Archive for June, 2007
Friday, June 29th, 2007
Inheritance tax affects an increasingly wide range of people, one financial services firm has claimed.
Edward Jones has commented that rising house prices are making the tax a growing possibility for a rising number of people.
The firm also pointed out that in the event of a member of the family dying without making a will, legal complications can ensue, adding to the potential costs.
"It’s also wrong to assume on death everything passes to one’s nearest and dearest. This is often simply not the case," said financial adviser and stockbroker Alan Cook.
"But interests can easily be safeguarded by making a will and taking advice. It is simple, inexpensive and can also help limit any inheritance tax liability," he added.
Mr Cook said that many consumers are unaware of how much their estate amounts to and claimed that it is "very easy for an estate to be worth a lot more than the current £300,000 inheritance tax threshold".
His comments came after Gordon Brown was criticised in parliament for his stance on inheritance, with Liberal Democrat Julia Goldsworthy claiming that the tax increasingly affects people who consider their income to be ‘middling’.
Posted in Inheritance Tax | No Comments »
Thursday, June 28th, 2007
The new prime minister, Gordon Brown, was criticised in parliament this week for his continued stance on inheritance tax.
On Tuesday, the leader of the labour party came under fire from Liberal Democrat Julia Goldsworthy, who stated that the "nature of inheritance tax is changing".
Formerly a charge affecting only the very wealthy, Ms Goldsworthy asserted that the tax now impacted on those considering themselves to have middle incomes.
However, chief secretary of the Treasury Stephen Timms asserted that the tax, affecting only six per cent of the population, reaped £3.5 billion each year to fund public services, the Guardian reports.
"It is wholly right and fair for such a contribution to come from the largest estates," he contended.
In his Budget speech earlier this year Mr Brown announced that the threshold for inheritance tax is set to rise.
Currently pegged at £300,000, the threshold is planned to be increase to £350,000 by 2010.
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Wednesday, June 27th, 2007
Cities across Scotland represent an "obvious investment choice" for those intending to invest and save, one Edinburgh estate agent has suggested.
Mathew Benson, director of land and homes at Retties, and his colleague and director of residential sales, Tony Perriam, have told property website Assetz that locations in Scotland offer good investment potential for a wide variety of buyers.
"Scotland has historically had a relatively high price differential with the south-east and many other parts of the UK," they explain, citing the capital as one city which has experienced a surge in prices in recent months.
Another advantage which has been noted as present for new homes in Scotland is the cities’ proximity to attractive rural escapes, with lochs and mountains within easy range of many conurbations.
Last month the Lloyds TSB Scotland House Price Monitor recorded a strong performance from a number of Scottish cities, with the best showings made by Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee.
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Tuesday, June 26th, 2007
A flexible working initiative adopted by Scottish law firm Caesar and Howie is helping staff to manage their lifestyles, one senior member has asserted.
Vivienne Malcolm, a training consultant who has worked for the firm for 18 years, has stated that being able to work from home for between 12 and 26 hours per week has allowed her to return to work at a similar level as before she had a young family to care for.
"I would like to see more employers realising that the issue of childcare is a major consideration, both financially and emotionally," she told the Scotsman.
She added that she found working from home to be more productive than in the office, which she put down to the fewer distractions such as phone calls and queries from colleagues.
While acknowledging that it is possible at times to feel "disconnected from the office" and that it is difficult to communicate the fact that she is working to family and friends, Ms Malcolm contended that the positives of home working outweigh any negative impact the practice might have.
Meanwhile, Clickdocs.co.uk highlights the results of a survey conducted by benefits consultancy Portus, which suggests that few UK law firms have implemented a flexible working policy.
While 71 per cent of respondents suggested that such a practice was "important" or "very important", less than ten per cent have implemented a scheme.
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Monday, June 25th, 2007
Former pupils of a residential school in Perthshire are taking action against Edinburgh City Council in response to a security lapse that has seen confidential files disappear.
Redgorton House School was an independent institution used by the council for young women with behavioural and emotional problems.
It was closed down in 2004 as a result of significant shortcomings identified in a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education, the Scotsman reports.
However, when the mansion building was placed on the market, confidential files and photos of former pupils were found to have been left behind – and since the sale they have disappeared.
Anne Guy, one ex-pupil at Redgorton, stumbled upon the issue while considering legal action on other failings of the former school.
"I requested my files four weeks ago – that was the first time I realised they were missing. I contacted the school but realised it had closed," she explains.
"It’s amazing no-one is taking responsibility for something that is very important."
Last week the Scotsman reported that a "rash" of legal challenges is predicted for the council from parents whose children are refused access to their favoured primary school.
