“I’m sorry, we can only discuss the account with the account holder”

“But I’m her daughter, my mum has dementia and can not call you herself”

“I’m sorry madam, but for security purposes, we are only able to speak with the account holder, or a person with legal authority to act on her behalf”

A frustrating and yet very common conversation.

The end of a marriage can be an unhappy and stressful event for all concerned. Following calls for reform, Justice Secretary David Gauke recently announced that divorce law would be updated in an effort to reduce family conflict - including the introduction of no fault divorce.

The two words “hate crime” are often heard in the current climate - in the press, in the judicial system, and in our societies generally. Anyone may be a victim of a hate crime. In light of Pride Week, this article briefly looks at what hate crime is, and how it is dealt with in the criminal justice system.

As of 13 March 2014, pursuant to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, same-sex marriage became legal in the UK.  Before this, the only way same-sex couples had legal recognition of their relationship was through a civil partnership. The passing of this legislation also enabled same-sex couples to convert their civil partnership into marriage. The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) published that, since the introduction of same-sex marriage in the UK in 2014, there have been more marriages among female same-sex couples each year, than male same-sex couples.

We have seen a recent rise in Will Writers offering cheaply prepared Wills online, and more and more people are taking matters into their own hands by preparing their own DIY Wills. 

An article has been published by the Law Gazette highlighting the increase in disputes that were heard in the High Court from 227 in 2018 to 368 in 2019, this is largely due to poorly prepared Wills.

The Trades Union Congress (“TUC”) has done a recent survey on the topic of harassment of LGBT people in the workplace. From the population of approximately one thousand people canvassed, 68% said they had been subjected to at least one type of sexual harassment at work, of which 70% stated that the most recent incident of unwanted sexual behaviour at work had been from a colleague, and 12% stating that they had been harassed by their direct manager or another manager.

With the government’s recent announcement that Section 21 notices are to be abolished, it is important to take action sooner rather than later if you are a landlord looking to recover possession of your property.

However, many landlords are concerned that they will be accused of carrying out a retaliatory eviction if they serve a Section 21 notice, and their possession claim will fail if the tenant defends it on this basis.