Royds Withy King - ahead of the curve: Vol 1

Ahead of the curve

We are continually looking for ways to stay ahead of the curve and keep you up-to-date in your personal and professional lives.

We understand that you are busy and it’s difficult to keep on top of everything so our magazine is designed to give you an easy to read snapshot into some of the latest thinking.

With insights and developments on the latest issues and trends from experts within Royds Withy King and from our network of authors, influencers and decision makers, our magazine looks at current problems in a different way.

Want to be featured in a future issue or have any feedback on the current issue? Email us at aheadofthecurve@roydswithyking.com Graham Street Managing Partner Royds Withy King

Contents

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3

Latest news

4-5

Why GDPR can be good you

6-7

Brexit and your business

8-9

How to network healthily

10-11

Your digital legacy

12-13

Drone time

14-15

Grey Matters

16-17

Crypto divorce

18-19

Why people are against enforcing cycling helmets – explained

20

Our guide to LPAs and dementia

Breaking new ground Last month the Land Registry announced it had broken ground with a ‘digital mortgage’, in which a borrower became the first to sign a mortgage deed without putting pen to paper. The transaction did not require the borrower to prove their identity (saving on witnessing) as it used a secure online verification system.

Given experts’ predictions with the data in the blockchain, the next time the property is sold all the information will be accessible, thus saving time.

Read more on blockchain and cryptocurrencies on pages fourteen and fifteen.

Royds Withy King’s tax team respond to the Call for Evidence At the instigation of the Chancellor, the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) must review Inheritance Tax (IHT) with the aim of simplifying both the law on IHT and the administrative processes used by taxpayers and professionals when interacting with HMRC. Our response covered concerns over the following: •

The length of time it takes HMRC to process IHT cases (leaving families with uncertainty).

•

The unfair result of the limitation of the spouse exemption for couples where the spouses have different domiciles.

•

The complexity of the requirements and calculations for the residence nil rate band, the IHT charges applied to many trusts, and the 10% reduction in the IHT rate where 10% of an estate is left to charity.

•

The requirement to complete the longer form IHT account in many cases where no tax is payable.

•

Whether the current IHT system makes the UK a less attractive place for international workers and investors when compared to the taxation of gifts and estates in other jurisdictions.

•

Whether the IHT spouse and civil partner exemption should be extended to long term cohabitees to reflect a more modern society.

The review is due to be published in Autumn 2018.

Stadium for Bath We are delighted to be working with Bath Rugby Club on the Stadium for Bath project. This is an exciting and complex project about delivering a new home for Bath Rugby, regenerating the riverside in the heart of Bath, creating wider sporting and city benefits, building a brilliant legacy for all and preserving the beauty of a UNESCO world heritage city.

For more information visit stadiumforbath.com and look out for a feature on the new technology proposed for the stadium in our next issue.

Chocs away!

Chocolate brand lets fly The recently reported dispute between Hotel Chocolat and Waitrose over copycat “slabs” has seen much comment and indignation from Hotel Chocolat and its loyal customers on social media. Hotel Chocolat issued a formal letter before action to Waitrose. But what’s all the fuss about, and who is in the legal right?

Lookalikes are a common feature of retail life and have been with us for many years. The increase in value stores has escalated the phenomenon, and it shows no sign of stopping despite a greater appreciation of intellectual property rights amongst manufacturers, suppliers and retailers, as well as consumers. So how are they getting away with it?

The law is complex, consisting of a combination of legal rights: trade marks, designs and copyright. The dilemma for the courts is the conflict between the rights and needs of the consumer in competition law, and the rights and needs for protection of innovators and designers.

Hotel Chocolat claimed to have a registered design for its slab bars, and alleged that Waitrose was infringing its rights.

A registered design protects the appearance and shape of a product. Anything that creates a similar “overall impression” may be an infringement. Exactly what elements of the design’s appearance are protected will be narrowly defined.

If Hotel Chocolat hasn’t registered the particular types of chocolate bar reproduced by Waitrose, then however similar they might be, there is no legal infringement. The law encourages competition, so the lesson for all designers is to ensure that your creation is both original and adequately protected.

