Readers' forum: In court

I act for a husband and wife partnership which is VAT registered because they own a commercial property in London that is rented out to a restaurant. They opted to tax the property and therefore have always charged 20% VAT on the rent.

The twist to the tale is that the husband committed bigamy when he married his current wife and the end result of various court proceedings and legal action is that all the rent earned from this property (including the VAT element) is held by the court while issues are resolved.

However my clients can apply to the court for funds when they need them mainly to cover their own legal fees. So for example they have recently received a payment of £60 000 each which they can keep without any problem. There are no costs or other deductions made from the pot of money held...