A landlord from Devizes has been fined £11,600 for exposing tenants including a family with children to dangerous living conditions. Ansar Butt, 39, admitted 24 breaches of the Houses of Multiple Occupation Regulation and four counts of failing to undertake works following the issue of an improvement notice. The trial at Swindon Magistrates Court found
The Courts Service will develop its new online divorce family law service following the online divorce pilot. Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have already started enabling people to issue divorce petitions online. HMCTS divorce service manager Adam Lennon said, “Now that the application part of the divorce process is online we will, over the
A man has gone to court to claim the money his late mother left after her last boyfriend launched a claim for a share. James Campbell, 35, said his late mother Sarah promised he would have everything when she died. He also claims her will, drawn up 14 years before her death, handed
The former wife of an aristocrat will be divorcing her ex-husband in English courts even though they spent almost all their married life in Scotland. Charles Villiers, 55, has accused his ex-wife, Emma of ‘trying it on’ in the English courts as a cross-border divorce tourist. Mr Villiers added that if she won her
The Supreme Court will decide whether a woman can divorce her husband even though he contested the move. The case of Tini Owens, 67 and her husband Hugh, 78 has raised questions about whether there should be an overhaul of the divorce law in England and Wales. Mrs Owens said her marriage had broken down
Following its online pilot scheme the Ministry of Justice has launched the scheme nationwide this month. The latest initiative in the department’s £1bn modernisation programme enables divorcing couples across England and Wales to complete their applications on a website without going to court. The language on the digital form has been simplified and also allows payments and
A man who was left out of his late uncle’s will has been accused of doctoring another version of the will, reinstating his claim and reducing that of other family members, a court has heard. William Venning, 55, faces charges of conspiring to make a false instrument, conspiring to pervert the course of justice, fraud
A landlord has been found guilty of ‘forcing’ a tenant to live in a dangerous property which had electrical faults, no fire alarms and insecure windows. Officials from Bassetlaw Council found nearly 20 areas of concern at Susan Elizabeth Jubb’s property, declaring it too dangerous to live in. Jubb has been ordered to pay fines
A carer who ‘guided the hand’ of her dying millionaire employer as he signed over almost half his £1million fortune to her family has been stripped of the money. Donna Henderson is alleged to have helped retired banker Marcel Chu sign a will which handed her and her children half of his estate.
Newly-divorced couples may still be married because of a series of blunders by officials. A senior judge said that those affected were granted legal break-ups too quickly. In some cases, couples submitted divorce petitions before they had been married a year – the minimum period. In others, officials approved divorces before the applicants had spent