Waitrose have reportedly agreed to cease stocking the bars.

Hotel Chocolat has allowed Waitrose a few weeks to sell the rest of its stock to avoid food waste.

To win a £50 Hotel Chocolat gift card email your details to aheadofthecurve@roydswithyking.com

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Why Why

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THERE WAS A GOOD DEAL OF IRRITATION WITHIN THE BUSINESS COMMUNIT Y AT THE RESOURCES REQUIRED TO SAFEGUARD THEIR DATA WHEN THE DATA PROTECTION ACT CAME INTO FORCE ON 2 5 M AY. There are however some significant advantages to this new focus on data security: New protection in the digital age New powers for individuals New responsibilities for businesses

“We know that sharing our data safely and efficiently can make our lives easier, but that digital trail is valuable. It’s important that it stays safe and is only used in ways that people would expect and can control.”

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Elizabeth Denham, Information Commissioner

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As a result of the recent coverage of data passed on to third parties from Facebook, there is a greater awareness of data harvesting. There are a handful of very large organisations whose business is to collect data from the trails that we leave, and to analyse that data for their clients. The analysis can be called upon to determine anything from whether you are offered a job to whether you are authorised for a loan facility. The data shows up risk factors in your lifestyle, reliability and the potential impact of linking you with an organisation’s reputation.

These decisions are happening all the time without us being aware of them. We could all benefit from the greater control of our reputations as well as the opportunities afforded by the stronger data regulation regime.

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A focus on these advantages can help set the need for GDPR compliance in context.

01100110000101110000110000 There is also a requirement for all businesses to ensure their processes are compliant and to keep records of all data processing activities for inspection on demand by the Information Commissioner’s Office. This fundamental requirement of GDPR is to ensure that businesses are absolutely clear as to why they are collecting an individual’s data, have secured the right to do so, and then have the means of securely managing, accessing and deleting it.

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The increase in cybercrime is perpetrated as the new form of warfare, with some countries having significant numbers of highly able specialists whose sole role is to undermine the culture of another country. This means that we all need to be more aware of data security; not only the way in which we treat data that is in our own hands but also how we see our own data being treated. Our level of data education needs to adapt to the changing environment; we need to question more how our sensitive information is being safeguarded and who we are handing it to. We can all play our part in at least enabling early detection of the penetration of systems such as the NHS. There are many millions of individuals worldwide who are using social media, but whose countries lack robust regulatory regimes working to safeguard their personal data. Zuckerberg’s stated aim is to apply the GDPR standards of safeguarding to the data of Facebook’s users worldwide. If implemented, this will result in significant protection of the rights and freedoms of individuals who are currently without access to recourse as a result of financial constraints or simply because it is not available.

Whilst a good number of those individuals are based in the UK, these changes motivated by the financial impact of regulation in the UK and the US will be felt globally.

A POSITIVE VIEW IS THAT WHERE ALL THIS ALIGNS, THERE WILL BE IMPROVED DATA HANDLING EFFICIENCIES ACROSS ALL AREAS. ENHANCED EFFICIENCY AND CONFIDENCE IN DATA PROTECTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE BUILDS BETTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS. It also mitigates against reputational and financial risks. So GDPR isn’t that bad after all?

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Brexit and your business It is unclear what the exact implications of Brexit will be for UK businesses. However, here are four key areas which businesses need to consider to get “ahead of the curve”: 1. Immigration – if you employ EU citizens, examine what their status will be once Brexit takes place 2. A contract – if you are about to enter into contracts which will continue after the UK leaves the EU, consider inserting clauses which give you the option to renegotiate or perhaps terminate it if Brexit makes the contract unprofitable 3. Regulatory – if your business is dependent on a license or a governmental authorisation, look at whether such a license must be renewed and what process that involves 4. Corporate structure – if your business, is exporting goods or services to the EU, consider whether you need to set up a company in the EU

For further information on what you need to do to Brexit-proof your business, contact Claus Andersen our Head of Brexit, on claus.andersen@ roydswithyking.com 6

Key points, such as agreeing terms for departure, the rights of citizens, financial commitments and borders, will need to be agreed.

