Divorce and separation in farming families

The Covid-19 pandemic made 2020 a difficult year for most people, but with Brexit predicted to hit the agricultural sector especially hard, farming families may be under considerable strain as we enter 2021. Couple these factors with the enormous stress Christmas can place on a relationship and it does not take a crystal ball to see a swathe of separations and divorce petitions emerging from farming families in the new year. Deciding what to do about dividing property, sorting financial affairs and making arrangements for children during separation is always stressful, but it can be particularly complicated where agricultural assets are concerned. Robert Bellhouse, specialist family law solicitor at Ware & Kay Solicitors in York & Wetherby explains the key things you need to know about farming divorce. Division of assets for farming families When a couple…

When can you refuse a bad commercial tenant a new lease?

The court provided useful examples of the sort of conduct that might allow a landlord to refuse a new lease, even though the tenant has security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (“the Act”). The judgment can be found here. Background When granting most leases to be used as commercial premises, the landlord and tenant need to agree to follow a special procedure, known as ‘contracting out’, otherwise the tenant’s lease will not end at the end of the period stated in the lease. The lease is continued by law and the tenant has a right to apply to the court for a new lease, if terms cannot be agreed. The landlord can only end the lease under certain circumstances set out in the Act. The most common are that the landlord wishes…

Diversification and Farm Business Tenancies

Farmers are having to diversify part of the farm in these current times to stay financially afloat. This will likely increase due to the decline in subsidies. So how do Tenant farmers go about trying to diversify and what does this mean for Landlords? If you are a tenant farmer and you wish to diversify the farm or part of it to a non-farming activity e.g. Glamping pods, B&B, Farm Shop etc. it is likely you will need to obtain your Landlord’s consent to do so. Agricultural tenancies usually permit the tenant to use the Holding for agricultural purposes only and may contain restrictions against taking out any part of the holding from agricultural use. Tenants may choose to ignore the tenancy agreement and pursue diversification in any event but should be warned that the Landlord…

Do we need to formalise our separation?

If you are coming out of a relationship, whether you were cohabiting, married or in a civil partnership, you may be asking if you need to formalise that separation.  A separation agreement is a formal contract which can be agreed between you and your former partner to determine the division of your financial assets and responsibilities.  ‘No matter how amicable your separation is, and whether you were married or not, it is wise to seek legal advice on your financial position as complications can arise in the future,’ says Robert Bellhouse, a Family Solicitor in the family team with Ware & Kay.  ‘A separation agreement can save you money and upset in the long run.’ You are not legally required to obtain a separation agreement, but it will provide you with reassurance and certainty on where…