Samuel Phillips Law Blog
The UK has struck a deal with the EU which at its heart sought to secure a tariff and quota-free trade deal. To achieve this agreement, after a tortuous four years of posturing, compromises have naturally been made.
Over the last 11 days, the team at Samuel Phillips Law have been updating you on the changes to the various areas of law we deal with which will come into effect once the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December 2020.
For the most part, it is UK regulations and legislation that affect commercial property in England, rather than EU legislation. There are some regulations, such as the Energy Performance Regulations and Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard Regulations, which are derived from EU Directives, which could now be subject to review by the UK Government. However, complete repeal of these particular regulations is unlikely, given the UK’s statutory and international treaty commitments to reduce carbon emissions.
The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. As a result, the transition period will end on 31 December 2020. Businesses in the UK that process personal data are currently required to adhere to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) and the UK Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018.
Although Brexit has very little direct impact on the law relating to Wills, Probate and Trusts, we are very aware that it will have a considerable impact for many of our clients who may need to revisit their lifetime planning as a result.
With the law underpinning the conveyancing process being governed by the country in which the property is located, the legal process surrounding buying and selling property will remain predominantly unchanged; irrespective of whether a ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ Brexit is achieved. Less resistant to the impacts of the upcoming changes, however, will be the property markets, mortgage lenders and, ultimately, the developers themselves.
Many businesses, particularly those dealing with EU entities, will have audited their commercial contracts throughout the Brexit transition period. However, as we approach the end of the transition period, fresh audits of existing contracts should now be considered. The difficulty many businesses are facing is, given that so much is undecided and last-minute discussions are continuing, it is not yet clear how their contracts will be affected.
Parental abduction is when one parent removes or keeps a child from the country they normally live in, without the agreement of the other parent. A parent can only travel abroad with their child if everyone with parental responsibility agrees. Without this, a child cannot be removed from the UK, as this would be abduction - a criminal offence in the UK.
The EU Succession Regulation deals with the ability to choose the country whose law will apply to your estate when you die. This is important as if there is a difference in the law between the country where you made your Will and the country where the asset is it can lead to the wishes in your Will not being able to take effect.
On 31st December 2020, the UK’s transition period for leaving the EU will end ushering in significant changes to UK private and commercial law. But what exactly will those changes mean for UK property law – and what will buying and selling your home post-Brexit look like?
Browse by month/year