We have assumed that the beneficial interest is held as tenants in common. Care homes—disregard A local authority has a duty to place an assessed adult, with needs for care and support, in their preferred accommodation if certain criteria are met. If the local authority does this, the adult, depending on an assessment of their income and capital,

The taxation of pre-2006 accumulation and maintenance trusts (A&M trusts) turns on the provision of section 71 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984). This will be the case where one or more beneficiaries will, on or before attaining a specified age not exceeding 18, become beneficially entitled to it, no interest in possession subsists in the property, and the income is not used for maintenance it is accumulated. Further conditions for the application of IHTA 1984, s 71 are: • not more than 25 years have elapsed since the commencement of the settlement

MLex: The X social-media platform is under formal investigation by Ireland’s media regulator for suspected violations of the EU’s Digital Services Act (EU DSA), which guarantees users the right to appeal content moderation decisions. Coimisiún na Meán’s probe follows concerns from the regulator’s platform supervision team, supported by a submission from a human rights campaign group and a user complaint, that X may not properly inform users of appeal rights or provide an accessible internal complaints system.

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has concluded an agreement with X, under which the social media platform will suspend its processing of personal data contained in the public posts of X’s users based in the EU and the EEA between 7 May and 1 August 2024 for the purposes of training its AI tool, known as ‘Grok’. The agreement follows an urgent High Court application brought by the Irish DPC under section 134 of the Irish Data Protection Act 2018 (IDPA 2018), which marked the first time the Irish DPC has utilised its powers provided for by that section. Ms Justice Richards, who heard the application, concluded that the rights and freedoms of data subjects across the EU and the EEA were at the core of the application.

The purpose of a deed of covenant in these circumstances is usually to ensure that the original transferor has the benefit of a direct covenant from the new owner because

The basic rule is set out in section 1(1) of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934. This provides: ‘Subject to the provisions of this section, on the death of any person...all causes of action subsisting against or vested in him shall survive against, or, as the case may be, for the benefit of his estate...’ There are various express exceptions for matters like defamation, but these are of no relevance to the situation here. The other exception that applies, notwithstanding the wide wording of the section, is for contracts of a personal nature (ie contracts involving personal skill, taste or confidence), such as a contract of service, to perform at a concert or to paint a picture. Such contracts could only be performed by the deceased personally and cannot be performed by their personal representatives on the deceased’s behalf. Another way of analysing the situation with regard to these

The formalities governing a valid will derive from section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 (WA 1837). If the formalities of this section are not complied with, then it is unlikely the Will shall be held to be valid, and, in that event, the intestacy rules will apply. This could result in the estate being distributed in a way that the deceased may not have chosen while they were alive. WA 1837, s 9(a) provides that for a will to be legally valid, it must be: • in writing • signed by the person making the Will (testator), or by another person in their presence and by their

The European Commission has determined that X's online social networking service should not be designated as a core platform service under the EU Digital Markets Act (EU DMA) following a market investigation initiated on 13 May 2024, which found that X is not an important gateway for business users to reach end users. The decision was made after evaluating X's arguments against its designation as a gatekeeper and considering input from stakeholders. The Commission will continue to monitor market developments related to this service.

Article 8(3) of the US-UK Gift and Estate Tax Treaty (set out in the Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Estates of Deceased Persons and on Gifts) (United States of America) Order 1979, SI 1979/1454, Sch) provides: 'Property which passes to the spouse from a decedent or transferor who was domiciled in or a national of the United States and which may be taxed in the United Kingdom shall, where (a) the transferor's spouse was not domiciled in the United Kingdom but the transfer would have been wholly

Y is right to be vigilant as to whether VAT has been correctly charged. Even if Y is in principle able to recover VAT as input tax (on the basis that Y makes taxable supplies), HMRC can deny recovery if the VAT was not correctly charged (see VAT Notice 700, para 10.3). This is on first principles because, in these circumstances, the amount that was paid would not actually be VAT. Exemption from VAT An option to tax will only be relevant if, in the absence of the option, the grant of the easement would be exempt from VAT. UK legislation exempts ‘the grant of any interest in or right over land’. This would appear to cover the grant of an easement, but HMRC has recently argued that, under

CASE HUB See further timeline and related/relevant cases Case facts Outline European Commission investigation under Articles 4 and 7 EUMR in relation to XXXLutz KG’s acquisition of Porta (M.11895 AP). Latest development On 10 July 2026, the Commission launched its investigation. Parties • XXXLutz KG (XXXLutz): XXXLutz is headquartered in Austria. It is active in several European countries in the retail sale and procurement of furniture, furnishings and household goods and, to a more limited extent, electronics and appliances. The retail brands under which it operates

CASE HUB (not maintained since decision on 29/04/2015) ARCHIVED–this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the decision of 29 April 2015; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline and commentary. Case facts Outline UK merger investigation into the completed acquisition by Xchanging of certain companies of Agencyport Software Europe. The transaction involves a horizontal overlap in the market for software insurance. Latest developments On 29 April 2015 the CMA issued its final report and cleared the transaction after a phase 2 investigation. Parties Xchanging plc and its subsidiaries Xchanging Holdings Ltd and Xchanging, Inc (Xchanging) are companies that provide specialist software to the insurance market. Xchanging is based in London. This is part of a wider offering of providing business processing, technology and procurement services to large organisations in 48 countries. Agencyport Software Europe also provides specialist software to the insurance market, in particular to insurers, reinsurers and Lloyd's of London registered managing agents. The Agencyport Software Europe business is based in London and consists of four companies, previously called