On 16 February 2010 the Court of Appeal ruled that Robert Gaines-Cooper had lost his appeal against HMRC’s decision to tax him as a UK resident, despite the fact that he spends less than 91 days per year in the UK. HMRC’s view that Mr Gaines-Cooper had never actually made the necessary break with the UK to become non-resident and that England remained “the centre of gravity of his life and interests”, was upheld by the court. Mr Gaines-Cooper, who now faces a tax bill of many millions, is seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. This case has implications for anyone who is UK resident and is planning on becoming non-UK resident, or individuals who were UK resident and believe they are currently non-UK resident. It is vital to take proper advice on your residency position to ensure you do not face unexpected tax demands.
UK non-residents – Take advice
February 23rd, 2010 by Amanda ScallyUnmarried and cohabiting – you need a Will!
February 23rd, 2010 by Amanda ScallyIn 2009 the intestacy rules changed to increase the amount that a spouse or civil partner receives from the estate of their spouse / civil partner, if they die intestate, that is without a Will. As yet there is no provision made for unmarried cohabiting partners. Therefore if you die without leaving a Will your partner will inherit nothing from your estate. If you don’t have children it will pass to your parents and if you do have children it will pass to your children and be paid to them once they reach 18. This can cause significant financial and family distress at an already difficult time. By making a Will you can ensure that your assets go to the person you want to inherit them. This is important for everyone but particularly vital for co-habitees. A properly made Will doesn’t have to cost much and it is the only way to guarantee your wishes are carried out.
South Coast Design Forum Showcase: Design and Design Protection
February 22nd, 2010 by Emma FosterI attended the SCDF Showcase event on Wednesday 10 February at Lawtons in Southampton, with Jennifer Roberts, a Trainee Solicitor. The evening provided an exciting opportunity for local designers to exhibit their work and develop links with other like minded people. Whilst urban design and planning was a dominating presence, it was great to see a number of individuals showcasing contemporary textiles, prints, artwork and product designs and the obvious talent amongst the exhibitors was clearly evident.
Paris Smith was ‘showcasing’ our design protection services with guidance on registering designs and dealing with infringement and this was a recurring theme in conversations, with designers keen to realise the value in intellectual property protection and exploitation.
Rumour has it that another SCDF Showcase event, on a larger scale, may be planned in the not so distant future, so watch this space for further information.
Internationalised Domain Names
February 11th, 2010 by Emma Foster2010 will see the first Internationalised Domain Name (IDN) registrations from individuals. IDNs are domain names that include characters other than letters of the Latin alphabet, the numbers 0 to 9 and a hyphen, so that domain names can be expressed in non-Latin script languages, for example, Arabic and Chinese. These new IDNs will give internet access to people around the globe whose native language is non-Latin based.
Although these IDNs are to be welcomed in the sense that they will transform the Internet into a truly global and multi-lingual tool, brand owners will have the additional expense of securing corresponding non-Latin script domain names to protect their brands against abusive registration. Trade mark owners may also want to consider registering, and watching, their brands in a host of new top level domains.
Keep it in the Family?
February 10th, 2010 by Bindu BansalMany would have heard that since April 2009 members of the media (holding an authorised UK press card) were allowed to attend family hearings on divorce, financial matters and issues relating to children. The purpose of this was to increase public confidence in the family courts and awareness of how cases are decided. However cases which are designed specifically for negotiations were excluded. These involved the Judge acting as a mediator to assist the parties on issues relating to children or finances. The Judge could also restrict attendance and what the media could report on.
Nearly 10 months on and a recent study by the Ministry of Justice found that of the court staff surveyed only “25% said that journalists attended hearings since April 2009, 15% said journalists attended only once and 11% said that media attendance had led directly to an article being published.” The lack of interest is possibly due to the restrictions on reporting. Family disputes are also a very sensitive area. What better evidence is there of this than Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s potential claim against the News of the World for it having printed stories that “Brangelina” had split. The couple claim this was false.
New proposals are being put forward in the Children, Schools and Families Bill to allow information about the case while still protecting identities of children and families. This Bill is currently in the House of Commons. Whether this will be enough to persuade the media to report is one to watch…
(www.justice.gov.uk)
(news.bbc.co.uk)
Please contact any member of the family team for a free 30 minute initial consultation.
Commercial Contracts : Update
February 5th, 2010 by Emma FosterDoes your business operate within an industry where it is common for parties to start performing a contract before its final terms are agreed? If the answer to that question is “yes”, a number of recent Court decisions might prove significant during contractual negotiations and completion:
Counterparts Clause
The Court of Appeal has held that a counterparts clause (a clause which is traditionally included in written agreements to allow the parties to execute separate copies of the agreement) within a draft agreement prevented a contract coming into existence, even though the parties had already performed a central part of the contract. Many commercial agreements include such a clause because it is not always practicable for each party to a contract to be present at the same physical location for completion.
