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Graham’s Blog
October 2011- Richard Brown joins the Pearcelegal Conveyancing Team
We are pleased to announce that Richard Brown has joined our conveyancing team as of 1st October 2011. Richard previously worked for the firm in the late 80′s and early 90′s and returns to help grow our conveyancing department, bringing nearly 40 years of experience of residential conveyancing to the team.
August 2011 – Doorstep salesmen selling bespoke trusts
In May I mentioned my clients who had been sold a product called a ”bespoke asset trust” at great expense by a doorstep salesman. Since then our site has received numerous hits relating to this product. We have been contacted by people from the other end of the country telling the same story of being pressured to spend a lot of money to solve all their problems! Happily we were able to offer a solution at a fraction of the cost they had been quoted.
We are still trying to get answers from the organisation concerned. In particular they refuse to tell us whether they are regulated by any official body – we assume not. Even more worryingly, however, they refuse to confirm whether they carry any professional indemnity insurance. The general public should be very concerned about this. Mistakes can happen and it may well be many years before a problem comes to light. As these people are advising clients to give their house and assets away it could have disastrous consequences if a mistake occurs. Solicitors carry a substantial compulsory insurance which would protect clients in the event of a mistake.
We are still trying to get back the money spent by my original clients. The organisation are still giving feeble self-serving responses. We shall now have to sue them to make progress. We shall also report them to the Trading Standards Authorities. Watch this space!
August 2011 – Do Your Legal Services Measure UP?!
I have become very aware of late that legal services can be portrayed by some as being no more than a commodity, to be picked up alongside the weekly shopping. I have recorded a short video clip to help dispel this myth!
27th May 2011 – Beware doorstep lawyers!
I have just returned from seeing an elderly couple who were very distressed because of a visit by a so-called “legal consultant” who had turned up on their doorstep unannounced and without an appointment. The husband was very hard of hearing and the wife was housebound and had just come out of hospital after surgery. He persuaded them that he could solve all their problems by putting all their assets into a “bespoke asset trust” and that he would do this if they paid him £2500 up front! Sadly they parted with their money to a man they had not met before who offered nothing more than a business card and a glossy brochure! Even more annoying for them was that only a few weeks before they had given me instructions to take steps to protect their assets and the work had already been done and they had received my invoice – somewhat less than £2500!
They thought the “legal consultant” was offering them something entirely different and were taken in! He was also negligent because had he enquired he may have discovered from them that they had already put arrangements in hand to do exactly what he was offering! Immediately the clients realised what they had done they contacted him to cancel. Unsurpisingly he was indignant and unhelpful. He even said that he could not believe solicitors could do what he could do! We are now seeking to get their money back. Watch this space!
Further research has shown that this glossy company apparently has no qualified lawyers and is not regulated by any public body. We have enquired whether they carry any insurance comparable with that carried by solicitors. We suspect not!
The moral must be not to buy from doorstep salesman, however glossy their brochures.
23rd March 2011 – Budget Day 2011. Well, it was not a classic speech. It was fairly low key and did not offer very much to very many people. The nation cannot afford give aways.
First time house buyers - some help from Government Scheme – If you are a first time buyer about to purchase but are struggling to raise a deposit this may help you.
Inheritance Tax - Additional tax relief if you give more than 10% of your estate to charity. Worth reviewing your will if your will makes significant gifts to charity. If you have made tax planning wills the calculation of 10% could be less than you think!
Overall Economy - Most worrying is the overall weakness in the country’s finances and the massive debt we still have. I think the economy will recover because most people in times of hardship just get on and work hard! Probably best for government not to mess about too much and let the market settle down after the traumas of recent years.
2nd March 2011 - Business Anniversary – I began in business 30 years ago today! At that time the country was in another financial crisis with inflation at 26% and interest rates at 15%. I would like to thank all the clients who have come to the firm in the last 30 years. Our team has changed a lot over the years but we still aim to provide a quality legal service in a personal manner at reasonable prices. We look forward to continuing to serve clients old and new.
21st December 2010 – See amid the Winter’s snow…
As we watch the snow and see the choas I hear that the nation has salt on the way which will arrive in time for the anticipated snowfall in February! Next year we will be prepared!
We are pleased to have been able to help many clients during the year in many different ways and we wish all our clients and visitors to this site a very happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous new year.
