, the view is that most consumers are unaware they are under a duty to volunteer information and even if they are aware, they often have little idea of what an insurer might consider relevant. Therefore, the changes will shift the responsibility to the insurer to request specific disclosures. If you ever become involved in a dispute with an insurer, don’t feel you are alone: remember we can help. Below is a rundown of breaking news in the legal world from the last quarter. For advice on any issue, contact us. Have a great summer and we’ll be in touch again in the autumn. | 
Creating a will is an extremely important task, which is why the Law Society is calling on the Government to introduce a formal qualification for will writers. Unqualified will writers notoriously cause huge problems for testators and their beneficiaries, which is why using a qualified solicitor to draft this highly important document is crucial. Solicitors are professionally qualified, trained across a range of disciplines such as tax mitigation and trust drafting, and protected by high level liability insurance. The full story is on our website. Talk to us about drafting a will, or updating yours if you haven’t reviewed it recently. Things change, and so should your will.
A very unusual case illustrates the lengths to which the courts may go in order to sort out disputes involving lost wills.
A mother has failed in her claim that the local authority’s decision to obtain a separation order against her and her baby breached her human rights. It was judged that everybody involved in the case acted in good faith after the baby - who was born in prison - was placed in care after the behavior of the mother was believed to have put the child’s life in danger. Local authorities will be supported by the courts if their decision is judged to have been made in good faith. You can read this case in full on our website. 
Expert legal advice relating to divorce is of paramount importance, especially now that a recent ruling has judged that there are limits on the extent to which future earning capacity should be taken into consideration in divorce cases. The Court of Appeal has ruled in a recent case that while earning capacity is relevant to the division of assets on divorce, it is not an asset in itself. The ruling is explained in full on our website. Our lawyers provide confidential advice on all types of relationship issues and the financial connotations of a relationship breakdown.
A recent court decision illustrates that where ownership of land changes, rights conferred by covenants over neighbouring land are not necessarily passed on to the new owners.
