PROPERTY LAW
FORCING A SALE
Q. My ex-wife took me to court to force me to put our house on the market. She’s now instructed the estate agent to drop the price.
Circumstances have changed since the order was made two years ago, and I wonder if there’s any way I can get it overturned?
A. It sounds as though you were ordered to sell your house at an ancillary relief hearing, which is where the court works out a financial settlement between divorcing couples.
If it was a final hearing it’s extremely unlikely that the order can be varied, but your solicitor will be able to advise you further.
If you can come up with alternative proposals as to how you might give your ex-wife her share of the equity in the property the court will certainly consider them, but changes to your material circumstances since the hearing won’t be taken into
account I’m afraid.
BUSINESS DEBT
Q. My husband ran a small business, and when he died recently someone offered to buy it from me for £20,000.
He gave me £6,000 as a down payment and signed a letter promising to pay me the balance as soon as he got a loan from the bank.
He’s now refusing to pay the remainder.
A. It sounds as if the buyer entered into a binding contract with you to purchase the business for the price you’ve stated, and you should be able to sue him for the balance in the county court.
You don’t say why he’s refusing to hand over the rest of the cash, but assuming there was no misrepresentation on your part you should be entitled to the money or your business back with compensation for the loss of income from it in the intervening period. See a solicitor.
WILL WORRY
Q. A will has been drawn up by a solicitor naming me as executor. It’s currently being held by the solicitor for safe keeping, but I wondered whether I should have a copy or whether it should be in my possession?
It’s possible the will may have funeral instructions, which I won’t know about until I’ve seen it.
A. An individual’s will is usually a private document and can be changed any time until after their death provided they have mental capacity, so it’s very common for people to leave their wills with solicitors for safety and privacy. Your first job as an executor (on the individual’s death) will be to visit or contact the solicitors to find out the deceased’s wishes, but if you are concerned, you can ask the individual to provide you with details of their funeral wishes in advance.
Depending on your relationship with the individual, they may not want to provide you with details of their financial affairs.
NO PRIVACY
Q. I live on the end of a terraced row. My neighbours have six children, who use the path around the side of my house to get to their back door.
The children ride bicycles and bring their friends, which means I have no privacy. I complain regularly to them but they maintain they have a right of way. My neighbour’s title deeds say they’re entitled to ‘reasonable’ use, but surely use as a public footpath or children’s playground isn’t reasonable.
A. I sympathise with your problem but your neighbours are probably right. If they’re entitled to reasonable access you are left with the difficulty of proving to a court that what they’re doing is unreasonable.
To sue them for nuisance successfully you would have to assemble a very strong case: it could be argued that the position of the path means you’re unreasonable in expecting the privacy you require.
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, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton OL9 8EF, or leave your query on the legal advice line 0117 964 4794.