Q I WAS driving near my home when a van came out of a junction and hit my near side. I was slightly injured with a neck jolt, but my car had to be assessed by a loss adjuster and then was repaired - this took two-and-a-half weeks.

I need the car for going to work and also visiting my mother in a nursing home that's a fair distance from where I live, but the van's insurers are refusing to pay my hire charges for an alternative car meantime.

A It is true that victims of accidents must mitigate losses - that is not to spend freely on replacing the car in the expectation that someone else will pay. But here you should not have to suffer being car-less as a result of another's negligence.

You would not be entitled to hire say a Ferrari if you own a Meriva (not that there's anything unglamorous about a Meriva!), but as long as you hire a moderate car you should be entitled to claim this back. Can I disinherit daughter?

Q CAN I disinherit one of my daughters? She says she will claim on my property no matter what, but I want all of my estate to go to my other daughter.

A All children have a legal right to claim on their parent's estate, whether there is a will or not.

However, that claim is only over the moveable estate (bank accounts, savings, jewellery etc, but not the house if this has been willed away) after debts have been paid and any surviving spouse has been paid out first, and is only over a proportion of the moveable estate, depending on various factors as to the exact fraction she is entitled to. Work hours changed

Q MY work is moving offices. In the new building, we are to have an earlier start time that doesn't suit me. Can the boss enforce this change?

A If you have not agreed the variation in working conditions, or it is not dealt with in your contract, your employer is in breach of your contract. If you do not accept the changes (whether or not you have been offered any extra payment or benefit to compensate), you will be treated as having been constructively dismissed.

It is then a question of whether the employer has acted reasonably in all the circumstances as to whether your "sacking" is fair or not. Check also on the ACAS website www.acas.org.uk Hubby wants half of house

Q MY husband walked out of our home permanently, and said he would leave the house with me and only take one life policy due to mature in a couple of years.

However, I have now received a letter from his lawyer saying he is entitled to half of everything, including the house.

Is he allowed to change his mind like this?

A Unless he actually signed away his rights to a share of assets, he is entitled to (usually) a half of all property. And note the law does not take account of the cause of breakdown or who walked out. It is fair shares each.

However, if you have young children and no alternative accommodation, he may be forced to wait, even many years, for the house to be sold. He may also in the meantime have to maintain you, and certainly the children.