Angela Brown
Daniels LLP Solicitors WHEN our son got married three-and-a-half years ago, his in-laws gave them £40,000 as a present to use as a deposit on a home. Our daughter-in-law now says marriage is not for her, the house is to be put on the market and her parents want their money back. Will they get it? My son was hoping for something for his young son. YOUR son will need to seek the advice of a family solicitor. If the money was a joint gift then your daughter-in-law or her parents will find it hard to argue that it should be repaid. Your son is married and so there are other factors which the court will look at, such as the ages of the parties, their respective income positions and whether or not there are any children of the family. It’s unclear from your question whether your grandson is actually a child of the marriage. If the house is in joint names and that is the only asset then the starting point is that there is an equal spilt. But as I have said, there are other factors the court would take into account.
OPEN AND SHUT CASE
A FIELD we have owned for more than 60 years has a gateway leading out on to a private road. The original deeds state I have a right of way through it, but later conveyances omit this. Now the owners of the road are trying to prevent me using the gate. Could I have the right of way reinstated? THE right of way conferred by the original deeds may still be effective and it doesn’t need to be mentioned in later deeds in order to remain effective. You’ve also been using the gateway for 60 years without asking anyone’s permission to do so, so you have established a right of way by long usage. A solicitor’s letter to the owners of the road should be enough.
SAFE AS HOUSES
WE have heard of people losing their properties as the deed documents have fallen into the wrong hands during the registration process. What is the safest and most cost-effective way of registering your property, and is there a list of reputable solicitors who will carry this out? IT’S difficult if not impossible to register someone else’s property in your own name if they are an owner occupier, since the documents are posted to the registered address. Registering your property makes it much less vulnerable to theft. Most solicitors carry out conveyancing work, and if you need to you can check that the conveyance has been done correctly online at
LOWERING THE TONE
MY next door neighbour’s house is in a terrible state. He hasn’t done any repairs to it in years. I am now planning to sell my house, and the state of his property is going to affect the price. What can I do about it? VERY little I’m afraid, other than offer to give his house a lick of paint. Unless his property is physically affecting yours, through a blocked gutter or the like, there’s no pressure you can bring to bear unless there are any covenants against his title deeds – you can obtain copies of the title deeds from the Land Registry on payment of a fee if registered. But even if there are, unless you have the benefit of those covenants, there may be little you can do. On the whole, people are free to neglect their property as they wish.
Call SAS Daniels LLP Solicitors on 0161 475 7676 or 01625 442 100. Visit www.sasdaniels. co.uk. If you have any legal questions, write to Weekly Law and You, MEN Media, leave your query on the legal advice line 0117 964 4794.