Insights

When a marriage breaks down, one of the most common concerns is what happens to the money, the home and the pension. In England and Wales, there is no automatic formula for dividing assets in divorce — the courts aim for a fair outcome based on each family's circumstances, not a fixed split.

Property values, blended families and better-informed beneficiaries — what is driving the rise in inheritance disputes, and what usually happens when families disagree.

The two routes back onto the Register — and what determines which one applies to your company.

Timescales, HMCTS processing and the common causes of delay — what actually determines how long an estate takes to administer.

When acquiring industrial property, one of the first due diligence steps is usually obtaining an environmental search. A clear result can provide reassurance — but it should not necessarily be treated as the end of the enquiry particularly as search results are based on paper records compiled by search companies and do not involve a physical inspection of the site itself.

Many family trusts remain in place for years, and sometimes decades, without any formal review. Trustees often assume that because a trust has existed for many years and no obvious issues have arisen, everything must be in order. However, the circumstances surrounding trust rarely remain unchanged. Beneficiaries grow older, trustees retire or die, tax rules evolve and the assets held within the trust may change significantly in value.