No-fault divorce removing all elements of blame from the process is almost a reality.
The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill that has recently passed through the House of Commons will enable couples to have a no-fault divorce when it comes into force next Autumn. Final amendments are now being considered by the House of Lords.
A lessee wanted to refurbish her flat that involved heavy structural work that could possibly have damaged the building (i.e. more than usual refurbishments for which permission would have needed to be sought from the landlord and cannot be refused if reasonable). She was given permission by the landlord to do so. A neighbouring lessee objected saying the landlord had no right to give permission for such onerous work without the consent of all of the lessees and the Supreme Court agreed.
Self-isolating abuse has been blamed for the spark in divorce enquiries that we have been receiving since the start of the lockdown. Child custody battles have also featured strongly recently due to the isolation pandemonium. Abuse need not only be physical. Calls for the renegotiation of divorce settlements are now being answered as the downturn in finances hits home.
Travel, transport and retail organisations have contacted solicitors for preliminary discussions in view of their poor or non-existent trading environments. Restructuring, the raising of funds and reapportionment of debt are the services sought to stem the cash bleeds. Other sectors are forecast to follow suit as social distancing and lockdowns rise.
Company shares are often forgotten about when negotiating financial settlements to a divorce alongside the broader issue of pensions. This can obviously be a crucial income stream if only one party provided the family income. Pensions are usually divided equally. You need to re-institute legal proceedings if you forget this valuable asset!
A fairly good demand for premium office space exists in London in the days leading up to Brexit, on the 31st January 2020, since the Conservative win in last month’s general election. However tenancy agreements have yet to be fully negotiated. A large surge in refurbishment and building has been forecast by commentators for the first six months of this year.
London is first for commercial property investments followed by Paris largely due to the expanding tech sector.
The UK restaurant sector however is facing uncertain times with nearly 1500 insolvencies in the year to July due to the large volume of establishments, poor customer attendance and increasing costs.
Last month saw a surge in the residential lettings market as tenants swarmed to sign assured shorthold tenancy agreements due to the ban introduced on certain letting agency fees. Tenancy deposits have also been frozen at a 5% maximum. However the shortage of properties on the market means that going forward competition will be fierce.