Bullet Point Updates
August 2019 – Grim – but not a fairy tale – Wills and children from previous relationships
Stating the obvious At the risk of stating the obvious, in order to inherit from someone you need to survive them. You don’t need to survive them for long: the merest instant will be enough (unless the will makes survival for a longer period a condition of...
July 2019 – Death tax – making it “simples”?
The Office of Tax Simplification There is (believe it or not) something called the Office of Tax Simplification (“the OTS”). It was set up as a temporary body in July 2010 and it was put it on a permanent, statutory footing by the Finance Act 2016. As its name...
June 2019 – Landlord Registration Expansion
Duty to register Virtually all private landlords must first register as a landlord with each local authority in whose area they let property. That includes everyone named on the title deeds. Failure to do so is a criminal offence and can result in a fine. Current...
May 2019 – Standard Missives or “Language is difficult to put into words”
A purchase and sale of a flat or house requires a written contract. Such contracts will usually have an extensive array of clauses but many of these are common to virtually all such sales and purchases. So, the solicitor profession has devised a set of “standard...
April 2019 – “Real Burdens” & “Common Schemes” to be re-vamped
Most homeowners’ titles to their property contain what are called “real burdens”. A “real burden” is an obligation affecting the property which normally requires something to be done or not to be done. For example, affirmatively, a real burden may require a house to...
March 2019 – The Private Rented Sector – The “Repairing Standard” Evolves
If you rent out a property as a private landlord it’s your duty to make sure the property meets the “repairing standard”. New legislation came into force on 1st March 2019 making changes in relation to the repairing standard. (The trio of measures in full is: the...
February 2019 – The Scottish Government Ponders Cohabitant Quandaries
This month the Scottish Government issued a(nother) consultation on the law of succession. Among other things it includes a section which suggests reforms to cohabitants’ succession rights. To give some context to that particular aspect of the matter it is worth...
January 2019 – A High Hedge is a High Hedge is a High Hedge”
The High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013 (“the Act”) came into effect in April 2014. It gave local authorities the power to act as adjudicators in disputes between neighbours about high hedges. Before the Act there was no legislative scheme to resolve disputes between...
November 2018 – Chop & Change for Claim Cut-Off Dates – The Prescription (Scotland) Bill
The Prescription (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 8th November (by 111 votes with none against and no abstentions). Although the law of “prescription” has existed in Scotland for many years the Bill makes various important adjustments to the...
October 2018 – Autumn Budget & “principal private residence relief” Some tinkering at the edges
The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget has had its fair share of attention and summaries of its contents are readily available on the internet. The aim of this update is not to give an overview of the Budget but to focus on particular changes of detail affecting the relief...
September 2018 – Last Call For Letting Agent Register
The January Bullet Point Update touched on the new Code of Practice for Letting Agents http://www.mitchells-roberton.co.uk/bullet-point-update/january-2018-letting-agents-code/ which anyone who falls within the definition of “letting agent” is required to follow. This...
August 2018 – Opting in? Organ donation and/or Anatomical Research
Proposed “opt-out” system for organ donation In June the Human Tissue (Authorisation)(Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament. The main purpose of the Bill is to introduce a soft “opt-out” system of organ donation for the purposes of transplantation....
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