Truly Connected business seminar
We pleased once again to be hosting, along with Barclays and Wagstaffs at the Truly Connected business seminar in June 2019. This was a fantastic opportunity to network with like-minded...
Should I convert commercial property to residential?
The term commercial property applies to any building used for business purposes, whereas residential applies to property used for people to live in. Residential buy-to-let was long seen to be...
Debenhams Ottaway raise over £2,000 for local charity Youth Talk
Debenhams Ottaway Solicitors is delighted to present their chosen local charity, Youth Talk with a cheque for the money they have raised for the charity so far. The firm has...
Debenhams Ottaway celebrate senior associate promotions
Debenhams Ottaway, the leading law firm in St Albans and Radlett, is pleased to announce the promotion of Michael Kerrigan and James Brawn. Michael, a member of the firm’s employment...
Personal liability of directors for inducing company breach of contract
This month in Antuzis and Others vs DJ Houghton Catching Services Limited and Others [2019] EWHC 843, the High Court ruled that the directors of a company can be personally...
Stay of proceedings-v-Jurisdiction and double proof in an insolvency context
An important decision for cross-border insolvency practitioners was handed down by the High Court on 22 March 2019 in the case of Bundeszentralamt Für Steuern (being the Federal Central Tax...
Sleepwalking into pensions mayhem
Your pension is a subject that often gets pushed down the agenda. In the same way that everyone should have a professionally drafted will in place it is also important that your...
FATCA – treatment of trusts clarified
Since the regulation and reporting requirements under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) came into force on 1 July 2014, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has clarified how...
Debenhams Ottaway Solicitors sponsors St George’s Day lunch
Debenhams Ottaway is proud to be the headline sponsors of the St Albans Chamber of Commerce St George’s Day Lunch this year, taking place on Friday 26 April from 12pm...
FIRE event
Our recent FIRE event took place in June 2019 in he Prince’s room at BMA House, London. FIRE is a series of networking, knowledge share events and communications for professionals...
Employment tribunal ruling set to affect thousands of teachers
Debenhams Ottaway were recently involved in an Employment Tribunal case which could affect the employment rights of thousands of peripatetic teachers across the UK. In the case of Scott v...
Contentious insolvency update: section 423
The Court of Appeal has recently clarified the position on (a) whether section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 can apply to dividends, and (b) the circumstances in which the...
Claim against a fraudulent Will
We advised beneficiaries who challenged the validity of a Will. The deceased was in one city when she signed her Will and following investigation it was found that the witness...
A dispute over the interpretation of a Will
We helped save a group of five family beneficiaries £325,000 by successfully arguing their case against two residuary beneficiaries concerning the correct interpretation of a poorly drafted transferable unused spouse...
A dispute over the identity of the correct beneficiary
We worked with a woman to successfully claim over £450,000 as the correct beneficiary to her late father’s estate. Her father’s sister and nephews had denied he ever had any...
A claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975
We helped a woman successfully bring a claim as a cohabitee against the estate of her late partner after he overlooked making a Will and she would not have benefited...
Neutral Executor
Representation of the executor son responsible for the administration of the estate of his late father complicated by the pursuit of a claim by the estranged daughter of the deceased....
Inheritance Act claim by the second wife of the deceased
Representing the daughter and three grandchildren of the deceased in handling the claim launched by the second wife of the deceased further to the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants)...
Will writer negligence
Professional negligence claim against solicitor will writer on behalf of multiple disappointed beneficiaries. Claim concerning negligent failure to secure the effective disposition to the multiple beneficiaries in accordance with the...
Variation of Trust Act 1958 application
Assisting client in investigation of matters of potential will validity challenge on grounds of lack of testamentary capacity or want of knowledge & approval and/or Inheritance Act claim and/or application...