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Development
Property development refers to either the construction of new buildings or refurbishment of existing buildings in the pursuit of gains.

Dilapidations
A state of disrepair in a property where there is a legal liability for the condition of disrepair. Three components are required for the issue of dilapidations to arise – a property or part of an estate, a lease and a state of disrepair for which one party has accepted legal liability and for which the other party has suffered or will suffer financial loss. Dilapidations provisions appear in the vast majority of lease agreements and usually place the burden on the tenant to cover the cost of making good any disrepairs that have taken place over the period of their lease.

Dividends
Dividends are distributions made out of a company’s profits to its shareholders in proportion to the number of shares they hold. The owners of preference shares typically receive a set amount each year whilst dividends paid to the holders of ordinary shares tend to fluctuate according to the company’s level of profits. A company can only make dividend payments out of its distributable reserves.

Domicile
Under UK law, every individual must have a country of domicile. This is generally defined as the country which a person regards as their permanent home.

There are three different types of domicile and these are detailed below:-

 

Domicile of Origin – this is quite simply the domicile that is acquired at birth. A child born of married parents will acquire the domicile of the father. If the parents are unmarried then it is the mother’s domicile that is acquired.

Domicile of Dependency – a child’s domicile will follow that of the person on whom they are legally dependent, typically a parent. If that parent’s domicile changes then the child’s domicile would also change accordingly.

Domicile of Choice – a child will retain his domicile of origin or dependency until at least age 16 for England and Wales or, for Scotland, age 14 (males) or 12 (females). From that point they may be able to acquire a domicile of choice.

The UK authorities require strong evidence that an individual has actually settled in another country and that they have the intention of living there permanently or indefinitely. The onus is very much on the individual to prove that he has ceased to be domiciled in the UK. The act of living in a country for a long time is not, in itself, sufficient to acquire domicile of that country. In fact, it is often an extremely arduous task to acquire a domicile of choice.

There are no hard and fast rules as to what the actual requirements are, to acquire a domicile of choice. The following factors would support an individual’s claim for domicile in a particular country:

  • establishing a permanent home in that country
  • gaining citizenship, nationality or ‘permanent residence rights’ there
  • working there
  • having their children educated there
  • living there with their spouse/partner
  • have bank accounts and investments there
  • the exercise of local voting rights
  • making local funeral arrangements
  • disposing of assets in the country they have previously been domiciled in.

Although domicile is a function of physical presence and intent, it is often only after death that it falls to be established, so that intent has to be inferred from the actions taken by a deceased during their lifetime.


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