News archive: March 2021

• Kate Garraway & the legal protections we should all have in place
  Posted on March 24, 2021
  Kate Garraway’s heart-breaking story of her husband Derek’s year-long battle with Covid has been made even more complicated by the lack of legal protection she and Derek had in place. Kate was unable to access funds to manage her husband’s care or refinance her mortgage. She didn’t even have the legal right to see his medical notes, owing to data protection.
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• Arrangements for children after a same sex divorce or separation
  Posted on March 16, 2021
  Following the introduction of civil partnerships in 2005 and same sex marriages in 2014, there has been an increase in families and then relationship breakdown between same sex parents.
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• The key legal issues to take you from startup to scale up
  Posted on March 10, 2021
  Starting any new business comes with a steep learning curve, especially as a founder when you often find yourself wearing all the management hats. This is why it is important to deal with the core legal issues early, so that when the time comes to scale up, your business is ready and in good shape to expand.
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• New rules for IR35 and off-payroll working from 6 April
  Posted on March 8, 2021
  After postponements in 2019 and 2020, the 6 April 2021 is the third date scheduled for the off-payroll working rules to be extended to the private sector. The purpose of the change is to increase compliance with tax rules known as IR35. This change has implications for:
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• Defending a claim that you breached your duties as a director
  Posted on March 8, 2021
  It is the thing that all company directors dread – the prospect of a claim of an alleged breach of duty – for this can give rise to personal liability or can result in the imposition of criminal sanctions or a director’s disqualification order. So, what should you do if the unthinkable happens and you find yourself accused of violating the rules by which you are statutorily or contractually bound?
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• Challenging a dubious Will where you suspect coercion
  Posted on March 5, 2021
  We all have the right to leave our money and property to whoever we please when we die, but the decisions we make must be arrived at freely and without undue influence from family, friends or others who hope to secure an inheritance.
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• Protecting yourself from property fraud during the pandemic
  Posted on March 4, 2021
  Online fraud has boomed during the pandemic, with one police force reporting a 400 per cent rise in offences. While your home may not seem like an obvious target, more and more criminals are turning to property transactions because of the large sums of money involved.
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• It’s complicated – changes to marital status and making a Will
  Posted on March 4, 2021
  There have been a number of changes in regard to marriage law since 2004, with the most recent being the introduction of opposite-sex civil partnerships in 2019. These changes have been important in providing clarity over legal rights and financial security when one member of the couple dies.
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