This Q&A has assumed that the assets that the father wishes to gift to his children are situated outside the UK. Practice Note: Overseas clients wishing to benefit UK residents explains that: 'An overseas client may, during their life or upon death, make a gift of money or other property situated outside the UK [emphasis added] without any UK tax consequences. See: IHT—anti-avoidance provisions. The exceptions to this are: • certain

A governor of a public body who is elected by the public will be regarded by the law as an office-holder (an ‘office’ in this context meaning a subsisting, permanent, substantive position which has an existence independent of the person who fills it, which goes on and is filled in succession by successive holders). They may also be regarded as a ‘worker’ if they have a contract with that body to perform services. Whistleblowing protection is given to ‘workers’ under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996). Under ERA 1996, s 47B, an individual has the right not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer, done on the ground that they made a protected disclosure, if they are a ‘worker’. A worker is any individual who: • has entered into works under or used to work under a contract of employment or any other contract (whether express or implied, oral or in writing), under which they • will personally carry out work

Offer, acceptance and certainty of terms See Practice Note: Formalities for creating a guarantee which explains that the following features are required to create an effective guarantee: • offer and acceptance, with the intention to create legal relations, and • sufficient certainty of terms For more information in relation to each of these features, see Practice Notes: Forming enforceable contracts—offer, Forming enforceable contracts—acceptance, Forming enforceable contracts—intention to create legal relations and Forming enforceable contracts—certainty. And for further reading on this point, see commentaries: • Making the agreement: Halsbury's Laws of England [648] • The principle: Halsbury's Laws of England [652] Parties and

Summary Provided that the other requirements for creating a contract are met, a guarantee can be validly created over (or evidenced by) email, as email is capable of fulfilling the requirement that a guarantee be in, or be evidenced by, writing and signed. As an alternative, where the parties wish to execute a formal contract or deed of guarantee, but one or more of them is not able to attend a physical signing, they should consider a ‘virtual’ signing, as discussed below. Formalities for creating a guarantee Pursuant to a guarantee, one person agrees to answer for the liabilities of another or gives undertakings to procure that another person performs its obligations (eg a parent company guaranteeing that its subsidiary will carry out its contractual obligations). In the banking and finance context, guarantees generally relate to repayment obligations under loan facilities (whether in connection with a specific transaction, or pursuant to an all monies guarantee). A guarantee is a contract and therefore there must be an offer, acceptance and consideration in order to

Section 130A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974) applies to all regulated agreements except non-commercial and small agreements (CCA 1974, s 130A(8)). Under the procedure provided by CCA 1974, s 130A, where the claimant wants to be able to recover from the debtor or hirer post-judgment interest in connection with a sum that is

Do you need a judgment to pursue a claim for a contribution? The fact that there has been no judgment does not preclude the bringing of a contribution claim per se; as confirmed in the following Practice Notes: • Contribution claims under Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978—entitlement, scope and ‘same damage’ • Making and responding to an additional claim under CPR 20—claims for a contribution, indemnity or other remedy and the extract from Atkins Court Forms in the related content section. You can base a contribution claim upon a settlement only (including a Part 36 settlement), see in particular the dicta of Jackson LJ in Hampshire Constabulary at para [30]. Contribution claim based on a settlement agreement—what are the limitation

Enforcement of a deed of agreement In order to enforce a deed, the parties must ensure that it has been correctly executed. The deed must have been signed by an authorised signatory on their account or for and on behalf of an entity. There are set rules which apply (see Practice Notes: Settling disputes—how to document a settlement and Deeds) as well as the need for adherence to the parties’ own internal signature processes. Enforcement of a settlement agreement concluded pre action Unlike a settlement arrived at after proceedings have been issued, where the parties agree to settle their dispute before proceedings have been commenced, then there are no proceedings to be stayed or brought

Public law analysis: In this case, the Administrative Court at first instance rejected an application by the campaign group Sex Matters (the claimant) for permission to bring a judicial review concerning the admission arrangements for transgender people to access single sex bathing facilities at Hampstead Heath. This analysis will focus on the initial decision and judgment of Mrs Justice Lieven handed down on 29 January 2026 to refuse the claimant permission to bring its claim, on the grounds of prematurity and lack of standing. The court found that a campaign group is not the appropriate claimant in a claim for direct discrimination which, under the statutory provisions governing discrimination claims laid out in the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010), should be brought in the County Court: a specialist jurisdiction to determine such claims. Although the court’s decision may signal a cautious tightening towards limiting strategic judicial review litigation by campaign groups where an alternative remedy exists for the individual, it is important to mention that at the time of publishing this article, Lieven J’s decision has been successfully appealed to the Court of Appeal where Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing has granted the claimant permission to bring its claim and remitted the matter back to the Administrative Court for further directions. The substantive grounds for judicial review, and the relief to be granted to the claimant, will be considered at a further hearing in the Administrative Court, which appears pending at the time of writing. Written by Angela Sandhal, director and solicitor at Duncan Lewis Solicitors.

Jurisdiction and governing law clauses During pre-contractual negotiations, parties to the agreement, particularly in a commercial contract, would usually agree a jurisdiction and governing law clause or clauses. Such provision(s) prevents potential disputes between the parties, limits costs in the event of a dispute and provides clarity in interpreting the contract. There is a distinction between the two types of clause: • jurisdiction clause: The parties agree that a particular national court will determine any disputes that arise under the contract. This can be by way reference to legal proceedings or arbitration. It specifies the forum for the resolution of disputes. See: Jurisdiction/choice of court agreements—overview • governing law clause: The parties agree the law that will govern the contract and the rights and obligations of the parties. See: Applicable law principles—overview Form of governing

In order to receive a statutory redundancy payment, a laid-off employee must resign from their employment, after having notified their employer of their intention to claim a redundancy payment. The resignation must be done in accordance with the notice requirements stipulated in their contract, or on one week’s notice, whichever is the longer notice. This requirement for a minimum of one week’s notice reflects section 86(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), which provides that the statutory minimum notice to be given by an employee to an employer is one week (after the employee has continuous service of one month or more). Entitlement to pay during the notice period, or to a payment in lieu of notice, will depend on the terms of the employee’s contract. Issues to consider will be whether the employer can elect to

Land Registry Practice Guide 67 (LRPG 67) states that: ‘“Evidence of identity” is defined in panels 12 of form AP1, 8 of form DS2 and 14 of form FR1 as evidence provided in accordance with any current direction made by the Chief Land Registrar under section 100(4) of the Land Registration Act 2002 for the purpose of confirming a person’s identity. The current direction provides for either form ID1 or form

Forfeiture of the lease is perhaps the most draconian step to take albeit a remedy to which the landlord is entitled. It might not be in the landlord’s interest to forfeit the lease: there may be a guarantor of sufficient substance who can meet the liability in circumstances where there is no guarantee of re-letting the property in the immediate future. In the present case however, the landlord has tried commercial rent arrears recovery (CRAR) which resulted in a payment plan being agreed with the bailiff. The tenant has missed one of the payments under the agreed