Is the Inheritance Tax Threshold to Be Raised to £1 Million?
Are you getting a sense of déjà vu here? Haven’t we heard this promise somewhere before? Yes to both of these questions: indeed, the Conservative Party used this enticement in their manifesto for the General Election back in 2010. However, when push came to shove and they were prompted to deliver on such a promise, they said they were unable to go ahead with this tax break after all, as the Liberal Democrats were so vehemently opposed to this move.
This month we are focusing on local searches, which are one of the most important checks that a purchaser should carry out before signing a contract to buy property or land.
This month we are looking at some of the latest developments in the world of wills and probate. 
The year 2014 is very important for employment law. The current laws were introduced in the mid-1990s, so with it being nearly 20 years later, it stands to reason the UK government would be looking to change employment laws to meet current requirements and changes that have occurred to employment as a whole. Several proposed changes have been put into the works, with most of the employment changes occurring in April 2014. These new laws will have a greater impact on some employees than on others.
Child abduction by a parent has reportedly doubled since 2003-2004, stated the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). In 2003-2004, 272 new cases of child abduction by a parent were reported. In 2012-2013, 580 cases were reported. In an attempt to solve this increasingly troubling situation, ‘Caught in the Middle’, a film, was recently published on YouTube. The film looks at the children who suffer the most from parental disagreements that lead to abduction.
This month we are considering how the rapidly changing area of civil litigation has fared over the past year. There have been several articles in the Journal about the recommendations made by Lord Justice Jackson in his wide-ranging review in 2010. This review and the recommendations he made came into force in April this year as part of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Many have suggested that we are now experiencing the most significant changes to civil litigation in nearly 15 years. So how effective have the changes been, and what have they done to the legal profession?
If you have covered Constitutional Law in some detail, you will appreciate just how difficult it can be to get Private Members’ Bills pushed all the way through both houses of Parliament in order to become law. Only a very small percentage of these bills acquire Royal Assent and become statutes. Therefore, it is interesting when a Private Member’s Bill appears to be attracting more attention than usual, especially when it covers such an important aspect of family and criminal law. 
This month we are doing something a little different and looking at the big picture so far as English law is concerned. This is something that is covered in the first unit of ILSPA's Legal Secretaries Diploma so that students can get a good grasp of how English laws are created. By knowing something about the ‘big’ picture, you are showing an interest in the same thing that intrigues many lawyers.
The topic of online trolls and bullies is hot news at the moment, but it’s also been around for some time. The tragic death of Hannah Smith has highlighted this issue and brought to the attention of parents and other people that while online media has its benefits, it hides a dark flaw and allows people to abuse and bully. Unfortunately many people clearly feel that nothing can or will be done to prevent such overt abuse.
Employment law updates are not broadly announced unless you look for them. On 29 July 2013, updates to current employment legislation were made under government reforms. There were only a handful of planned reforms that launched on 29 July; nevertheless, these reforms should be highlighted for both employers and employees.