A farm  that has been inherited by one spouse may be regarded by the court as a non-matrimonial asset, whereas land purchased by the spouses during their marriage could be considered a matrimonial asset. This can be an important distinction in determining whether assets are shared, say, equally or only to the extent necessary to meet needs. This is a complex matter and legal (and accountancy) advice should be sought.

The non-inheriting spouse may not be entitled to an equal share of the farm on divorce but their needs (and those of any minor children) must be met.  They may need capital to house themselves (and any children who will not continue to live on the farm), plus income and pension provision.

Yes, but to do so you need to be:

• a beneficiary under either the current will or a previous will
• someone who has an entitlement to administer the estate
• a family member
• someone owed money by the person who died
• someone dependent financially on the person who died
• someone who was promised something that you haven’t received.

Take action quickly and ideally before probate has been granted and the estate distributed. A first step is to enter a caveat with the Probate Registry. The caveat lasts six months (and can be extended for another six months) and prevents probate being granted while the dispute is still unresolved.

Yes. However, it’s preferable to do it before assets have been distributed or disposed of. If you plan to challenge a will, you can get a caveat on the estate first, which prevents probate being issued, thus buying you and your legal adviser more time.

After probate it is important to act as quickly as possible as the assets may already have been distributed.  Additionally, there may be some time limits on a claim: fraud claims have no time limit but claims under the Inheritance Act 1975 are limited to six months from the grant of probate. Time limits are governed by legislation and depend on the type of claim. This is a complex area and you should get expert legal help as soon as possible.

The High Court. The probate jurisdiction of the High Court is divided between the Family Division and the Chancery Division. The Family Division deals with non-contentious or common form probate business and the Chancery Division deals with contentious or solemn form probate business such as asking the court to approve a will to avoid further dispute.  The Probate Registry deals with issues concerning caveats. 

From a legal point of view, there is nothing that requires the developer of a new build property to provide a new build warranty. However, most mortgage lenders will not provide finance on a new build home or any development without adequate cover.

A new build warranty is taken out by the developer.  With a builder’s warranty on your new home, you can confidently enjoy your new building without worrying about the cost of structural repairs if something ends up going wrong in the early years of ownership. The most well-known providers of new home warranties are the National House-building Council (NHBC) which is the most common provider covering 70-80% of the new build market, Local Authority Building Control (LABC) and Premier Guarantee. 

Families can agree to use arbitration from the outset or even after court proceedings have started.  It can be used to resolve disputes about finances and child arrangements.

Appointing an arbitrator has a number of advantages over relying on the court procedure. It is often much speedier than the court process, as appointments are listed at the participants’ convenience not dependent on the court’s timetabling powers.

The process is private and confidential, whereas the court system is becoming increasingly transparent.

Parties get the benefit of a specialist arbitrator who is reserved just to deal with their case. At court, numerous hearings are listed for one judge to deal with each day, meaning the judge doesn’t always have much time to hear everything.  Also, by selecting the arbitrator, the parties know they will have a judge who is a specialist in that area of law.

Arbitration also provides continuity as the arbitrator remains on the case until it reaches a resolution so they are able to have more personal involvement in the case and can find a bespoke solution for the family.

An arbitrator’s decision is binding so the parties know they will have closure to their dispute.