Gary Lineker – No more Mr Nice guy?

What did Mr Lineker Tweet? Gary Lineker recently caused a political storm when he compared the current UK asylum policy to 1930s Germany. Mr Lineker Tweeted that the language in which the plan was set out was ‘’not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30’s’’ and referred to the policy as ‘’beyond awful’’. Why was this controversial? The BBC (his employer) has impartiality guidelines. He is one of their highest profile stars and receives his circa £1.8M salary from us the taxpayer. As a result the BBC felt the need to have a ‘’frank conversation’’ reminding him of his ‘’responsibilities.’’ As a gentleman on the radio said yesterday ‘’why should he spout politics? He should stick to football and flogging crisps. I don’t pay his salary to listen to his views on immigration’’. Mr…

Can you really have a clean break after divorce?

Many people mistakenly believe that a divorce severs your financial ties, but that is not the case. It is necessary to either agree your financial arrangements via a separate negotiation and have the settlement formalised by the court, or have the court decide how your finances should be divided. Each couple’s circumstances will be different and will determine the options available, with some people happy to maintain ongoing connections and other people keen to make a clean break. ‘While an emotional clean break from your former spouse may be harder to achieve, it is possible to achieve a clean break in a legal and financial sense,’ says Robert Bellhouse, family law expert at Ware & Kay in York & Wetherby. A clean break order can be made by the court after divorce to ensure that you…

The UK's most affordable locations for first-time homebuyers

More than six out of ten first-time purchasers in the UK shared the cost of the average home, which increased 13% to £302,010 last year. According to a new Halifax analysis, the number of first-time buyers decreased by 11% to 362,461 in 2022 from the year before. With average prices hovering around £171,425, Northern Ireland has continued to be the cheapest location to buy a home since 2017. The North East region was next, with houses costing on average £175,091. Unsurprisingly, London, where the typical house cost £518,900, was on the higher end of the scale. The average down payment for a home in the capital was £125,378; this amount would almost have been sufficient to purchase a home elsewhere in the UK. Scotland saw the biggest increase in the amount needed for a deposit, going…

Is a prenup part of your wedding planning?

Hotels and wedding venues are busy hosting wedding fairs and gearing up for the wedding season, with everyone focused on the details of the big day, from the colour scheme and menu to the choice of attendants and music. One other thing which now appears on a wedding checklist is discussion of a prenuptial agreement, especially when it is a second marriage, if there are business interests, or where the ‘Bank of Mum & Dad’ is helping with a deposit for a property. Nobody plans a wedding with separation in mind, but according to the Office for National Statistics, in 2021 the most common duration of marriage for opposite-sex couples was 8 years, for male same-sex couples it was 5 years; and for female same-sex couples it was 4 years. ‘A prenuptial agreement provides a…

Spring employment law round up

"Other than the usual April updates to statutory rates, it looks deceptively quiet on the regulatory front for employers. But the end of the year could see the biggest shake-up in employment law for years as a consequence of Brexit," explains Kalpesh Nakeshree, Head of Employment Law with Ware & Kay. Kalpesh highlights the key changes to rates, and looks at the extra bank holiday, a raft of private members’ bills aimed at seeing through earlier government commitments, a consultation on a statutory code on ‘fire and rehire’ and a couple of topical cases. Increase in statutory rates Employers should prepare for increases on the following dates: 1 April 2023 – national minimum wage Increase in the national living wage for workers aged 23 and over from £9.50 to £10.42 per hour. Increase in the…

Selling a property after someone has died

When someone dies, all their belongings and property vest in their personal representatives who must enter into any agreement to sell the property and sign the necessary transfers, which are called ‘assents’.  ‘Selling a home or holiday home when someone has died is similar in many ways to a conventional property transaction,’ explains Holly Stevens, Director & Head of Residential Property with Ware & Kay in York. ‘However, there are some important differences and additional procedures you must follow. This can mean a sale takes longer or is more complicated, but there is a lot you can do to make things easier.’ Check you can deal with the property Ideally, your loved one will have made a will and their wishes will be clear. If you are named as executor, you may decide to renounce this…

Martin House Make a Will during the month of March 2023

Leave your legacy to help us continue ours. If, like many other people you have been putting off writing your Will, this is your chance to put that right. Ware & Kay Solicitors has teamed up with Martin House to give you the opportunity to have your basic Will written for free. Legacies are vitally important to Martin House. In fact, they make up more than a quarter of our entire voluntary income, meaning the cost of caring for one in four of our children is covered by gifts left in Wills. Over half of UK adults have not made a Will. It's not always easy to think about what might happen when we die. But making a Will is an important step to ensuring the people and things you care about are taken care of after you're gone. Your Will is…

Do you need a freezing injunction to protect marital assets?

Once a relationship has broken down, while many couples remain on good terms, sometimes the situation is irretrievable and behaviour can go beyond what is acceptable or legal. In particular, disputes over who gets what in the financial settlement can prompt underhand dealings with the wealthier partner attempting to conceal assets or reduce their value.  For example, they may build up debts (personal and/or business), or deliberately squander money in gambling or expensive trips that they did not participate in before. You might be worried that they are giving away valuable art or antiques. ‘If you are worried that your spouse is hiding, selling, or otherwise getting rid of assets to prevent you getting your fair share in the financial settlement after your divorce, then there are legal steps which you can take to protect…

Talking buying or selling land

Agri-environmental schemes are government-backed initiatives which pay farmers to make their agricultural activities more sustainable. They aim to increase biodiversity, restore the landscape, promote wildlife and to improve the quality of water, air and soil. Given the hardships many farmers have suffered due to Brexit, the pandemic and more recently the cost-of-living crisis, it is understandable why so many have embraced the concept of receiving subsidies to ‘go green’. But what schemes are available and what are the implications if you sell agricultural land which is subject to one of these schemes? Jacqueline Barr, agricultural law specialist at Ware & Kay Solicitors in York & Wetherby, reports. Shortly after the Agriculture Act was passed in November 2020, the government published The Path to Sustainable Farming: An Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 to 2024, which outlined its…

Valuing a private company or family business in a divorce settlement

Running your own business can be the fulfilment of a lifelong dream, but it also brings stresses and strains which sometimes contribute to relationship breakdown. It certainly adds complexity when trying to agree a financial settlement after divorce. ‘The key challenge is to achieve a fair settlement without jeopardising the long-term financial health of the business upon which both people may still need to rely,’ says Robert Bellhouse, a Family Solicitor in the family team with Ware & Kay. ‘Determining a valuation for any business takes skill and tends to be a more complex exercise than valuing other matrimonial assets such as the house or a pension.’ Obtaining a business valuation Like all other matrimonial assets, it will be necessary to obtain a valuation of the family business or private company.  In order to achieve…