25th November 2010 - Ashes to Ashes
This is not an advert for an undertaker but a recognition of other things going on in the world. I still think England will retain the Ashes despite a poor first day!
22nd October 2010- Prenuptual Agreements to have Decisive Weight in English Divorce Courts.
The Supreme Court ruled this week that prenuptual agreements should have “decisive weight” in English divorce Courts. This changes the previous position whereby Judges would rely on the preposition that marital assets should be divided between couples based on their needs including who would bear the greater responsibility for any children of the marriage.
The outcome of the decision appears to be that Courts will now treat prenuptuals as binding as long as they are fair. It will give couples a greater degree of certainty should they split up as to how the assets will be divided and should also help protect assets and children from from previous marriages.
We can advise on how best to ensure certainty and fairness before marriage by drafting a prenuptual agreement taking into account the backgrounds of both parties. Even if you are not considering marriage, we can help set up agreements for co-habiting partners to set out how the property should be dealt with in the event of a break up.
To obtain advice about prenuptuals or cohabitation agreements, call Nick Thomas on 01212 702701.
13th September 2010 – Make a Will Week 13th to 17th September 2010. I am pleased to announce that Amy Lloyd will be working in conjunction with St Mary’s Hospice, Birmingham in their Make a Will Week.
Amy will be preparing simple Wills, free of charge, during this week. However, clients would be expected to make a donation to St Mary’s Hospice of between £70 – £120 per Will.
If tax planning advice is needed or other complex issues are involved, Amy will reduce her costs in accordance with the donation to St Mary’s Hospice. As usual, you will of course be informed of any change in costs before Amy carries out any work on your behalf.
If you are interested in the Make a Will Week, please contact Amy direct on 01212 702 703.
14th June 2010 – BEWARE THE WILL WRITERS. Many firms of “Will-writers” have sprung up in recent years. Most are not solicitors, many are totally inexperienced in legal matters! I have seen some horrendous wills drafted by such firms, sometimes leaving widows in a perilous position, or not properly protecting disabled or vulnerable children. Such companies often produce inordinately lengthy documents containing numerous inter-dependant clauses. unintelliglbe to the ordinary client. They often make an excessive charge as though paid by the word! Such firms frequently have no adequate legal supervision and no insurance policy if they make a mistake. BEWARE!
The Office of Fair Trading are introducing a code to regulate such firms but the Code contains no real sanction for inadequate service from such firms. The Scottish parliament is considering introducing legislation to control such firms.
Please seek proper professional advice about making a will. Making a will is not the only part of making a will. Attention may need to be given to Death in Service benefits or pensions which may not be affected by a will. Also property owned jointly will often pass to the co-owner regardless of the will. This can have disastrous consequences in the case of second marriages or non-married partners and others. TAKE PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.
27th May 2010 - Capital Gains Tax certain to rise. If you have assets which might give rise to a charge to CGT take early advice to see if there is action that can be taken to minimise risk. Second homes are likely to be hard hit!
20th May 2010 – HIPs have definitely gone! It is no longer a requirement to have a HIP in order to sell a house. It will still be necessary to have an energy performance certificate as that is under European legislation. We can organise that for sellers very quickly and inexpensively.
17th May 2010 Well now we know who’s in charge of the country! What it means we shall find out soon enough. Some things are already becoming clear.
Inheritance Tax - the Government has confirmed that the Inheritance Tax threshold will remain at £325,000 per person.
Home Information Packs are to be abolished! This is great news for clients selling their property. Introduced as a political sop HIPs have been a complete waste of time and money. We do not yet know when this will come into effect. Watch this space!
New web site … New political era! 7th May 2010
We launch our new website on the day after the night before! When we managed not to elect a new government but to leave our politicians all hung up!
What will this mean for us and our clients? As I write it looks as though the Conservatives may form a minority government. In that case, they may struggle to get some of their more controversial policies enacted.
It will probably mean that their pledge to raise the Inheritance Tax Threshold to £500,000 will be postponed. More importantly for us all is that a weak government will leave the financial markets nervous. This may affect share values and therefore pension funds and other investments and probably interest rates and mortgages.
There will also have to be significant austerity measures to stabilise the economy although negotiating these will be a challenge for a weak government with minority parties demanding a high price for support. It could leave many in painful situations.