18-19 October 2018

A snapshot of key milestones, how prepared are you?

Next UK Budget statement.

November

Both the EU and British parliaments must ratify the withdrawal treaty. Failure to do so will be leaving final negotiations to the last minute.

January 2019

Britain’s membership of the EU will officially end, two years after the formal notification to withdraw.

29 March

Britain enters a transition phase, keeping benefits in terms of access to EU markets, rules and budgets, but loses its vote.

30 March

31 December 2020

Next UK General Election.

Britain is free to implement its own trade deals, free from many obligations to the EU.

5 May 2022

roydswithyking.com/brexit 7

OXFORD literary festival lawyers to the festival Julia Hobsbawm is the founder of the content and connection company Editorial Intelligence and the author of Fully Connected: Social Health in an Age of Overload, published by Bloomsbury.

“Networking” sounds like something that happens at conferences in outof-town hotels, in rooms filled with people in bad suits, “pressing the flesh”, “working the room” and “closing deals”.

But, as Julia Hobsbawm explains in her new book Fully Connected, all of human life flows through networks of people and connections, for good and bad.

Terrorism, gangsterism, and fake news are facilitated by clandestine networks both real and virtual, but so are positive phenomena like breakthroughs in science, medicine and philosophy. What is CERN if not a network of scientists?

So how we network, whom we choose to connect with, and the means by which we do it are hugely important, and in many cases, quite literally, a matter of life and death. A breakdown in communication between the distant bureaucracy of the World Health Organisation and the on-the-groundagility of Médecins Sans Frontière helped to spread the deadly Ebola virus in Sierra Leone. Fake news is a symptom of networks gone awry: a breakdown in communication that spreads malicious lies.

Right now, Julia argues, we are living in an age of information and network overload: “Network overload and ‘infobesity’ are making us unhealthy.

There is a stress epidemic in this country caused by too much information and connectivity, more than 10 million workdays in the UK are lost due to stress, and yet our GDP is stagnant.”

“In the same way that most of us now know the difference between a carb and a protein, we need a new literacy in our understanding of social networks, both real and virtual, and of when to connect and when to disconnect.”

COMPETITION Julia Hobsbawm spoke on her latest book Fully Connected: Surviving and Thriving in an Age of Overload at the FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival. Royds Withy King are lawyers to the Festival. To win a signed copy of the book, email your answer to the following question to: aheadofthecurve@roydswithyking.com What is a “techno shabbat?”

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SO HERE THEN ARE SOME OF MS HOBSBAWM’S TOP TIPS FOR NETWORKING H E A LT H I LY.

01

GET FA C E-T O - FA C E Get off Facebook and get face-to-face. Reconnect with someone you know but take for granted. Organise and see 10 people over the next 10 weeks. At the very least phone someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. Rekindle dormant ties.

Keep in motion and progress your relationships rather than let them lie inert on the tracks of an electronic network.

02

TREAT YOUR CALENDAR LIKE YOUR BODY Be as meticulous about what you put in your diary as what you put into your body. Take back control of your diary, don’t outsource it to someone else. There are only 168 hours in a week and you spend at least a third of them sleeping. Your time is finite. Look at the patterns in your diary, look at what they mean to you, and decide some patterns which work better. Choose specific times to clear out your inbox, and set aside a two to three day period in which to just think. This will help to cleanse your palate of the overstuffed commitments which cause stress, blockage and overload.

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DON’T THINK OF NETWORKS AS TRANSACTIONAL OR “SALES” Think ‘people base’ not ‘data base’. It’s about spending time with people we know and trust and with whom we can build relationships, rather than some kind of transactional or fleeting vortex where ‘networking’ becomes a chore rather than a matter of taking care of yourself.

The first step is to understand that there needs to be a pattern and process around how we treat our knowledge, networks, and time. We’ve been sold cheap simplicity and speed by technology companies, but we are drowning in a plethora of networks. Instead we need a more feminine way of conducting our lives. Feminine traits such as emotional and intellectual intimacy and nosiness come into their own.

