According to the Office for National Statistics, nearly as many children are now born to parents who are not married or in a registered civil partnership as to those who are. But do you have fewer rights where you are born outside of a legally recognised relationship, particularly when one of your parents dies? And what if you have been adopted or co-opted into a blended family? It is not uncommon for households to join forces without formalising the arrangement, so what are your inheritance rights in this scenario?
Homeowners who feel that the boundary at their property is not where it should be, or that a neighbour’s extension goes over an existing boundary line, could go to court to have this dispute determined. This is usually only viable if you have legal expenses insurance, but sometimes an injunction may be needed to stop building work.
According to Dawn Kiddy, a solicitor with Petersfields LLP in Cambridge and Haverhill homeowners will usually be better off using a procedure developed by HM Land Registry to resolve boundary disputes which refers cases to a specialist tribunal. ‘Not only will this prove to be quicker, but it could also be cheaper, and it will mean that official records at HM Land Registry will be updated directly’.
With life expectancy in the UK predicted to rise into the late 80s for men and women by 2030, an increasing number of people are choosing to safeguard their interests by making lasting powers of attorney. These enable a relative or friend to assume control of their affairs should deteriorating mental health mean they can no longer manage things for themselves.
Isolated land that is not regularly inspected can sometimes be appropriated without anyone noticing. Farmland is particularly susceptible, as are remote areas of woodland and scrubland within large rural estates. When this continues for a long period of time, there is a risk that you could receive a claim of adverse possession (also known as squatters’ rights).
Adverse possession also occurs with vacant and derelict properties that have been forgotten about or are awaiting redevelopment. Sometimes patches of garden or an access way have been incorporated into a neighbouring property, either in a deliberate land grab or because of inaccurate plans which suggest the neighbour’s garden extends further than it does.
If you own a house or piece of land which someone else is trying to claim belongs to them, then it is important that you seek urgent legal advice. The rules of adverse possession may mean that you are at risk of losing your property if you do not act quickly enough in challenging the claim.
If you are concerned about the behaviour or actions of someone who has been appointed as an executor to someone’s will, then it may be possible for you to apply to the court to have them removed from their post and replaced by someone else. This might be a necessary step where an executor is refusing to honour the terms of the will, where there is evidence that they have been stealing from the deceased person’s estate, if they are mentally incapacitated, where they have fallen out with the beneficiaries, or if they are putting their own interests first.
‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’ is a familiar phrase with its origins in the 16th century, where it was widely accepted that no one should have the right to interfere with the use and enjoyment of a person’s property except in very limited circumstances.
Fast forward 500 years and, while the phrase remains well known, there are now numerous ways in which our rights as homeowners can be curtailed and which can lead to a dispute.
