Foreword

During the fever of ‘the election that never was’, on 9th October last year the Chancellor Alistair Darling (now twice voted Britain’s most boring politician) announced that a number of changes to the capital gains tax (CGT) regime would be made in the Finance Act of 2008.

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Maximising the estate
IAN MILES provides a detailed but user-friendly guide to the tax regime as it affects estate planning.

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Come fly with me...
GILL STEEL takes a trip into the future to discover the shape of legal services to come, and offers an insight into the options available.

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The rectification of wills
Procedures exist to help beneficiaries who can prove that a testator's true intentions have not been recorded in his or her will, explains IAN BURMAN. But the battle may still lie in proving the testator's intentions.

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DEALING WITH OVERSEAS SHARES
RAISE YOUR hand if you’ve ever had to deal with the transfer of ownership of shares traded on the American or Canadian stock exchanges. Keep your hand raised if you found it as straightforward as dealing with shares traded in London. In the unlikely event that anyone still has a hand aloft, please put it down.

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SHROUD OF SECRECY LIFTED FROM ROYAL WILLS
Amidst the furore caused by MPs reluctant to disclose relatives on their payrolls, another door was being opened in the name of transparency. And this one was royal.

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SHARP DIVIDE BETWEEN PEOPLE WHO DO AND DO NOT QUALIFY FOR SOCIAL CARE
PEOPLE NOT receiving support from councils are struggling with a poor quality of life, says the third report on the state of social care in England by the social care watchdog, CSCI. The report for the first time explores the experiences of people not deemed eligible for state-supported social care.

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Putting the pressure on neglect
The Mental Capacity Act has made the willful neglect of a person lacking capacity a criminal offence. How much will it help in the fight against abuse? By DANIEL BLAKE.

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Systematic success
Outsourcing administrative functions allows for a far more egffective use of internal reousrces, lower costs, and better client service. And it needn't be to the detriment of client confidentiality, according to DERWENT CAMPBELL of Mogers.

Regular
In search of beneficiaries...
ELISABETH BEATRICE Puddle died intestate at the age of 88 in 1939… but news of her case came to us only in 2001!
The whole problem would have gone unnoticed until a property developer attempted to locate the owner of a plot of land on the outskirts of Southampton.

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REPORT CRITICAL OF NHS REFORM
A NEW report argues that while the Government’s commitment to NHS reform is right, it is in denial about its progress on the ground. The report, published by the independent think tank Reform, states that reform is the only way to unlock the value of the NHS budget but the Government’s programmes remain embryonic, and in some cases in full retreat.

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Case Digest
Provision of accommodation under the National Assistance Act 1948
R (Pajaziti) V Lewisham LBC [2007] EWCA Civ 1351; Potentially exempt transfer mistake -
Executors of the estate of Ronald Griffiths v Trustees Of Griffiths [2008] EWHC 118 (Ch); Failure to consider housing needs against Havering London Borough Council Complaint no 06/A/10428.