Building and Construction Disputes

With Your Legal GP

• It is estimated that as many as 1 in 4 building and construction projects end in dispute in the UK.
• Whatever the size of your building project and whether you are the client or the contractor, many of the same problems arise. From home loft extensions to multi-million construction projects, when your project goes wrong it is likely to be due to one or more of the following:
• Lack of clarity in specification
• Delays and late completion, payment
• Quality of work and/or materials used
• It can take many months to over a year for your case to be heard if it goes to court. If your case is high value or complex, often longer.
• The cost of legal fees incurred in preparing for court can be disproportionate to the sums involved that are in dispute. You may end up paying more in legal costs than the amount originally disputed.
• Before taking your issue to court it is expected that you will have tried to resolve any disputes by ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution). This usually means going to mediation. Sometimes there will be an arbitration clause in your contract, meaning that you will go to arbitration rather than mediation, but this is generally for large commercial building projects.
  BBC: Construction disputes
• If you do not agree to take part in mediation before taking a case to court, you may be penalised for not doing so when an award is made.

Your Legal GP can help you decide how you manage your building dispute in the most time and cost effective manner, saving you time and stress - not to mention money.

Talk to Your Legal GP now

INDEX

1. Dispute areas
2. Options
3. Relevant organisations

1. Dispute Areas

Ask Your Legal GP

1. Why do disputes arise?
2. Scope of work disputes
3. Quality issues
4. Time delays
5. Payment
6. Media links
7. Legal Advice

i. Why do disputes arise?

One of the most common reasons that building disputes arise is lack of clarity in the expectations of the parties. This applies to both domestic and commercial projects. Clear and detailed instructions from both parties can help minimise potential for disputes.

• Disputes about poor or substandard workmanship
• Disputes about contractual terms including delays or specification
• Disputes about the quality of materials
• Payment disputes
• Negligence claims against architects, surveyors or designers

2. Divorce

1. Requirements for a divorce
2. Timescale
3. Costs
4. Media links
5. Legal advice

i. Requirements for a divorce

• You must have been married for at least 12 months
• The marriage must be recognised in the UK
• The marriage must have irretrievably broken down
• One of you must reside in the UK

ii. Timescale

• The minimum time required is 26 weeks.
• 20 weeks after the application has been made, you can ask for a conditional divorce order
• 6 weeks after that a final divorce order can be issued.

iii. Costs

• The court fee is currently £593 + VAT

iv. Media Links

• The Guardian: Healthy Divorce
• The Times: Cut Down Cost of Divorce

v. Legal Advice

We know this can be an emotionally challenging time for you, Your Legal GP is on hand to discuss your options and help you plan the process to suit your needs. Call us for a consultation.

3. Children

1. Custody/access arrangements
2. Maintenance
3. The Hague Convention
4. Grandparent Rights
5. Specific Issue Orders
6. Media links
7. Legal Advice

i. Custody/Access

• Following your divorce or separation, where are your children going to live?
• If your children will not be living with you, how will contact arrangements work? What say do the children have in this? What are your rights? What are your obligations?

ii. Maintenance

• Who is going to contribute what to raising your children? This applies to both regular maintenance and one-off expenses.

iii. The Hague Convention

• If you and your spouse are from different countries, arrangements regarding children can be complicated. The Hague Convention is an international treaty that aims to protect children from the harmful effects of being taken abroad without your agreement.

iv. Grandparent Rights

• Whenever possible, YLGP encourages you to make contact arrangements by agreement between the parties involved. The legal rights of grandparents are limited but, in the event that a parent refuses to facilitate contact with grandparents, a court has the power to issue a legally binding Child Arrangement Order. YLGP can direct you as to how to seek such an order.

v. Specific Issue Orders (Section 8 orders)

• When a relationship ends, you will need to decide with your ex-spouse how to manage child welfare matters in addition to where they live such as where your child or children should be educated, whether they should have a religious upbringing, medical treatments or which surname they should use. YLGP recommends that a mutually agreed approach is always best for both you and your children, and can help facilitate this.

vi. Media Links

• Woman & Home: Divorce and Children
• NY Times: Divorce and Children

vii. Legal Advice

At YLGP we always encourage you to settle your differences out of court if at all possible. Divorce is an area in which this is particularly important for you and your children going forward. Contact YLGP to book a consultation.

4. Financial Arrangements

i. What is a financial settlement?

• A financial settlement is an agreement that is signed by a family judge, that reflects the division of assets following the end of a marriage. All assets need to be considered from property, pensions, cash, savings, shares, vehicles and businesses. The settlement must be approved by a judge to be binding. The judge will check to see that the agreement is fair.
• If you can decide how to divide your assets between you, you will save time, money and stress. However, we recognise that this may not be possible and that you may need some help from a third party. Contact YLGP for guidance in making financial arrangements.

5. High Net Worth Divorce

i. Extra considerations

• Valuing complex business assets can be contentious. You may need financial experts or forensic accountants to assess business worth, goodwill, and future earning potential.
• Multiple properties or investments in commercial real estate require specialised appraisals, particularly when international properties or shared vacation homes are involved.
• Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds may require careful analysis of tax implications and timing for liquidation or division.
• Dividing assets such as stocks or properties could trigger capital gains taxes, and it is essential to consider how this affects the overall value of the settlement.
• Spousal support and division of assets may affect tax liability. Tax advice should be obtained to ensure compliance. Offshore accounts or trusts that carry complex tax and reporting issues.

ii. Timescales

Negotiation between the parties to resolve the above issues can affect the time for concluding a divorce. However, it is important that a suitable strategy be developed for the future of both parties. The more of this that can be decided before engaging lawyers, the more likely a mutually acceptable and non-acrimonious outcome.

iii. Costs

Costs can be considerable, and parties should plan strategically to conclude the separation satisfactorily without incurring disproportionate costs.

iv. Media Links

• Global Legal Post: UK Pensions & High Net Worth Divorce
• The Economist: Divorce in the Rich World

v. Legal Advice

Your Legal GP will help you develop a plan to consider all factors relevant to your circumstances with the aim of minimising the disruption to you and your family. Contact now for a YLGP consultation.

6. Religious Divorces

1. How are religious divorces different?
2. Islamic divorce
3. Jewish divorce
4. Media links
5. Legal Advice