FOCUS ON DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT Surround yourself with people who think differently from you, who know different things.

Who are younger or come from a different background.

Avoid ‘group think’ and ‘hive mind’. People think being at the centre of the action is essential, but I have found that this can disconnect from where the action really is, which is everywhere.

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DISCONNECT You and I are not personal computers: we need to switch off on a regular basis. Organised religion may have many flaws, but the day of rest or ‘Sabbath’ practiced in some religions is not one of them. I try to have a regular ‘Techno Shabbat’, unplugged from technology.

It is simply not possible to stay ‘always on’ and plugged in without feeling out of sync with our own psyches, bodies and minds.

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YOUR DIGITAL LEGACY You have probably given very little thought to how your online presence will be dealt with in the event of your death. Thinking about and planning for your digital afterlife is becoming necessary for all of us.

DIGITAL ASSETS Most people have or use some form of digital assets: social media accounts, online bank accounts, domain names, websites, blogs, photographs stored in the cloud, music, film downloads and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

There is an increasing need for advice in relation to these assets as part of estate planning. When thinking about making a Will, you might think first of tangible assets – your house, bank accounts, jewellery and artwork. Yet your digital assets also hold value, whether monetary, or sentimental.

They need attention if you want to protect them and have them dealt with in a particular way. We encourage clients to think about how they would like their digital assets to be treated and who would have access to them to manage them.

important, especially in the event that your personal representatives are not given access to your account.

Some social media sites such as Facebook offer a facility to nominate a legacy contact who would be able to access your account with options to memorialise an account or delete it in accordance with your wishes. It would be necessary for your legacy contact to know your wishes.

Understanding the terms and conditions of the service providers of your online accounts and how your digital assets are owned will help you to consider the options and make decisions about how they are dealt with in the event of your death.

PROTECTING DIGITAL ASSETS Ownership of your digital assets may not be as clear cut as you think. In subscribing to and creating accounts with online providers, it is usual to have to agree to their terms and conditions. If you haven’t read the small print in detail, you may not own what you think you own. You may have built up an impressive digital music collection over the years and would like to pass it on to someone else when you die. But it is common, in the case of subscription accounts, for the music to be provided to you under a licence rather than you owning it outright. As such, it might not be possible for you to gift it to someone when you die.

The value of your digital assets may be monetary, but in the case of photographs and videos there is likely to be important sentimental value. Some social media providers may state in their terms and conditions that they will own any content that you upload to your account: photographs you add to your account may become the property of that provider.

However, photographs and other digital assets stored by you on the hard drive of a device are your property and can be passed on to someone else, provided accessibility isn’t an issue.

Keeping a copy of any photos that you upload is

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MANAGING YOUR DIGITAL LEGACY In order to protect your digital assets, they need to be taken into account during the estate planning process.

If your digital assets do have monetary value, a valuation may need to be carried out for inheritance tax purposes. In some cases, copyright and other intellectual property laws may need to be considered and instructions on transferring rights included in a Will.

Making a gift of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin can be done via a Will inasmuch as it is an asset like money in a bank. It is potentially liable to inheritance tax and its value would need to be assessed. For

A recent advertising campaign featured a digital recreation of Audrey Hepburn which was approved by her family.

It may be possible for an actor, celebrity of sports personality to sell their image rights to be used after they die.

Current thinking is not to leave these decisions to family but to plan for it. Some are now including in their Wills information on how they will allow their digital images to be used after their death.

Setting such parameters may go some way to preserve and protect an individual’s reputation and personal brand, in addition to exercising control over their digital performance in the future.

Decisions of this nature are not solely for current stars and celebrities.

Some digital afterlife companies are already offering services to create a digital persona /avatar using information available on your social media accounts. It may not be long before the need to consider, protect or prevent the use of our digital information for such purposes is relevant to everyone.

A CAUTIONARY NOTE a valuation to take place and for the eventual gift to be made, you need to make sure you have provided access details to your virtual wallet – which typically has a public and a private key – for your personal representatives to access it. Without passing on the details of the private key, it is likely that the content of your virtual wallet will be lost.

