The Bank of Mum and Dad (BoMaD) is playing an increasing role in helping people with house purchases. Research by insurance group Legal & General reveals that over the last 12 months 71% of first-time buyers could not have made it onto the housing ladder without financial assistance from family or friends. Were it not…
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Whilst big supermarkets, DIY stores and online retailers have largely survived intact over the last six months, permanent changes can be expected in the make-up of our high streets in the aftermath of the coronavirus epidemic. This is the prediction of the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), an independent monitoring and research group which provides…
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Bretherton Law are one of the few remaining local firms offering Legal Aid services for some areas of Family and Child Law. In April 2013 the government scrapped legal aid funding for a range of legal disputes, in an effort to cut £350m a year from the annual £2m legal aid bill in England and…
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A significant drop in the number of child sexual abuse cases reported to police during lockdown masks the true extent of what’s happened to vulnerable children, police chiefs say. National Police Chiefs Council data shows reports in England and Wales fell by 25% between April and August, compared with the same period in 2019. But…
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One of the hidden consequences of the Covid-18 pandemic has been a fall-off in the number of vulnerable children being referred to social services. This is the view of Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield, who has called for increased investment to help services including youth workers identify and engage with at-risk children who have slipped through…
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The Office for National Statistics states that in March 2020 there were 3.5 million unmarried couples living together in the UK. This figure is likely to have increased as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown, since the restrictions have encouraged many couples to move in together so that they can continue to see each other.…
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New rules allowing wills to be witnessed using video conferencing technology are set to be introduced in September, as the government attempts to streamline probate legislation in the face of Covid-19. Using software such as Zoom, Facetime and Skype, once an individual has signed their will it can be posted to witnesses for them to…
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In a televised address at 5.30pm on 23 March 2020 made to the risk posed by Covid-19, the government ushered in a new way of living and working for more than 60 million people. Employers have ever since been looking at their working environment to assess whether it is both safe for their employees to…
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Buying a house can be a daunting prospect for anyone, let alone someone who is taking their first step on to the property ladder. We all ask ourselves the same questions: Is this definitely the property I want? Am I paying too much? Can I really afford it? Buying a house or apartment will for…
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Changes to the rules of intestacy were introduced in early February, increasing by £20,000 the amount a spouse will automatically inherit in certain circumstances. Intestacy rules decide how the assets of someone who dies without making a will must be shared out. From 2014, the spouse or Civil Partner was entitled to all assets in…
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