News: 2010

Cash Flow is King

17/12/2010 It was announced last week that the UK economy has officially come out of recession with figures for the last three months of 2009 showing growth of 0.1%.

17/12/2010 Gone are the days of having to hire a private investigator to prove a cheating spouse, evidence of a partner’s infidelity could now be found literally at your fingertips. Modern technology such as the mobile phone and the internet is believed to be fuelling divorce in the UK. I have to say, it is not uncommon now for clients to come in and see me with copies of incriminating text messages, details of emails that they have discovered and even video evidence of an infidelity captured on a video phone.

A Divorce is for life... not just for Christmas

17/12/2010 If getting a divorce happens to be one of your New Year’s resolutions then you won’t be alone. It’s a sad fact that the number of separations and divorces increase after Christmas each year. Family solicitors up and down the UK are approached by unhappy and disgruntled partners and spouses who, having survived a miserable festive season are now looking for advice on how to start the New Year afresh.

Double Trouble

17/12/2010 Dealing with the division of assets following divorce or separation can be stressful enough but can you imagine the added pressures and difficulties that arise when one or both of the separating parties are involved in a family business?

Family Values

13/12/2010 Christmas 2009 may be a distant memory but how many of you shared your Christmas dinner with your business colleagues? Research shows that around three fifths of UK companies with a turnover up to £5m are in fact family run businesses.

Change of status...

10/12/2010 Many new business start ups are either sole traders or partnerships but at some stage many of those will become a limited company. The question is, are you better off being a sole trader or in a partnership rather than being a limited company (Ltd) or limited liability partnership (LLP)?

What are We Doing to First Time Buyers?

09/12/2010 I have been concerned for some time over new Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulations to restrict mortgage availability. These concerns are beginning to come more to the fore. Mortgage lending will be £9 billion this year, compared with £41 billion in 2008.

Beat the Mortgage Drought

01/12/2010 Everything from having a baby to a missed loan payment can scupper a mortgage application. Let me help you to secure a deal. Middle-class homebuyers are finding it harder than ever to secure a mortgage as high street lenders tighten criteria for securing a loan.

Businesses Need More Than a Crystal Ball

30/11/2010 How long has your business been around? Will it be here in 10 years? What about 100 years? To learn some lessons about businesses surviving through difficult economic times take a look at your local family owned businesses, particularly those who have survived through 3 or more generations. To survive the transition through several decades requires not only a very long term view but also a desire to ensure that there is a sound business there for the generations to come.

Your Digital Legacy - Better to be Safe than Sorry

30/11/2010 With Internet usage in the UK at its highest ever levels and growing, perhaps it's time for people to give some consideration to the protection of their digital assets? 30.1 million UK adults access the internet every day, using sites such as Facebook and Twitter for social purposes but also transactional sites such as E-bay for the sale of goods for money.

Speed Up Eviction Plea Backed By 5,000 Signatures

25/11/2010 A petition demanding changes in the current legal system for evicting tenants has been handed in to Downing Street. It was signed by almost 5,000 landlords after a campaign by Paul Shamplina, founder of eviction specialists Landlord Action, and the Residential Landlords Association, together with Sussex MP Mike Weatherley. The petition is aimed at speeding up the eviction process when there is clear evidence of anti-social behaviour or arrears on the part of the tenants.

What is a Green Lease?

15/11/2010 If you are starting a business this year and looking to lease a commercial property perhaps a Green Lease might be worth some consideration. Commercial property landlords all over the UK are starting to think Green and those that have already put measures into place are well positioned for any future enforcement of environmental performance. It is thought this could happen to help the UK reduce its overall carbon footprint.

Biomedical Scientist Struck Off For Conviction of Possesion of Indecent Images

15/11/2010 HCPC (February 2013)

Is Your Business Free From Inheritance Tax?

30/09/2010 Business owners usually try to use a tax efficient structure for their business, the question is which taxes are they trying to minimise? Income and Corporation taxes are top the list so that income can be extracted efficiently. Capital gains tax also on the list, especially for those preparing their business for sale. But what about Inheritance tax (IHT)?

Do you own or run a business? Got a contingency plan?

30/09/2010 If you have a business, a partnership or are a company director then you should consider appointing a Power Of Attorney. This allows you to delegate decision-making to your attorney if for any reason you can’t be there to make the decisions yourself. You can limit their power to a specific time frame and also limit the decisions they are able to make for you. For example, if a lease for new premises needs to be signed on the 29th of the month, when you will be in the south of France, you can nominate someone to have power to sign that specific lease on that specific day.

Back to School

20/08/2010 School fees at some private secondary schools are often in the region of £10,000 a year; and if we assume that a child spends 7 years there it is realistic to expect the total cost per child to approach £100,000 once you factor in additional costs such as uniforms, books and trips.

The future is in your hands

31/05/2010 Congratulations to all of those companies featuring in the Top 100 this week, at a time of continued economic turmoil it is great to hear of so many success stories in our region. Most businesses however would probably agree that treading water by maintaining turnover is just as important as increasing turnover at the moment.

Care Fees - Don’t Pay More Than You Have To!

31/03/2010 Most people don’t realise this, but if you have to move into a care home and your primary need is for nursing as opposed to personal care, then it is possible that your care should be FREE.

Judicial Review success for Doctor regarding disclosure of confidential medical information.R (on application of X) v GMC [2011] EWHC 3271 (Admin)

21/02/2010 The claimant was a surgeon. In May 2010, he was notified by the defendant General Medical Council (GMC) that a fitness to practice hearing (the hearing) would commence in June 2010 to consider an allegation that his fitness to practice was impaired by reason of misconduct and/or deficient professional performance, and also on the grounds of ill- health. The Doctor asked for the Panel to consider an application for voluntary erasure and also that the hearing be heard in private. The panel determined that it was in the public interest for the case to be heard in public.

Ability to remedy conduct not sufficient to avoid erasure-Case: Shah v GDC [2011] All ER (D) (Nov) UKSC 44

31/01/2010 Mr Shah was a registered dental practitioner where allegations including sexual impropriety, breach of trust and dishonesty were found proven by the Professional Conduct Committee of the General Dental Council. An aggravating feature of the case was that the patient was in an especially vulnerable personal situation at the time of the conduct in question