However you choose to store information about your digital assets, whether with a digital storage provider or with the Will held by your solicitor, all instructions on how to access your digital assets and passwords should of course be kept securely. Don’t include access information and passwords in your actual Will as this becomes a public document after your death.

PRACTICAL STEPS TO MANAGE YOUR DIGITAL LEGACY

1. Make a list of your computers and devices and a note of the passwords.

2. Identify and make a list of all your digital assets.

3. Keep a separate, secure and updated record of how to access each asset, keep it stored with your Will or use an online portal.

4. Inform those you have selected to act as your executors of the existence of your digital assets.

5. Discuss with your executors how you wish your digital assets to be dealt with on your death and include a letter of wishes stored with your Will.

6. Make back up copies of photographs and personal videos storing them on a hard drive rather than using only cloud or online storage.

7. If there are intellectual property rights attached to your digital assets, consider including them in your Will.

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DRON E TIME There was a time, not that long ago, when few people had any concept of the importance of technology in the regulation, as opposed to the operation, of unmanned aircraft system or “drones”. Few people could comprehend a situation when there would be more commercial traffic in the sky than on the roads around them.

Now drones of all shapes and sizes are freely available and their proliferation and the uses to which they are being put has significantly outpaced their regulation. According to a survey by PwC using drones to transform working practices could boost Britain’s economy by £42bn by 2030 saving billions in efficiencies and employing hundreds of thousands of people, in more highly skilled jobs building and programming the devices.

Since the early days of drones being used outside of the military, we have all been conscious of the threat to personal privacy posed by filming from drones. We have understood the need to apply some regulation to the use of drones at a very basic level to protect us from those who were intent on abusing privacy. The use and application of drone technology has already expanded exponentially and drones now have a wide range of commercial applications. With this expansion has come an understanding that the technological advancements in drones, without proper control, pose significant new challenges as well as opportunities.

There is a recognition and expectation, that within a very short period of time we can expect to have drones delivering all manner of things. Urgent medical supplies, including donor organs, to our purchases where supply of products which are not available in-store can be almost instantaneous. However long it takes in practice for this to come to pass, the reality is that before very long we can expect to see drone traffic all around us, and that needs proper regulation.

A draft legal bill is due next year to help support the use of drones “What seemed like science fiction less than 10 years ago is now science fact and regulation needs to keep pace with the exponential increase in the use of drone, both commercially and recreational use if our airspace is to remain safe. All the indications are that we are on the verge of a major increase in commercial drone usage, with increasing numbers of drone applications.

There is a growing need for the introduction of sophisticated electronic controls, including geo-fencing and electronic identification of drones, to regulate and control drone use”.

Phil Banks-Welsh, Partner in TMT and Drone Sector

INCREASED USE OF DRONES, IN SECTORS FROM • Construction • Energy - inspect utility infrastructure / oil rigs • Logistics • Land surveys • Remote crop spraying / data on plant health • Emergency services

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The balance between greater commercial freedom and security issues needs to be properly addressed and the reality is that regulation is lagging far behind technological advancements. The functionality of many drones which are available on the high street means that they are capable of being flown into controlled airspace and the risks which come from this are significant. Drones are a highly efficient delivery system and that has lawful and unlawful connotations. At present the regulatory system is wholly inadequate to deal with the risks that this poses.

So what is the way forward? This is where geo-fencing and the use of electronic identification (IFF) comes in.

The regulatory world is starting to come to terms with the concept that electronic regulation will be far more effective that a system which seeks to address unlawful behaviour after the event. Geo-fencing and electronic identification will be embedded into the software of drones at the manufacturing stage. This will create

not only a geographical barrier but also a means of identifying ‘genuine” aircraft, in the way that other, more traditional, forms of air traffic are identified within the air traffic control environment. It is already being used by some drone manufacturers and is the way forward in helping to control the use of drones. This will underpin the way in which drones will be controlled all around us. We already have a well established methodology for controlling manned aircraft in the UK as well as around the world. As our skies get more crowded we will no longer be able to rely on adherence to regulations, even where these impose criminal sanctions, without some form of technological control. That technological control must come soon if we are to avoid even greater problems in the future.

