A landlord has been hit with a fine after ignoring a court order to clear up mess. Javaid Iqbal, 51, has been told to pay more than £1,300 in fines and costs after Stoke-on-Trent City Council decided to prosecute. Council investigators were called in after residents complained about domestic waste, furniture, bricks, tiles, glass, scaffolding poles, planks
A Russian businessman claims his estranged wife cannot divorce him in England because they are already divorced. The man told a High Court judge that he divorced his wife in Russia 12 years ago. His estranged wife, however, disagrees saying that obtained a “fraudulent” divorce in Russia. The woman, who is also Russian, argues that
A wife who signed a pre-nup before marrying a multi-millionare has been given £90 million after their divorce. However, she is fighting for more as she claims that amount is “unfair.” Property tycoon, Gerard Versteegh and Camilla Versteegh were married for 21 years. A court battle ensued after they split in 2014. Mrs Versteegh was
A High Court judge was asked to determine whether an estranged couple who took part in an Islamic wedding ceremony in a London restaurant are validly married. Nasreen Akhter, 46, claims her “Islamic faith marriage” to Mohammed Shabaz Khan, also 46, was a “valid marriage”. Mr Khan, however, has contested this. Mr Justice Williams is
A judge has described a divorcing couple’s battle over assets as a “scandalous waste of court time.” Barbara Cooke, 58, and Michael Parker, 55 have reportedly spent almost £2m on lawyers’ fees while fighting over assets worth £6.6m. Mr Justice Holman said that the pair had “completely lost touch with reality.” The dispute was heard
A rogue landlord from Plumstead has been ordered to pay £4,000 after he left an elderly couple’s home in an “appalling” state with insufficient heating and major mould. The home was investigated by environmental health officers who found the heating could not go above 16 degrees. Other concerns were found including broken electric storage heaters,
Divorcing couples will be asked to fill a tick box form online detailing the money and assets they each want under sweeping plans to streamline the system. The newly-established ‘Financial Remedies Courts’ will then use the ten-page document to rule on the financial side of a divorce. The form allows spouses to tick boxes asking
Three brothers are battling over their late mother’s £1.8million will, a court has heard. Rachel Heath left her sons Jeremy, Timothy and Dominic equal shares of her fortune when she died in October 2015, aged 93. Timothy Heath, however, is fighting for a larger share of the money, claiming he was an “unpaid carer” for
Couples seeking “quickie divorces” can hasten the process with a new online service launched by the Co-op. The fixed-fee digital service from Co-op Legal Services allows people to start uncontested divorces online from home, supported by phone-based advice from experienced solicitors. Co-op already offers online wills and powers of attorney. Co-op estimates the service could cut the
The Probate Service will now accept personal applications online, providing they meet certain criteria. The Probate Service has said the online application form will continue to be developed to cover a broader range of probate applications in the future. Personal applications can be made online if only one executor is applying, if there is an