The Court said that a counterparts clause showed a continuing requirement that a contract would only come into existence if a written agreement was entered into. A commercial party may not expect, nor indeed intend, that the inclusion of such a clause could prevent a contract from coming into existence until after the agreement has been signed, especially if the parties have reached agreement on the terms and carried out the contract.
The Court’s decision, if followed, is likely to make it more difficult for suppliers in industries where it is common for parties to operate on the basis of letters of intent or unsigned agreements to establish the existence of a contract in the event of a dispute. With that in mind, we would suggest that a counterparts clause should not be drafted into an agreement, as a matter of routine, during the contract negotiation stage.
Telephone Conversations and Emails
Courts frequently find themselves faced with the situation where informal telephone conversations and e-mail exchanges are being relied upon by a party to establish a binding contract. Although cases tend to be fact specific, where parties operate on the basis of telephone conversations or e-mails, it is advisable to confirm important communications in writing and to ensure that any contractual terms are recorded in a document signed by both parties, even if they have been doing business together for some time. Where a party wants to avoid the possibility of being bound by informal exchanges, it is useful to make it clear that e-mails are not intended to create legal relations which can be done by including the phrase “subject to contract” in the body of the e-mail.
If you require further information on anything covered in this item, please contact a member of the Commercial Team.
Self Assessment Tax Returns
January 26th, 2010 by Barry RussellIn case you have not noticed, all Self Assessment tax returns for the year ended 5 April 2009 need to be submitted to HMRC by midnight on 31 January. A failure to do so could result in a fixed penalty of £100. Furthermore any tax payments required to be made for that year, together with interim payments for the current tax year, also need to be made by the end of this month to avoid interest charges arising.
Lasting Powers of Attorney – Your Choice?
January 12th, 2010 by Elizabeth PowerThe Junior Justice Minister, Bridget Prentice, on the BBC’s Today radio programme said that increasing life expectancy means that every person in Britain should have an LPA in place ready to be used when necessary.
There are two types of LPAs, one that relates to Property and Affairs and the other that relates to Health & Welfare. They ensure that YOU decide WHOM you want to act on your behalf in relation to those types of issues when you are unable to make those decisions yourself.
They cannot be used until they have been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian and that will take at least 6 weeks once submitted.
We are seeing more and more cases where it is either too late to make an LPA or there is an urgent need for it and so the delay in getting it drafted and registered creates a lot of stress and worry for all parties involved.
The simple answer is not to delay …. if you require further information please contact Elizabeth Power (e-mail: elizabeth.power@parissmith.co.uk; or telephone 023 8048 2206)
Closed due to Snow!
January 12th, 2010 by Claire MerrittThe story of last week was snow, ice and chaos. Businesses are counting the cost due to problems like deliveries failing to arrive, the drop in customer footfall and especially employees being unable to make the journey into work. With schools closing, child care became an issue for many. Hospitals were overflowing with breaks and sprains, so some employees were forced to phone in sick. Equally employers know that some staff took advantage of a ’snowy day’. Employees abandoning cars and being marooned in their homes is not an every day occurrence and therefore some employers were unprepared for dealing with the problems of last week.
The novelty of the weather has well and truly worn off, so now is the time when employers have to plan for future adverse weather situations. In the Employment Department, we have received many queries from employers in relation to whether staff can be asked to take holiday or unpaid leave if they could not get into the office. The answer, as in most aspects of the employer and employee relationship, is that there is a balance to be struck. An employer must make employees aware of their Adverse Weather Policy i.e. that holiday or unpaid leave must be taken if the weather prevents them from getting to their place of work. However all employers must act with regard to the health and safety of their employees and not act unreasonably by putting undue pressure on their staff.
With further cold weather forecast, it seems that employers should act now, in order to minimise costs as soon as possible. They should also consider a long term ‘Business Continuity Policy’ to provide for remote computer access or indeed telephone conferencing when employees cannot get into work. Such a policy can be put in place in order to ensure that their business can remain operational in the face of ‘extreme’ weather, well ‘extreme’ for the UK.
If you would like any further advice, please contact a member of the Employment Department.
Law Commission’s Consultation on Intestacy Rules
January 8th, 2010 by Julianne BrainsbyRemember you have only until 28 February to let the Law Commission know what you think of their proposed reforms to the Intestacy Rules that apply when someone dies without a Will.
Areas highlighted for potential reform include
- The entitlement of a surviving spouse (or civil partner) where the deceased also left children (perhaps from another relationship);
- Whether certain cohabitants should share in the Estate; who should qualify; how much should they get;
- Trusts for children on intestacy and the effect of adoption on a child’s entitlement; and
- The distinction made between full brothers and sisters and half-brothers and sisters.
You can read the report and the proposals at :
http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/current_consultations.htm
If you want to make sure the Intestacy Rules (the current ones or the proposed new ones) do not apply to your Estate, the simple answer is to make a Will.