Drones are here to stay and the concept of the skies above our towns and cities being filled with them is no longer science fiction. The challenge to technology is to keep pace with the proliferation of drones as a commercial delivery system

as well as a law enforcement system and to step in to regulate a phenomenon that is otherwise largely incapable of effective regulation. New drone legislation is set to be introduced in the UK over the coming months with a view to increasing the safety of drone use and the aviation minister Baroness Sugg said “They are already improving people’s lives – helping the emergency services and keeping key national infrastructure like rail lines and power stations safe. Excitingly this is just the beginning”.

Steve Carrington from Ocuair, one of the UK’s most experienced commercial drone operators. Ocuair are a Royds Withy King client.

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There are many areas of law that aren’t black or white.

Grey Matters is our know-how programme to help you discuss those intricacies.

Our Grey Matters feature was supplied by client Dr Aeron Buchanan who has been a blockchain technology expert since 2014 when he joined the Ethereum project.

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Is blockchain technology going to change society?

Bitcoin in practice is just a value transfer system, a digital/crypto currency based on blockchain technology. It is a new exciting way to use the internet and may change society like the internet did at the end of the 1990s.

The invention of the blockchain for bitcoin made it the first digital currency to solve the double-spending problem without the need of a trusted authority or central server. There are now many other blockchain platforms such as Ethereum and Monero.

Blockchain technology is opening up new opportunities and new ways of doing things. We don‘t fully understand it, what it can do and how it will add value. Recent controversy has been down to uncertainty, however more research and development in blockchain platforms has led to a better understanding of what it can do, which has reduced the level of controversy.

Regulation is also starting to catch up which is resulting in people feeling more comfortable and embracing the innovative opportunities that blockchain platforms can offer.

That conflict between transparency and privacy is never more evident than in elections. It is important to maintain transparency in the voting process, but equally important to maintain voter privacy to avoid bribery and coercion problems. A blockchain platform running a voting system can deliver this.

Blockchain technology is more than just value transfer and crypto currency, it has the potential to deliver a lot more for society. It will make society more transparent, whilst simultaneously finding new ways to maintain privacy.

In the past the introduction of new business practices and new technologies have resulted in new legislation. Blockchain technology will change how people do business and set up communities: • In new written contracts, more and more computer code will be included and stored on the blockchain platform

Aeron suggests a variety of ways to keep your private key safe:

Give your private key to a crypto exchange which acts like a bank and will look after the private key for you.

Use a mobile phone wallet App that allows you to manage your crypto currency and blockchain interactions.

Use a hardware wallet that looks like a USB stick.

Use a paper wallet and write down a recovery phrase – a dozen random words that when put in a particular piece of software like a mobile phone wallet App will unlock your private key and give you access to your funds on the blockchain.

• There will be new legal opportunities and challenges • It will be up to you to keep up with the changes

In order to stay ahead of the curve with developments in blockchain technology, you will need to be aware of the following: 1. Be aware of jurisdiction. With a blockchain platform jurisdiction is decentralised so there is no notion of geographical location; this will present new interesting challenges to determine where the jurisdiction lies 2. Keep up with technology changes and Ricardian contracts which combine both standard written components with digital computer code components 3. Understand new and important technological words, phrases and situations like “hard fork” and “public/private key cryptography”

If you think someone has crypto currency somewhere, these are the tell tale signs of crypto currency ownership: DD A list of random words making up the recovery phrase DD A hardware wallet DD A mobile phone App wallet on their phone

If you own value on a blockchain in terms of bitcoin or other crypto currencies you will have a private key. This will give you access to coins on a particular blockchain. It is vital that you keep your private key secret and safe.

DD Emails in an inbox noting log-ins and account withdrawal requests from an exchange

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Crypto divorce What to do if you think your spouse is hiding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from you From Bitcoin to Ethereum, managing the division of cryptocurrencies in a divorce is understandably very complicated – and even more so if you think your spouse may be hiding their digital assets from you.

Is it legal for my partner to hide Bitcoins and other digital currencies from me in our divorce?

