Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen’s Bench Division (QBD) became the King’s Bench Division (KBD). This means that:

This Q&A assumes that: • the query relates to a general partnership governed by the Partnership Act 1890 (PA 1890), subject to any partnership agreement • as general partnerships do not have ‘shares’, the words ‘a share in the partnership’ refer to the outgoing partner’s interests in and entitlement to any undrawn profits, capital and possibly any undistributed capital profits The starting point for determining how to deal with a partner’s interests following death will be to review the partnership agreement. A partnership agreement would commonly include provisions that deal with: • the continuation of a partnership following the death of a partner • the transfer/acquisition/distribution of an outgoing partner’s interests • how any new party may be admitted as a partner of the partnership Firstly, it should be determined whether the partnership in question has ended and is winding up as a result of the death

A person who is entitled to a share (or all) of an estate can give away their entitlement, or a part of it. If that is done by means of a deed of variation within two years of the death and meets other conditions, it will be treated for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes as if the intestacy rules had given an entitlement to the recipient of the gift (the Recipient). While an estate is in the course of administration, a personal representative (PR) will hold the property and its net sales proceeds as

Who is entitled to administer the intestate wife’s estate? A grant of administration is required where the deceased died intestate. The order of priority of entitlement follows the entitlement to an intestate’s estate and is set out in the Non-contentious Probate Rules 1987 (NCPR 1987), SI 1987/2024, r 22(1). The surviving spouse is first in the order of priority, provided they survive the deceased by 28 days. See Practice Note: Appointment of personal representatives (see section: Letters of administration). If an administrator dies without having completed the administration, a grant of administration de bonis non must be obtained. The grant will issue to the person who would have been entitled had it been an original grant.

Section 15(1) of the Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980) provides that no action may be brought to recover land more than 12 years after the right of action accrued. Therefore, at least prior to the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002) a person whose actual possession of land was adverse to the owner and who had so possessed for at least 12 years was able to gain title to the land (the doctrine of adverse possession). The right of action accrues from the date of the dispossession (LA 1980, Sch 1 and s 1) provided that some other person is in possession (LA 1980, Sch 1 and s 8(1)). In JA Pye (Oxford) Ltd v Graham, the House of Lords made

Until 30 September 2018, by section 41(1)–(2) of the Deregulation Act 2015 (DA 2015), landlords of residential properties only needed to comply with the new section 21 procedure in relation to new assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs), ie those tenancies which were created after DA 2015 came into force on 1 October 2015 (other than statutory periodic ASTs which arose on/after 1 October 2015 at the end of a fixed-term tenancy granted before 1 October 2015, which remained under the previous section 21 regime).  It should be noted that, while there is no binding Precedent in this regard, County Court cases to date in respect of the gas safety and Energy Performance Certificate

The courts have jurisdiction to make orders for the sale of property in a number of situations including pursuant to its powers under section 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 and/or enforcement proceedings. The procedural power to make an order for sale is contained in CPR 40.16. At CPR PD 40D, para 2, a summary of the directions the court may make are set out. See Practice Note: Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996. The directions may include who has conduct of the sale and the manner of sale. It should be noted that if any beneficiary or trustee of the property wishes to be able to bid

What happened on 21 March 2016? Before 21 March 2016, a credit agreement that was secured on land by a second or later charge could not be a regulated mortgage contract because of its definition in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (the RAO), SI 2001/544, art 61. The UK Mortgage Credit Directives (MCDs) scope led to most regulated credit agreements secured by a second or later charge entered into before 21 March 2016 being transferred into Mortgage Code of Business Regulations. This transfer resulted from the introduction of the Mortgage Credit Directive Order 2015, SI 2015/910 (the MCDO). What did the Financial Conduct Authority say about time orders before 21 March 2016? In Consultation Paper 14/20,

Where lease renewal proceedings are in progress and the parties require further time to complete the renewal lease, proceedings should not be discontinued simply in order to avoid a forthcoming hearing. Discontinuing the proceedings before the new lease is completed will put the tenant at risk of losing the right to take the new lease in the event that a dispute arises between the parties and the landlord refuses to complete

Except where a winding-up order is made by virtue of paragraph 13(1)(e) of Scheduled B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), a company winding up is deemed to have commenced at the date of the presentation of the winding-up petition. There is no longer a prescribed form for a winding-up order, but Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024, r 7.20 (and with different requirements in IR 2016, SI 2016/1024, r 7.32 in the event that the winding up follows the cessation of an administrator’s appointment or where there is a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) supervisor in relation to the company) lists the following requirements: • identification details for the proceedings • the name and title of the judge making the order • the name and postal address of the petitioner • the nature of the petitioner which entitles that person to present that petition (for example, the company, a creditor or a regulator) • the

Where an employer is seeking to introduce new service agreements for existing directors, as for any employment contract, this will amount to a change in the terms and conditions of employment for those directors. Like any other contract, an employment contract or service agreement may be amended at any time either: • in accordance with the terms of the contract itself • with the agreement of the parties to the contract For information on the legal and practical considerations that arise when changing terms and conditions of employment, see: • Practice Note: Changing terms and conditions of employment • Checklist—changing terms and conditions of employment • Checklist—process for changing terms and conditions: client outline See also the Precedents

This Q&A assumes that the question contains an error and should say ‘following rescission by a seller of a contract to purchase a house…’. It also assumes that the contract incorporates the Standard Conditions of Sale (5th Edn) and that a notice to complete was served on the buyer. This Q&A does not consider the contract for sale between the parties and so the answer to this Q&A is given on the basis that there is nothing within the contract in question which affects the position. Most residential transactions now incorporate the Standard Conditions of Sale (5th Edn): Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents [81]. Clause 2.2.6 states that: ‘Any deposit or part of a deposit