We engaged a builder to supply and install a conservatory last year. The work was completed, and payment was made in full. However, shortly after the work was completed, we discovered water leaking through the roof. We sent the builder photos and videos of the problem immediately and asked him to come and fix it, but he refused. As winter was fast approaching, we had to ask someone else to fix the problem. Can we claim the costs of this back from the original builder?

I have a dispute with a builder and have been advised not to go to Court but use Alternative Dispute Resolution, which I understand is mediation or arbitration. The compensation I am seeking is considerable as the builder has refused to put matters right - in fact I wouldn’t trust him to do so anyway, and I will have to pay someone else to finish the job. Can you explain the difference between litigation and ADR and the advantages of not taking my case to Court?

My aunt is a resident in a Care Home in North Wales. They say because she has dementia, she lacks capacity to make her own decisions about where she should live, and about her care needs. She is on something called a DOL. For 6 months now, she has been telling me that she wants to move back to Kent because this is where her family live (myself included).

My ex-partner, who has always been controlling, is refusing to let our 13-year-old daughter have the covid vaccine. She really wants to have it, not just because all her friends are having it but because she believes it is the right thing for her. Can I go against his wishes and let her have it?

My mum has Alzheimer’s and has been in a home for the past two years. In the last month she has declined considerably, and I fear she will not last much longer. Unfortunately, I have just discovered she made a Will several years ago and never updated it, and the executors she appointed to administer it are no longer alive. Please can you explain what will happen about her Will now? Could my brother and I, as beneficiaries, administer her estate?

My brother was recently taken into hospital following a fall at home. He is now fit for discharge and does not need to remain in hospital, but has been assessed as having dementia and I have been told he cannot make decisions for himself about his care and where he should live.

We have a Child Arrangement Order stating our daughter should spend Christmas Day with my ex-wife one year, and with me the next, and spend Boxing Day with the other parent. However, this year I would like to take her skiing, which would mean her spending the whole Christmas period with me, and me taking her out of the country. My ex-wife is currently refusing to allow it and my daughter is utterly distraught, so I think I need to apply to the Court for a variation. How long will it take?

My Mother is a resident in a Care Home in my local area. It has been concluded that she lacks capacity to make her own decisions about her care needs and where she should live, because she has dementia. She is on something called a DOL. For the past three months she has been adamant that she wants to move back to her bungalow, because this is where she lived with my father before he passed away. I keep telling her that she’s in the best place for her, but she’s not listening to me and keeps asking to move back. What can I do?

I live near my parents and visit them regularly. My mother was diagnosed with Dementia some time ago and now has quite substantial care needs. Until recently these needs have been met by my father. However, things have now started to deteriorate, and I believe it is because my father has developed mental health needs of his own. I am getting very worried that Mum is no longer receiving the support that she needs. I know she would prefer to stay in her own home with my father and therefore I don’t believe she would agree to going into a care home. Can you advise the best way to resolve this situation?

Q:      My boyfriend and I want to take his 10-year-old son skiing with us at Christmas, but his ex is being difficult about it as she says it isn’t in the ‘terms of the arrangements’ that he spends more than one day with his father at Christmas. Obviously, we need to get the holiday booked. Will my boyfriend have to apply to the Court for permission to take his son out of the country and extend his stay with him?