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Legal Articles
Buying your first home
Your first home is an exciting purchase but also one with lots of considerations and documents. This checklist should help you get organised: Budget: Firstly, it’s important to determine how much you can afford to spend. Gather: Collect salary information, bank statements and other evidence of saving and/or investments. If you are being given money by family […]Read More >
Will Beneficiaries, Claimants and Disputes
This article is NOT intended as information/ a guide as to how to bring nor and defend an action under the Inheritance Provision for Family & Dependants Act 1975 (‘IPFDA’75). What it is, however, is some thoughts on how to give instructions for the drafting of a Will by a professional, and indeed, the importance […]Read More >
Inheritance Tax Planning: Is Inheritance Tax in the near future likely to remain a threat to the goal of passing your estate on as intact as possible to your heirs?
Francis Fukuyama in his 1992 book “The end of history…” postulated that Western liberal democracy as a statement for government, underpinned by capitalism, represented the final perfection of government and social economic systems. This is the afterglow of their seeming victory, when viewed against the collapse of the alternative Soviet bloc style of government and […]Read More >
What Fees are Landlords Allowed to Charge a Tenant?
The Tenant Fees Act 2019 was implemented to protect tenants from unfair fees charged by landlords and letting agents. As of June 2020, many fees and charges have been prohibited. Please note: the following guidance applies to England only. Welsh law is covered by Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019. What fees are […]Read More >
Residential Property FAQs – First-Time Buyer
How long does the process of buying a house usually take? In most cases, the average conveyancing for the purchase of a home will take anywhere between 8 and 12 weeks. It can take less time than this or a little longer, depending on the complexity of the property and those involved in any chain. […]Read More >
Selecting an Executor in your Will
An Executor is a person you appoint in your Will who is tasked with the responsibility of administrating your estate. It is by no means an easy role and imposes a personal liability on the Executor should they fail to carry out the role correctly. Given that even the most straightforward estates can become […]Read More >
Is Mediation the right approach for me?
Relationship breakdown can be very difficult for all parties concerned, not just the partners, but for children and wider family. These days people are looking to resolve things quickly with as little acrimony as possible in these difficult times, inexpensively. Couples hope to make things as easy as possible for themselves and their children, seeking […]Read More >
Wills and Business Property Relief – Inheritance Tax danger for owner managers of SMEs
Many owner managers of small to medium sized businesses are aware that on death, their shareholding or partnership interest or sole trader business’ value will qualify for the specialist Inheritance Tax treatment in the form of 100% Business Property relief, which reduced to zero the Inheritance Tax burden that would otherwise arise on any non-exempt […]Read More >
The Renters (Reform) Bill Controversy: Should Landlords be Concerned?
What the Government has called a “once-in-a-generation” transformation of housing laws, The Renters (Reform) Bill is intended to usher in a more equitable letting system for both tenants and landlords. Since its introduction to Parliament in May 2023, the legislative overhaul has attracted significant media and industry attention, causing considerable concern among landlords. According to […]Read More >
The Building Safety Act
Introduced in light of the catastrophic events of the Grenfell Tower tragedy in June 2017, the Building Safety Act 2022 (the Act) contains a vast range of provisions designed to improve the safety of buildings. The Act is particularly significant in terms of its protection of leaseholders, eradicating the standpoint that leaseholders should be the […]Read More >
New Year’s Resolutions
As we come to the end of 2023, many take the opportunity to reflect on the past year and look at setting resolutions for the new year. A brief history lesson Setting resolutions in a new year dates back to Babylonian times (around 4000 years ago) where promises would be made to repay debts. Years […]Read More >
Auctions, cheap as chips?
These days, selling and purchasing a property can feel like a challenging process and in some cases, vendors and purchasers look at other ways in which they can achieves their desired transactions. A method which has never been more popular than now is via auction. Auctions are a popular method in which to purchase a […]Read More >
Residential Property FAQs
I am thinking of buying a retirement property. Are there any differences between these and other freehold or leasehold properties? Retirement properties often have the benefit of a manager on hand for any emergencies. There is also a social element for those persons who would like more social interaction, usually with various events and activities […]Read More >
The importance of updating your Will
Your Will is one of the most important legal documents that you will create during your lifetime. However, it is a common oversight to not review and update your Will consistently, whether this be by an entirely new Will or a Codicil. It is important that you update your Will as certain changes occur in […]Read More >
Pensions on Divorce
With the economy as it is and rising costs generally, understandably, more and more couples are choosing to sort things out between themselves when they separate, rather than taking legal advice. However, although the divorce process itself is now much simpler than it used to be, meaning that couples can usually deal with it without […]Read More >
I have been notified that I am an Executor under the Will of a relative or friend, who has recently passed away. What do I do?
