Bullet Point Updates
August 2020 – Divorce – And what a Difference an “and” Makes
Put broadly, in Scotland, the general aim in relation to financial provision on divorce is that there should be a “clean break” so far as possible. Things are different in England where there is scope for long-term generous maintenance payments being made. Last month...
July 2020 – Coronavirus & Lifetime Planning
Introduction One of the effects of Covid-19 is that for some the value of their investments has gone down. Compared with the devastation Covid-19 has wrought for many that concern may not seem significant. One might see it as a “nice problem to have”. It can...
June 2020 – Charity Accounts and Covid-19
The last three BPUs (March, April and May) have all related to Covid-19. This one does not avoid the topic altogether but it is peripheral rather than the main focus. Last month the Scottish Charity Regulator, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and the...
May 2020 – Coronavirus No 2 Act – a smorgasbord
The BPU for last month here focused on the fact that the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 made no emergency provisions about the signing of wills during lockdown but explained that the Law Society had stepped in and provided guidance on how to go about this. The...
April 2020 – Making a Will in Lockdown
Traditional will-making The traditional notion of making a will usually involves: a meeting at a solicitor’s office to discuss the terms of the will and give instructions; the solicitor then sending out a draft of the will for review; and then another meeting at the...
March 2020 – Covid-19 & Registering a Death Remotely
Registrars’ offices are currently closed to members of the public owing to the Coronavirus outbreak. But no burial or cremation can go ahead in Scotland without a Certificate of Registration of Death (“Form 14”) having been issued by the registrar. This note outlines...
February 2020 – CGT – tightening up on homes
The Bullet Point Update (“BPU”) for October 2018 flagged up some forthcoming changes to do with capital gains tax (“CGT”) on a sale of residential property by individuals. Those changes are now almost upon us in that they’ll have effect from 6th April. So this BPU...
January 2020 – Inheritance Tax – Prospect Of Some Lifting Of The Burden
On 14th January the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (Amendment)(Siblings) Bill was given its first reading in the House of Lords. What is it all about? Before turning to that some background: Inheritance Tax (“IHT”) Inheritance tax is a tax on transfers of wealth, mainly...
December 2019 – When Executors Go Rogue
The recent case of Baynton-Williams v Baynton-Williams ([2019] EWHC 2179 (Ch)) in England flags up the importance of taking care not to inadvertently mislead the court in preparing a witness statement and the importance of expert witnesses complying with their duties...
November 2019 – A Close Call With CGT Private Residence Relief
The general rule is that if an individual sells something for more than they paid for it then they are liable for capital gains tax (“CGT”) on the gain. There are various rules and exceptions qualifying that general rule and one of the important exceptions is that...
October 2019 – Coupledom Re-Revisited – The Evolution Of The Civil Partnership
The Bullet Point Update back in August 2016 - headed “coupledom revisited” - outlined the Scottish Government’s consultation about the fact that while same sex couples could enter into a “civil partnership” together different-sex couples could not. That consultation...
September 2019 – Compliance Aide-Memoire – Private Residential Landlords
The Bullet Point Update for March said something specific about the changes to the “repairing standard” which private landlords have to comply with. This Update is rather more general. It is prompted by the publication this month of updated guidance on the...
Find Out More
Our People
Our History
Our Approach
