Blog | Mitchells Roberton

Families Matter
The Scottish Family Business Association exists to support, nurture and help develop the full potential of all our Scottish family businesses. Research, expertise and experience from across the globe show that by adopting specific best practices family businesses can overcome inherent challenges and flourish both as businesses and as families. Although it is not always recognised ...
A new Bill to tackle psychological domestic abuse has been published
The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill aims to strengthen the law against people who psychologically abuse their partners using coercive and controlling behaviour. For the first time, the Bill will create a statutory offence of domestic abuse by recognising the damage which non- physical abuse can cause. Such behaviour could include subordination, humiliation, isolating a partner from ...
Government Urged to Act on Retirement Housing
Two separate organisations representing the interests of older people have called for a “revolution” in the provision of housing to better meet the needs of those in retirement. Saga has called on the Chancellor to introduce a Stamp Duty (in Scotland Land Building Transaction Tax) exemption for those downsizing in retirement. Their recent research has provided ...
Should you consider a postnuptial agreement?
Marriage or civil partnership is a relationship that most of us will enter into at some point in our lives. Pre and post-nuptial agreements can be an effective and simple way of protecting the interests of both parties within such partnerships. Generally both types of agreement will determine the division of assets if a marriage ...
Voluntary Registration- Would it benefit you?
At the moment less than 30% of land in Scotland is registered in the Land Register of Scotland which is a digital map- based Register. The remainder of land is still recorded in the General Register of Sasines which is a Register of historic deeds. The Scottish Government has asked the Keeper of the Registers of ...
We Need More Houses
A recently published White Paper on the housing market in England described it as “broken”. According to the White Paper the reason for this is simple- not enough houses are being built, now and in the past and supply significantly lags behind demand. It is estimated that 160,000 new homes have been built annually in ...
Whose Home Is It Any Way?
When a relationship ends one of the most vexing concerns for many is whether one person can force the other to leave a shared family home. There are three typical scenarios. Firstly if a couple are married or in a civil partnership and the property is owned by only one person or the tenancy is in the ...
Wheelchair v Buggy
Bus drivers must pressure passengers to make room for wheelchair users. Wheelchair user Doug Paulley was refused entry to a FirstGroup bus in 2012 when a mother with a pushchair refused to move from the wheelchair space when asked, claiming that the pushchair could not be folded. Mr Paulley was left at the bus stop. He ...
New Legislation Relating to Car Seats
Confused about car seats? No wonder, as new legislation is pending and obviously when buying a car seat for your baby or child it’s crucial that you know the current car seat legislation. There are lots of different rules and exceptions to these rules depending on how old your child is which does make it ...
Lose the High Heels and the Make-Up and Make a Fuss
Shocking examples of workplace sexism were laid bare in a major Government report prompted by a London office worker being sent home from work without pay for refusing to wear high heels. Nicola Thorp who was employed as a temporary worker by PwC’s outsourced reception firm, Portico, launched a campaign after her experience. Within a ...