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Court in recession
Of high interest
For how much longer can the 8% judgment debt interest rate be justified? Easily the best investment on the globe at the moment—so long as the debtor ultimately pays up. Debtors may soon be asking for pre-judgment interest, on which the court has discretion, to be awarded at less than 8% or over a shortened period. The commercial debt late payment rate of 8% over base coupled with late payment compensation of £40 to £100 are even better bets for the creditor. And what of the hapless former wife saddled with a statutory charge attracting 8%? That rate has remained constant for over three years. Time for a reduction.
The economic gloom may have overtaken the policymaking on intestacy limits. The Family Provision (Intestate Succession) Order 2009 (SI 2009/135) on which consultation closed over three years ago increases the statutory legacy in favour of the spouse or civil partner from £125,000 to £250,000 where there are children and from £200,000 to £450,000 where there are parents or siblings but no children in relation to intestacies
