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The bar for a holiday lettings business to qualify for BPR is set increasingly high. Katherine Bullock outlines how to best advise clients ‘It does appear that, to be classified successfully as a non-investment business, a holiday letting business will need very significant services indeed to succeed; possibly even expenditure in excess of 65% of …
Continue reading "Business property relief: No holiday"
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Gordon Nurse examines a case that indicates how proprietary estoppel cases are currently treated at trial ‘It is essential from the outset to give careful consideration to the facts that must be established, especially if a party is to be entitled to rely on proprietary estoppel.’ Smyth-Tyrrell v Bowden [2018] is an example of the …
Continue reading "Proprietary estoppel: A principled approach to the facts"
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Helen Ratcliffe highlights the explosion of acronyms in private client practice, which can confuse the practitioner and the client ‘Some tax acronyms and abbreviations have been with us for decades and have the reassurance of long usage. But, as with compliance, there seems to have been an explosion of new ones.’ The role of a …
Continue reading "Guest editorial: Is your BO A-OK?"
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The Privy Council has clarified the operation of the rule in Hastings-Bass and how the beneficial ownership of gratuitously transferred assets should be determined. Alan Boyle QC, Richard Wilson QC and Zahler Bryan discuss ‘On the facts of this case MAR’s intention was sufficient, because at the material time MAR was also the governing mind …
Continue reading "Trustees: Relief from flawed decisions"
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Juliet Petchey considers practical points arising from a case contemporary with Ilott that was also based on the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 ‘Practitioners will recognise the scenario that, having taken advice, the defendant soon demanded the claimant leave the house in order that he could realise his inheritance. The defendant considered …
Continue reading "The 1975 Act: Increasingly relevant"
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Elizabeth Neale outlines what should be the focus of the Office of Tax Simplification’s report on the simplification of inheritance tax ‘The residence nil-rate band (RNRB), with the requirement to benefit direct descendants, complex tapering arrangements and downsizing provisions, is a classic example of policy being driven by political objectives.’ In April 2018, the Office …
Continue reading "Guest editorial: A chance for reform"
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The Court of Appeal has indicated the extent to which it will control the exercise of discretion by fiduciaries. Robert Pearce QC discusses ‘The Chancellor’s decisions that the grant was in the best interests of the charity and his direction to L to vote in favour of it were given simultaneously, giving L no opportunity …
Continue reading "Charities: The limits of discretion"
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Digital assets risk being overlooked during the probate process. Sue Mackintosh and Joshua Eaton report ‘If digital assets with a financial value are not accounted for, the estate of the deceased will not receive the assets, and the beneficiaries will receive less.’ In administering an estate, the personal representatives (PRs) of a deceased individual must …
Continue reading "Probate: Out in the ether"
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A recent case illuminates when a trustee can enter into a commercial transaction and the scope of s57 of the Trustee Act 1925. Adam Carvalho and Joseph de Lacey highlight the key points ‘The court did not need to agree that the trustee’s decision was “right”, but just that the decision fell within a range …
Continue reading "Trustees: Judicial blessings"
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Alison Craggs sets out important points to consider when advising a transgender client ‘Under s15 of the GRA, the fact that a person’s gender has changed does not affect the disposal or devolution of property under a will or other instrument made before 4 April 2005. However, the disposal or devolution of property under a …
Continue reading "Wills: Gender balance"
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