Parties have a duty to provide full and frank financial disclosure during a divorce.

Unfortunately, it is not unheard of for some parties to attempt to hide their assets from their respective spouses and cryptocurrencies may make this process easier.

Whilst cryptocurrencies and the blockchains they use are not an entirely anonymous system, they are unregulated and the identity of the user is hard to trace. There is no doubt that it is ‘easier’ for someone to hide the existence, or the value of their cryptocurrency assets from their husband or wife in divorce. This does not mean however that you are powerless to challenge their existence and value.

I’m certain my partner is hiding Bitcoins from me, but what can I do?

Attempting to hide any assets during a divorce is risky and can result in the non-disclosing party being in contempt of court and liable to costs penalties. Even without concrete evidence of cryptocurrency assets a Judge could make inferences as to their existence and potential value and factor this in to their overall judgement and related financial orders.

For example, one potential outcome would be one spouse being awarded all the ‘copperbottomed’ assets (which typically include a house, cash in the bank, pensions and other investments) and the non-disclosing spouse being left with the risk-laden or non-disclosed (but inferred) assets (such as a Bitcoin holding).

“Your solicitor need to understand the implications of cryptocurrencies on any divorce settlement and have the network of specialist advisers to ensure that they are traced and valued correctly.”

– Vandana Chitroda, Divorce / Cryptocurrency lawyer

I’m certain my partner is hiding Bitcoins from me, what can I do?

DD Make sure your lawyer understands the implications of cryptocurrencies on any divorce settlement DD Have access to a network of specialist advisers to trace and value correctly DD It is important not to spend large sums of money on trying to prove the existence of something with a very fluid value DD A good divorce lawyer will be able to advise you on the best approach with regards to proving the existence of Bitcoins in divorce, and if it is financially worth doing so.

Royds Withy King is involved in a number of divorce cases dealing with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

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reproduced under license from the NLA, CLA or other copyright owner. No further copying (including the +44 (0)20 7264 4700 gital cuttings) digital reproductions or forwarding is permitted except under license from the NLA, services@KantarMedia.com a.co.uk (for newspapers) CLA http://www.cla.co.uk (for books and magazines) or other copyright body. www.KantarMedia.com

Divorces involving cryptocurrencies are gaining more awareness in the media

How can I find out how much money my partner has hidden in If my partner is+44 (0)20 7264 4700 hiding cryptocurrencies from me, can I do the Coverage is reproduced under license from the NLA, CLA or other copyright owner. No further copying (including the printing of digital cuttings) digital reproductions or forwarding is permitted except under license from the NLA, services@KantarMedia.com cryptocurrencies? same? http://www.nla.co.uk (for newspapers) CLA http://www.cla.co.uk (for books and magazines) or other copyright body.

Although money held within a blockchain is largely anonymous and hard to trace, its entrance into the digital space will be traceable. For example, if you can prove that large amounts of money have been transferred through a cryptocurrency exchange, then you will find yourself in a strong position.

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We would not recommend that you actively choose to hide the existence of Bitcoins, or any form of cryptocurrency during your separation from your partner. Cryptocurrencies, or at least their value, are not immune from being reallocated during a divorce.

Divorces can be highly stressful and deceitful behaviour often A forensic analyst can help you identify these touch points backfires and can turn out to be very costly. Any attempt to hide and give weight to your claim. However it is important not to assets, whether they are Bitcoins or not, is likely to be frowned spend large sums of money on trying to prove the existence of on byCoverage is reproduced under license from the NLA, CLA or other copyright owner. No further copying (including the a Judge if the proceedings do go to court.

