News & Legal Updates

As society changes its approach to “disability” over time, parents of children with disabilities or additional support needs often find themselves in the front-line.  The structure of disability benefits frequently changes, with new rules dictating what payments are available, and the roll-out of replacement systems is often protracted and rocky (see Personal Independence Payments and … Continue reading "Becoming a Guardian(ship) Angel: looking after young adults with additional needs"

As if Christmas wasn’t complicated enough – the gifts, the decorations, the food, the parties, the hangovers – there is an added, and potentially trickier, consideration for separated parents.  Where, and with which parent, do your children spend the festive period, especially Christmas Eve and Day?  This is an issue that has had the attention … Continue reading "5 tips for successful Christmas arrangements for separated families"

What’s changing, what’s not, and why we need to rethink! Most of the law governing this area comes from the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964. Since then, society has undergone significant change, particularly in the range and diversity of family structures.  This has led to a number of attempts to review this area of law, to … Continue reading "Headlines on the Scottish Government response to the Consultation on the Law of Succession"

BBC News reported recently that the parents of a 15-year-old girl who was killed by a train in 2012 have only just been authorised by the High Court in Germany to take over her Facebook account.  It is incredible that it is only now, after 6 years, that this issue is being resolved for them. … Continue reading "What happens to your Facebook (and other digital assets) when you die or lose capacity?"

Last year, fans of the Netflix drama Better Call Saul witnessed the dramatic death of a major character in the season finale.  Jaw-dropping deaths have long been a hallmark of both BCS and its predecessor Breaking Bad, but at the start of this year’s new season of BCS, we got to see something new and … Continue reading "Better not Call Saul: a (spoiler free) look at Wills, challenges & legal rights"

It has been a time of significant change in the law governing private residential tenancies in Scotland. The First Tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber) took over responsibility for residential leases on the 1st of December 2017. This means that the Tribunal now has the power to deal with applications for eviction and for any … Continue reading "Landlord Applications for Evictions – Changes to Private Residential Tenancies."

So the royal baby has officially been named….HRH Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge! In Scotland, the duty to register a birth within 21 days means that parents must decide upon a name for their child. At the time of registering a birth, little thought is probably given to the legal implications of choosing a … Continue reading "So the royal baby has officially been named…Prince Louis!!"

It’s a boy! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s third child has arrived, born on 23rd April 2018 at 11:01am weighing 8lbs 7oz. He is fifth in line to the throne and the Queen’s sixth great-grandchild. Becoming a parent is an exciting if not hectic time whether it is your first child or third child … Continue reading "Every little Prince or Princess needs looking after"

Laura McDowall looks ahead to proposed reforms to the rules of guardianship in Scotland. Taken from the STEP JOURNAL. As private client practitioners, we often provide advice in matters where an adult lacks the capacity to make decisions relating to their personal affairs. This could be due to many reasons, including age-related illnesses such as … Continue reading "Changes to guardianship in Scotland"

I was sorry to hear of the recent death of well-known British entertainer Sir Ken Dodd who was one of the most popular artists of his time, whether he was in the theatre, the charts or on TV.  On reading the news, I was interested to note that he died only 2 days after marrying … Continue reading "Inheritance Tax: Is Sir Ken having the last laugh?"