A Partnership is a relationship that exists between two or more persons carrying on business in common with a view to make a profit. Partnerships are governed by the Partnership Act 1890 (“the Act”). A Partnership is not a separate legal entity and the Partners generally have unlimited liability. If a Partnership has no written Partnership Agreement, then the provisions of the Act shall apply. Removing a Partner from a Partnership There are only two ways to remove a Partner from a Partnership: Expulsion – but only if you have a Partnership Agreement which allows for this; and Negotiating a vo ..read more

As part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, Companies House are amending their fees on 1 May 2024 to bring them in line with the cost of providing services and to recover the costs of their new powers being introduced through the Act. Companies House fee changes Companies House are updating how much they will charge for making certain filings. These updated filing fees include: incorporation of a company – (now £50 to file digitally or £71 in paper); change of name – (now £20 to file digitally or £30 in paper, with a change of name filing to be processed by Companies Ho ..read more

Before you can ask the court in a particular country to do something, such as deal with an application for divorce, you must first check that it has jurisdiction to do so. In addition to jurisdiction, it is also important to consider whether England & Wales would be the most appropriate place (“forum”) for the divorce, and any associated financial proceedings to be dealt with if one or both of the parties have connections to other countries, or indeed which jurisdiction would be most favourable. What is jurisdiction? This is essentially a) the court’s power to be able to make legal decisio ..read more

It is important that you have employment contracts in place for anyone who is an employee or a worker. Then both parties (employer and staff member) start off on the right foot, being clear on the terms agreed between them to ensure a good working relationship and to guard against potential misunderstandings, plus employment claims going forward. When do you need to issue a contract of employment? An employment contract should be issued on an employee or worker’s first day of employment or beforehand. Employers have a statutory obligation to give employees and workers a document that states th ..read more

The Family Procedure Rules govern and standardise processes and procedures in the family court system in England and Wales. The rules originally came into force in 2010 but are updated periodically as and when a change is necessary to improve practice and procedure. The latest update is due to come into force on 29 April 2024. Upcoming changes The main update on this occasion is to introduce a new definition of Non-Court Dispute Resolution (NCDR) also known as ADR. Previously this definition focussed on mediation only, but will now be extended to cover a much wider range of options, including ..read more

The dairy industry in the UK has experienced a transformative wave of technological advancements in recent years, reshaping operations and efficiency. From AI-powered solutions to innovative data analytics, technology has become a prevalent element in modern dairy farming practices. In the rapid integration of technology into the UK dairy sector, the importance of robust contracts between dairy farmers and technology suppliers cannot be underestimated. These contracts govern critical aspects such as uptime guarantees, data provision and use, and service levels, ensuring seamless operations and ..read more

In our series of articles exploring parental responsibility, here we explore the interaction between parental responsibility and wardship. What is wardship? Wardship is an old concept which predates the 1989 Children Act. Under the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction, the Court can make orders with a view to ensuring that a child who is made a Ward of Court is protected and properly taken care of. Examples of what the Court can do within wardship include making a wide range of injunctions for a child’s protection such as: – Orders to restrain publicity. Orders to prevent an undesirable associa ..read more

The case of WC v HC from 2022 has shone a light on the implications of failing to negotiate openly and reasonably when attempting to settle financial matters on divorce. In this case, the total assets amounted to approximately £12.47m, the vast majority of which had been gifted by or inherited from the husband’s wealthy family. The parties had married in 2004 after living together for a couple of years prior, making this a marriage of 16 – 17 years in length (a long marriage in legal terms). They had two children together during that time. Following separation, there were years of contested co ..read more

Following another successful year of growth, leading South West law firm, Stephens Scown LLP has announced the promotion of 11 talented individuals, including five new Partners, a new Senior Associate, and five new Associates across a range of areas and specialisms. Promoted to Partner are Chris Morse, a trusted advisor in Employment Law, Tamara Hasson, who supports clients with inheritance and trust disputes, Susan Reynolds, team leader of Stephens Scown’s rural sector team, Guy Michell, who specialises in construction matters and Alex Mackie, Chief Operating Officer (COO), who becomes the fi ..read more

There are new regulations on statutory paid holiday rights for workers, which took effect on 1 January 2024 and 1 April 2024. The rules on statutory paid holiday have rarely stood still for long and it has been difficult for many employers to keep up with how to calculate the correct amount of accrued holiday entitlement and holiday payment rate accurately. These reforms are intended to make dealing with annual leave more straightforward for employers than it has been. Time will tell whether this objective has been achieved! Why is holiday accrual and pay being reformed? The background to thes ..read more