A retired window cleaner who inherited £280,000 from a customer has been jailed for 12 months after he failed to return the money. Albert Pearce, 83, looked after Julie Spalding in her final years and was the sole beneficiary of her will when she died aged 98 in 2008. However, Ms Spalding’s nephew contested the
A solicitor whose firm ran a series of immigration claims for judicial review with no prospect of success has been struck off. According to the Law Gazette, Azfar Naseem Bajwa, principal of east London firm A Bajwa & Co, misled clients into thinking they had a prospect of success in cases which he knew could
A benefit cheat falsely claimed over £55,000 whilst simultaneously receiving money from her husband every month. Newport Crown Court heard Sharon Calder, 57, had falsely claimed £55,444.43 in benefits including income support, housing benefit, and council tax benefit from around 2009. Calder had also received around £68,000 in inheritance. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
A new plan has been introduced where judges in specialist family courts will focus on separating couples’ rows over money. The new “Financial Remedies Courts” will be trialled in London, the West Midlands and South Wales next year. In the new courts, judges will make decisions on only the “financial aspect” of divorce proceedings. Judicial
A businessman has been given a one-year jail term after judges concluded he had forged his mother’s will and was in contempt of court. Girish Patel, who is in 60s, had been embroiled in litigation with brother Yashwant, who is in his 70s, over control of a multi-million family business empire. He had claimed he
A lawyer who complained he had been ordered to give more than half his disposable income to his estranged wife has lost the most recent round of a divorce court fight. The man said an order made by Judge Mark Everall at a hearing in the Central Family Court in London left his estranged wife
A former managing partner of a law firm in Bradford, who is serving a prison sentence for fraud, has admitted his role in the issuing of false divorce certificates. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found that Mohammed Ayub, 56, had failed to supervise a work experience student who provided three couples with falsified decree absolutes while
A woman is demanding a share of her ex-husbands earnings on top of a £10m divorce payout, the court of appeal has heard. The marriage of Kim Waggott, 49, with William Waggott, 54, ended after his ‘multiple affairs.’ The couple married in 2000 and have a teenage daughter. Ms Waggott is arguing that she is
A man has been jailed after he faked a relative’s will to prevent a charity benefitting from a multi-million pound legacy. Paul Coppola, 65, admitted forging the signature of Desiderio Coppola just days before his death. The deceased left his £7m estate to be divided between his family and wished for the balance to be left to