Registered and unregistered land, what is the difference?

There are two systems of recording ownership of land in England & Wales; registered & unregistered.  Whether your land is registered or unregistered can have a major impact, & not only when you come to sell. Holly Stevens, Director & Head of Residential Property at Ware & Kay in York, considers the implications.  Registered land, an overview The Land Registry keeps a register of all registered land, which is indexed on a map. This register contains information on approximately 24 million properties.  Within this overall register, the Land Registry allocates properties their own unique number & individual register.  Each individual register includes three sections: ‘proprietor register’ - contains ownership information; ‘property register’ - contains a description of the property, linked to a map; & ‘charges register’- contains details of any mortgages or charges affecting…

Risky business - why farmers should make a lasting power of attorney

Farming is a high-risk business with the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector topping the table for workplace injuries according to the most recent Health and Safety Executive figures. If you are the key person who makes decisions and holds the purse strings on your farm and you get injured or lose mental capacity, your farming business could grind to a halt: workers and suppliers could not be paid, bank accounts may become inaccessible, and loan or mortgage payments could fall into arrears. With this in mind, more and more farmers are making a lasting power of attorney to protect their business interests, to ensure their farm continues to flourish should they become incapacitated, as Laura Carter, Wills & Probate Solicitor and agricultural specialist at Pearsons & Ward Solicitors in Malton (part of Ware & Kay…

'Like being on display in a zoo': what are the consequences of the Tate Modern court ruling?

The Fearn v Tate Gallery Supreme Court decision in February 2023 received considerable coverage in the press not least because of the high profile nature of the defendant. How much will this case impact on nuisance disputes between neighbours? The claim was brought by the owners of long leasehold flats in a development directly opposite the new extension of the Tate Modern. One of the features of the building was a viewing gallery which enabled visitors to see straight into flats with visitors frequently looking into the flats and taking photographs and, less frequently, using binoculars. The claimants applied to the court for an injunction requiring the Tate to prevent members of the public from observing their flats on the grounds of nuisance. They also claimed a breach of their rights under article 8 of…

Crypto assets and a divorce settlement

  According to a report by Forbes Magazine in September 2022 there are now more than 20,000 crypto currencies worth a collective $982 billion, and NFT artworks (non-fungible tokens) are changing hands for huge sums. One of the ways in which these assets differ from the other assets which are considered for sharing in a divorce settlement, is that they are much easier to hide. What are crypto assets? They are digital assets commonly known as crypto currencies.  ‘Crypto’ means hidden, referring to the secure digital way data is held on who owns the asset, and ‘currencies’ reflects that this is a type of digital money.  Some commonly known crypto assets include Bitcoin, Binance, Ethereum and Tether though there are thousands more, with new ones being added regularly. Crypto assets differ from traditional assets in that…