Wire
Guardian: Irish UHNW declares bankruptcy
One of Ireland's richest men has declared himself bankrupt in the UK over debts of €2bn (£1.7bn) to the former Anglo Irish Bank
Tel: Mishcon partner 'took part in £18 million fraud'
A former partner at the London law firm Mishcon de Reya joined a plot to gain £18 million fraudulently from a Swiss bank, a court was told yesterday
Reuters: Clariden Leu to give US "tax evaders'" names to IRS
Clariden Leu AG, with roots that make it Switzerland's oldest private bank, has begun telling certain U.S. customers suspected of offshore tax evasion that it will disclose their names to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, with the help of Swiss authorities
Coutts announces new CFO
Coutts is pleased to announce the appointment of Jennifer Mathias as its new Chief Financial Officer. Ms Mathias joins from Lloyds Banking Group where she was Finance Director of the Corporate Banking Division
Kernott vs Jones and Cohabitation
My partner and I separated 10 years ago, having lived together for 15 years. We never married. We bought our house in joint names. We contributed equally to the deposit and paid the mortgage together until he moved out. I have stayed on in the property with our two children and he has bought somewhere else. We cashed in a joint endowment policy that supported the mortgage and he used his half of that for the deposit on his new property. Since he moved out he has paid nothing towards the mortgage and has made almost no contribution to maintaining the children. He is now claiming a half share of the property which has gone up a lot in value. What can I do about this? I would have to sell in order to be able to pay him.
WBrief: HSBC Private Bank profits down in thrid quarter
UK/Hong Kong-listed HSBC said pre-tax profits for its global private bank fell in the third quarter and in the first nine months of 2011 from their comparable periods a year ago, with revenue rises more than offset by rising Swiss franc-denominated operating costs, rising regulatory burdens, and more hires
BBC: Kernott vs Jones Supreme Court decision announced
A man who left his partner nearly 20 years ago is not entitled to half the value of the house they had shared, the Supreme Court has ruled
Expert reaction: Kernott v Jones decision on divorce and cohabitation rights
The Supreme Court's decision may go some way to addressing the injustices inherent in the current law affecting cohabitees but it does so at the cost of certainty
Citywire: Coutts fined £6m over AIG bonds
Private bank Coutts & Co will be fined £6 million by the regulator - a penalty for the way it sold bonds linked to failed US insurer AIG
Tel: 'Reasonable needs' for divorce in dispute
The question: what are the “reasonable needs” of a 55-year-old divorced woman with one teenage child still living at home? The answer, the appeal court ruled yesterday, is a nine-bedroom country house with 40 acres of parkland, a £1.65 million lump sum and £75,000-a-year child maintenance
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Q
Is it really possible to avoid stamp duty land tax when purchasing land and property?
A
A lot has been made recently in the press about buyers of some of the UK’s most expensive homes avoiding stamp duty land tax (SDLT) by purchasing their home through a company.
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