News and Blog

• SDLT – What’s it to me?

  • PostedMarch 10, 2016

  From 1 April 2016, anyone buying residential property in addition to their main home will be subject to a 3% increase on the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) that would currently be payable on the transaction. SDLT is therefore currently high on the agenda for buy-to-let landlords and those seeking to buy second homes.

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• The Residence Nil Rate Band: passing on the family home free of Inheritance Tax

  • PostedMarch 3, 2016

  From 6 April 2017 a new Inheritance Tax allowance called the Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB) will be available to anyone who leaves a residential property or an interest in residential property to their descendants or to the spouses or civil partners of their descendants in their will.

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• Heterosexual Civil Partnerships, the Legal Bid for Equal Love

  • PostedFebruary 17, 2016
  

  Tim Adkin, Family Solicitor, discusses the recent debate of Civil Partnerships as highlighted by the recent case of Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan, who wanted to enter into a civil partnership and took the matter to the High Court as they felt they were being discriminated against as they were not same sex partners.

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• The initial steps of selling a business: undertaking a due diligence exercise

  • PostedFebruary 11, 2016
  

  Whether you have owned your business for generations or for a short time the decision to sell isn’t always easy. Shelley Bonney, Commercial Solicitor, discusses the initial steps you can take to help expedite the transaction and help it to run smoothly. The key is in the preparation.

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• Right to rent goes live across England

  • PostedFebruary 10, 2016

  Anyone with mixed use premises from 1 February 2016 needs to be complying with the new right to rent legislation or face a civil penalty of up to £3,000. Read more here about the requirements for private landlords of residential properties.

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• The presumption of parental involvement

  • PostedFebruary 4, 2016
  

  The Children and Families Act 2014 introduced a “presumption of parental involvement” designed to encourage Courts to recognise the role of each parent in a more equal way. In order to keep up with social changes, the Act helps to recognise the importance of fathers having an active role in their children’s lives, which signals the end of the traditional idea that a mother is the “main parent”. Read more here.

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