Coverage is reproduced under license from the NLA, CLA or other copyright owner. No further copying (including the +44 (0)20 7264 4700 +44 (0)20 7264 4700 printing of digital cuttings) digital reproductions or forwarding is permitted except under license from the NLA, services@KantarMedia.com printing of digital cuttings) digital reproductions or forwarding is permitted except under license from the NLA, services@KantarMedia.com http://www.nla.co.uk (for newspapers) CLA http://www.cla.co.uk (for books and magazines) or other copyright body. www.KantarMedia.com something, which has a very fluid value. A good divorce lawyer http://www.nla.co.uk (for newspapers) CLA http://www.cla.co.uk (for books and magazines) or other copyright body. www.KantarMedia.com will be able to advise you on the best approach with regards to What can the Courts do about it? proving the existence of Bitcoins in divorce, and if it is financially The rapid rise in the popularity of Bitcoin since its creation worth doing so. in 2009 and the wealth it has generated, mean that digital Nevertheless, as with any other class of asset under English currencies are likely to become a frequent and significant divorce law, the Court retains extensive discretionary powers feature in modern day divorces, notwithstanding their volatility to distribute cryptocurrencies. Although digital currencies may and elusive nature. be harder to value than more traditional assets such as stocks The English divorce courts retain extensive powers to order full and shares, this does not prevent the Judge from determining a disclosure and penalise non-disclosure. Those powers will be valuation for the purposes of imposing a financial settlement on tested in the Bitcoin era but in essence cryptocurrencies will be parties to a divorce. just another class of asset to be divided between the parties in a divorce.

17

Why people are against enforcing cycling helmets – explained As a cyclist and solicitor who represents injured cyclists, I regularly deal with cases for cyclists who have been injured on our roads. I’ve come across so many studies and so much evidence for and against the efficacy of bicycle helmets that it’s hard to form a definitive view on them. These are my thoughts, but it’s clearly a confusing and emotive issue – whichever side of the fence you sit on.

Mark Hambleton is a partner in our Personal Injury team and a cycling advocate who writes regularly for industry press such as road.cc.

For example, I’ve come across an Australian study suggesting that cyclists who wear helmets reduce their risk of a fatal head injury by 65%1 and I’ve come across studies concluding that cycling participation reduces when helmets are a mandatory requirement, all the while there are other (detrimental) knock-on consequences in terms of health, pollution, driver behaviour, and our economy. This is before I turn my mind to how it’s plainly wrong to address the effect rather than the cause of cycling accidents on our roads.

I choose to wear a helmet when I go out on my bike but I am strongly against the idea that it should be compulsory for cyclists to wear helmets. Statistically, there are far more pedestrians killed or seriously injured on our roads than cyclists, but there is no suggestion that we should all be forced to wear a helmet when we go for a walk. Compulsory helmet laws would do nothing to encourage safe cycling. It would in fact have the effect of reducing cycling participation and reinforcing the perception that it is a high-risk activity.

The important thing is that people should be free to choose whether or not they wear a helmet. If we’re committed to improving the health of our nation, air quality and congestion in our cities, and our economy, then we should be doing everything we can to increase cycling participation. Naturally, that involves making cycling safer and reducing the number of accidents, rather than asking ourselves the wrong questions about helmets which actually distracts us from the important issues.

18

Have you thought about the knock on consequences of enforcing the use of cycling helmets?

Enforced helmet laws have decreased participation in Perth, Western Australia

30%

2

Helmets are only effective in impacts up to around

12 mph

2

According to research from Bath Spa University, drivers passed helmeted cyclists more dangerously (on average

<8.5cm>

8.5cm closer)

3

Our Government endorses estimates that the health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks

20:1

2

Source 1: doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyw153 Source 2: cyclinguk.org Source 3: bath.ac.uk

19

Our guide to LPAs and dementia Appoint a person you trust to manage your affairs

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis or the discovery of other Dementia symptoms in yourself or a family member can be a very difficult and upsetting time. No one likes to think that they or anyone in their family will ever lose their mental capacity or their ability to make decisions, whether through illness, injury or simply advancing age.

So many people shy away from even considering the possibility of this happening.

This May to support Dementia Action Week, our Elderly & Incapacity team put together a guide to explain the benefits of creating a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for those who have been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease or other dementia symptoms. An LPA allows you to choose and legally appoint someone to make decisions for you if you are physically or mentally unable to in the future. roydswithyking.com/later-life

Keep control of your independence by choosing who will support you later

Get help managing your finances

Make sure your health and welfare is protected Help stay in your home and be involved in any care decisions too If the time comes, the people you trust are there to keep you safe

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