A more straightforward digital system to set up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) could come into play, but experts say that it is vital that sufficient safeguards are in place to protect elderly and vulnerable people from abuse. In this article, we look at how the system might work, and the concerns for potential abuse of a digital process for setting up Lasting Power of Attorney.

When it comes to starting a business one of the most challenging but interesting tasks is choosing the right business name. However, many people don't realise that there are restrictions on what you can name your business.

A 77 year old lady from southeast London, Maura Irwin, suffered a ‘slow and painful’ death due to medics accidentally putting her feeding tube into her lungs.

Step-families are an ever increasing family type within the United Kingdom, yet the rights of step-parents after divorce are often overlooked. 

When couples are separating and looking at their finances, they will be asked to provide full and frank disclosure of their financial position.

Unless express instructions are included in the lasting power of attorney (LPA) for property and financial affairs about providing for others or making gifts, the general rule is that the LPA attorney does not have power to benefit others apart from the very restricted authority to make the usual Christmas and birthday gifts and to make gifts to any charity to whom the donor may have been making regular payments.

As we move into the school holidays, we are seeing an increase in instructions for removing unauthorised encampments from land. Given the lack of affordable housing, traveller sites and, now, holiday accommodation in hot spot areas, we expect to see a big rise in unauthorised encampments across popular visitor sites.

Two years ago this month, the Office of Tax Simplification published their second report into the reform of Inheritance Tax. Having gathered information from practitioners, government departments and the public, they sought to publish their findings about how the complex Inheritance Tax system could be reformed.

Following ‘Brexit’ on 1 January 2021 citizens from the EU, European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland already living in the UK were given 6 months to apply through the EU Settlement Scheme if they wanted to continue living and working in the UK.

A recent case has given clarity regarding the extent of compensation that should be awarded where  injuries did not relate to the advice sought from a doctor. The supreme Court considered the extent of a doctor’s duty of care in view of what compensation should be paid.

If you write your own Will, without help from a solicitor, you need to make sure you know what's required in the eyes of the law. Homemade Wills are often poorly written, contain mistakes or are incorrectly executed. As a result, they are commonly found to be invalid or ineffective after death.

It was reported that in 2018 a hospital drug mix up meant a 77-year-old lady from Plymouth, Devon, was wide awake during her heart surgery at Derriford Hospital.