An Executor is a person named in the Will of the deceased who is responsible for carrying out the deceased’s instructions, administering the estate properly and ultimately ensuring that the estate is divided in accordance with the Will’s provisions. Being an Executor is an onerous task in light of the duties and responsibilities afforded to […]Read More >
A Tale of Two Deeds of Variations – Part 2
Last time in my previous article, I demonstrated how a variation could be used, whether in an intestacy situation, or, with a pre-existing will, to ensure that the person inheriting had use of the assets for the remainder of their lifetime, but without the inheritance tax implications on their death of those being in their […]Read More >
A Tale of Two Deeds of Variations
Suffering the death of a family member or any other loved one is a difficult time which can be made even worse if there is no Will or ‘an inappropriate Will’ which does not fit changed circumstance. I use the term ‘an Inappropriate Will’ as an umbrella term to cover circumstances were the Will has […]Read More >
When might a trust be useful?
HMRC reported a staggering 198,000 trusts have been registered with their Trust Registration Service as at 31 March 2022. This figure does not take into account trusts yet to be registered or which do not need to be due to HMRC’s requirements. Trusts are given a bad name because of their often-complex nature and the […]Read More >
What are the cost changes to civil litigation from October 2023?
The fixed recoverable costs regime is due to extend to most civil cases from 1 October 2023. This is following the recommendations from Sir Rupert Jackson in 2017 and a Ministry of Justice consultation on the report in 2019. Currently, fixed costs only apply in a limited amount of scenarios, however this is to be […]Read More >
Changes to intestacy rules
On Fifth of July 2023, the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (fixed net sum) Order 2023 became law and is applicable. Previously, if a person passed away without a Will in place or valid Will in place leaving a spouse or civil partner together with children who survived them, then that widowed spouse or civil […]Read More >
Residential Property FAQs
Are you looking to buy or sell your first property? Do you have some questions about the conveyancing procedure? Our legal experts answer your most frequently asked questions… Do I need to sort out any paperwork when selling my property? As the seller’s solicitor, we will apply for a copy of the title for […]Read More >
What can possibly go wrong with a standard life insurance policy, and what can be done about it?
Perhaps the first generation of people who engaged with financial advisors, ‘en masse’, are now starting to reach the end of their lives, and either pass away or lose mental capacity. Frequently, whole of life insurance policies, often put into trust many decades ago are coming back into view as a result of those changes. […]Read More >
The Probate Procedure Explained…
Have you been named as executor in a Will and you’re not sure where to begin? Or would you just like some clarity on the probate procedure? Our Lucy Head has answered some commonly asked questions below… Do I need a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration? When someone dies with a will, a […]Read More >
Gifting out of excess income to save on Inheritance Tax – are you making the most of your financial position?
Due to the freeze on inheritance tax thresholds announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in the Autumn Statement 2022, a record number of estates are now liable to paying tax, which is charged at the rate of 40% on the sum above any available allowances. As reported in my earlier article when the Autumn Statement […]Read More >
Cohabitation and Later Life Planning
The number of couples opting to live with one another without entering into a marriage or civil partnership is on the rise. Unfortunately, there are many couples who are unaware of their legal rights as they are under the impression, they have the fallback of being a ‘common law wife/husband’. This is a myth. Currently, […]Read More >
Digital LPAs and why, for now, we are not using them
There was a recent piece on the Radio 4 program ‘Money Box’ about the difficulties many have encountered trying to use the digital certificate given at the end of the digitally drafted ‘Lasting Powers of Attorney form creation process’, presumably for Property and Finance, with various banks and other financial institutions. It is probably fair […]Read More >
Technology and Domestic Violence
You may be aware that domestic abuse comes in many different forms and whilst this may manifest as threatened or actual violence whether physical or sexual, there are many other patterns of behaviour that constitute abuse including coercive and economic control, and psychological abuse. The Government has defined domestic abuse as “any incident of controlling, […]Read More >
Illustration of ‘unexpected Capital Gains Tax issues’ arising…
Once, a divorced mother made a Will leaving her estate to her children. The house was her main asset. She died some years back and her Will was probated. The house was registered in the names of the adult children at the Land Registry. One of them moved in, with the other’s agreement. Years later, […]Read More >
Does my Divorce give me a financial clean break?
It’s a commonly held misconception that the divorce resolves all issues between the parties. However, this is not the case. Please note that the new terminology of the Court which refers to the Final Order of Divorce (which used to be called the Decree Absolute) is not also a Final Order in relation to the […]Read More >
The LPA amendment Bill – what it means for you and yours
The Bill to reform the law on making lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) in England and Wales has been published and received its second reading in parliament on 9 December 2022. LPAs are a specific type of power of attorney with a wider scope than ordinary Powers of Attorney. LPAs allow someone to appoint another […]Read More >
To gift or not to gift? The impact of the Autumn Statement on Inheritance Tax
Today’s Autumn Statement saw Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, announce what had been predicted by many – an extension to the freeze on the Inheritance Tax Nil Rate Band allowance – amongst other financial measures. The Nil Rate Band allowance has been fixed at its current level of £325,000 per individual since 2009 and […]Read More >
Life assurance policies and investments written in trust – what happens next?
Many people will only come across trusts when they are being discussed in the same breath as life insurance policies, whether those are true protection products or investments structured as a life assurance policy, in the context of the investment/life assurance being ‘written in trust’. These days it’s very simple for such financial products to […]Read More >