Posted in Family Law | No Comments »
Friday, June 22nd, 2007
An ongoing housing shortage in Scotland has prompted policymakers to relax planning laws in the country, it has been announced.
In an attempt to bolster economic growth, a taskforce is to be established which will focus on land supply and planning issues as a means of providing an increase in the number of homes.
In news likely to be welcomed by the housebuilding industry, ministers announced a review of current laws in a bid to increase economic competitiveness yesterday.
The taskforce is set to be headed up by communities minister Stewart Maxwell, the Scotsman reports.
He asserted that the plans for housing would "require a huge injection of funding from the public purse – an increase on current spending levels of £750 million over the next three years".
Last week Annie Johnstone, writing in the Herald, asserted that housing should be higher on the agenda in Scotland, while noting that the issue was mentioned 23rd – and last – on deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s list of jobs in the housing and wellbeing portfolio.
Posted in New Legislation | No Comments »
Thursday, June 21st, 2007
Scotland’s commissioner for children and young people Kathleen Marshall is calling for a change in legislation which would ban the smacking of children in the country.
She was speaking at a conference being held in Edinburgh to evaluate potential legal reforms which would provide children with legal protection from assault similar to that which applies to adults.
And one of Scotland’s most senior police officers, detective chief superintendent John Carnochan, has expressed his support for the change.
The head of Scotland’s violence reduction unit, Mr Carnochan has suggested that outlawing smacking could "stem the trajectory of violence" which affects the country.
He told the Scotsman: "Stopping parents smacking their children has the ability to change the whole culture of Scotland."
The existing Criminal Justice Act 2003 allows for "justifiable assault" but makes illegal striking children on the head, shaking them or hitting them with an implement, such as a cane.
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Wednesday, June 20th, 2007
A mother who filed a suit against the Child Support Agency (CSA) due to the "extreme financial hardship" she felt she suffered due to its incompetence has lost her case.
Denise Rowley, a divorced mother from Leeds, had tried to claim that the CSA owed her a duty of care and had been negligent in failing to obtain maintenance payments from her former husband.
In a case backed by Resolution, an association of family law solicitors, Ms Rowley took the CSA to court, claiming that it should be held responsible for the loss of her health, wealth and home.
However, three judges at the court of appeal found that the body did not owe a duty of care, in a move described as a "major blow" by the association.
"The failings of the CSA are legendary and it is astonishing therefore that the government has thus far been silent on its plans to recompense those failed by it," Kim Fellowes of Resolution’s CSA committee commented.
"For the last 14 years, thousands of children have been badly let down by the CSA."
The CSA has recently been replace by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC), which is planned to have more substantial powers to enforce maintenance payments from defaulters.
Posted in Family Law | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 19th, 2007
House prices are set to soar in Musselburgh as it prepares to become Scotland’s newest university town.
East Lothian estate agent Rettie has forecast the average house price in the town to increase to more than £230,000 in the wake of the development – well ahead of other properties in the area.
It is thought that the increase in prices will be partly the result of parents buying up property for their university-bound offspring, while buy-to-let investors are also likely to make the most of the captive student market.
Tom Perriam, director at the estate agency, told the Scotsman: "In recent years we have seen an average price growth of around eight to ten per cent in Musselburgh, but with the opening of the university I would expect prices to rise by 20 to 25 per cent between September this year and March 2009."
Meanwhile other Scottish seaside towns have been identified as performing well, with Ayrshire’s Girvan topping the list with a 41 per cent increase in property values in the last year, according to the Halifax.
Posted in Estate Agency | No Comments »
Monday, June 18th, 2007
Patients with dementia should be provided with appropriate advice to organise their estate, a scientific adviser to the British Geriatrics Society has asserted.
Dr Alasdair MacLullich has suggested that patients diagnosed with dementia are often not provided with the same advice and support as cancer patients and others, despite the fact that their condition could result in shorter life expectancy.
He was speaking to the Herald following the commencement of a consultation by the General Medical Council (GMC) into how well equipped the NHS is to deal with dementia sufferers.
Dr MacLullich stated: "It’s peculiar that this [will advice] is almost never done with dementia patients. And it’s a shame, as people can be left bewildered."
The GMC is working with the Alzheimer’s Society, the Scottish Dementia Working Group (SDWG) and Age Concern to create workshops where all involved can discuss their views on the diagnosis and treatment of dementia.
Earlier this month, Alzheimer’s Scotland published a new report, which focused on the growing number of people affected by dementia in Scotland and set out those strategies necessary to manage the increase identified.
Posted in Estate Agency | No Comments »
