Your legal questions answered by Fahmida Ismail, Partner at Sydney Mitchell LLP. As featured in Worcester News, 18th November 2014.
Q. A property developer would like to turn our unadopted street into access to and from his flats. The street is currently a dead end serving ten houses. The developer wants to knock a wall down at the far end of the street and turn it into two-way traffic. What are our rights in this?
A. You need to look at the title deeds to check the ownership of the road. Very often in these situations you will own the road directly in front of your house, or all ten houses will jointly own the road. You could all give the property developer an easement – permission – in your title deeds to use the road for access to the flats. In return the property developer would have to cross your palms with silver, and it could amount to a tidy sum. Invite a solicitor to a residents’ meeting.
Q. I work from 7am to 3pm Monday to Friday with a one-hour unpaid break for lunch. Am I entitled to another break? My manager said if I take one it would have to come off my lunch hour. Is this correct?
A. Yes. The law dictates that any over 18-year-old working more than six hours is entitled to a 20-minute break within that time. Whether this is paid or unpaid is a matter for your employment contract, which should also deal with when breaks are to be taken. Failing that, your current working practices (ie the one-hour unpaid break) are assumed to be agreed after being in place for a while.
Q. I was divorced in 1998, and my ex-husband was ordered to pay me £15 a week maintenance. He died recently, although my maintenance payments stopped six months ago. His wife says there is no money. Do I have a claim on his pension?
A. Maintenance ceases on the death of the payer. In theory, if your husband was a man of means, you could apply for maintenance from his estate as a dependant under the family provision legislation. However the courts discourage claims over relatively small estates. You could check whether your ex-husband indeed left nothing by searching the records at the District Probate Registry. If his wife is telling the truth your search may draw a blank, since it’s not necessary to apply to the Probate Registry for authority to deal with the financial affairs of people who died leaving very little.
For further information on any of the issues raised, please contact Fahmida Ismail on 0121 698 2200 or fill in our online enquiry form.
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