We have tried to compile a list of our most Common Questions in relation to each of our departments. Please click on the button below for the department that could help you most. If you don't know which department you need you can just scroll down the page. We hope these questions and answers help. If you cannot find an answer to your particular query please give us a call on 01406 422651 and our reception will be pleased to direct your call to the relevant department or you can call the direct dial numbers for each department which are listed on the HOW TO CONTACT US page.
| |
|
|
|
 |
 |
Conveyancing - Common Questions
| Q | I have seen the property I want to buy but now what do I do? | |||||
| A | -
Go and see your Building Society, Bank or Mortgage Broker and work out how much
you could take up on mortgage. Don't overstretch yourself. - Arrange with the selling Estate Agents to visit the property and have a good look round both the property and the neighbourhood. Visit more than once and at different times of the day. - If you are still interested, make an offer to the selling Estate Agents. Remember that the "asking price" is negotiable and that sellers are normally prepared to accept a reasonable offer. - If your offer is accepted, contact both your chosen Mortgage Provider (to arrange your mortgage) and your Solicitor. |
|||||
| Q | How do I go about selling my property? | |||||
| A | - Contact an
Estate Agent with a view to placing the property on the market. - Contact your Solicitor, as the more notice you can give him/her the better. Your Solicitor can then prepare the sale papers in readiness for a buyer coming along. |
|||||
| Q | If I don't want to proceed with my sale or my purchase, do I have to? | |||||
| A | - Yes, if contracts have been exchanged - No, if contracts have not been exchanged - Exchange of Contracts is the binding element of a sale and purchase |
|||||
If you need help on the above or if you have any other questions we may be able to help you with please contact the Conveyancing Department on one of the following numbers.
|
||||||
| Back to Common Questions | ||||||
Landlord & Tenant - Common Questions
| Q | I want to let out my house. What sort of tenancy should I use? | ||
| A | Normally an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. | ||
| Q | What information will my solicitor need to prepare an Assured Shorthold Tenancy? | ||
| A | This will
include:- - Name of Landlord and Tenant - Current address of Tenant and address of Landlord - Address of property to be let - Length of term (often six months) - Commencement date - Amount of rent and when payable - Will the Tenant pay the Landlord's costs of preparing the tenancy? - Is the Tenant to pay a deposit? If so, how much? - Should there be a list of furniture etc at the property attached to the tenancy - Any other particular provisions; for example "no pets". |
||
| Q | What other matters should I consider before granting an Assured Shorthold Tenancy? | ||
| A | - These include:- - If you have a mortgage you will normally require the consent of your lender before granting the tenancy - Will your property insurance need to be changed? - Will the tenancy have any tax consequences for you? - Will you want to have the property back in the near future? |
||
If you need help on the above or if you have any other questions we may be able to help you with please contact the Landlord and Tenant Department on the following number.
|
|||
| Back to Common Questions |
Company & Commercial - Common Questions
| Q | I want to set up a new business. What should I do? | ||||
| A | You will need to decide on how you want to run your business, for example you could operate as a partnership, or a company.What you decide on will depend on factors such as whether you will be trading on your own account, or with others, whether you want limited liability, and the tax implications.We can advise you what will be best for you. | ||||
| Q | We have decided we want to set up a company. What should we do now? | ||||
| A | You will need
to know the following:- 1. The names of the share-holders and how many shares each is to have 2. The names of the directors of the company, their addresses, dates of birth and details of any other directorships they hold. 3. The name and address of the company secretary 4. The address of the registered office 5. Any restriction there is to be on the transfer of shares When you have all this information, or if you would like a fuller explanation, please contact us on 01406 422651 and we will help you to set up the company. |
||||
| Q | We have decided we want to set up a partnership. What should we do now? | ||||
| A | It is
advisable to have a written partnership agreement prepared by a solicitor. This
can be quite simple, or more complex to suit your requirements. You should
consider:- 1. Who the partners are and what their share of the profit(or loss) will be. 2. What your trading name will be 3. When the partnership will start 4. Who can sign cheques 5. What you will do if someone wishes to leave the partnership When you have this information, or if you would like a fuller explanation, please call us on 01406 422651 and we will draw up a partnership agreement for you. |
||||
If you need help on the above or if you have any other questions we may be able to help you with please contact the Company and Commercial Department on one of the following numbers.
|
|||||
| Back to Common Questions |
Probate & Trusts - Common Questions
| Q | I want to make a will. What should I consider? | ||||
| A | Amongst other
things:- - Who you would like to adminster your wishes under the will - your executors - Whether you would like to leave any specific items as gifts to certain people. - Who you would like to leave the balance of your estate to after any specific gifts or legacies. - If you have a young family who you would like to look after them if you and your partner die. - Who you would leave everything to if your family dies at the same time as you - Whether you are a beneficiary under a trust. If you are you may have power of appointment to appoint a beneficiary in your place - Whether you are getting married. A marriage will make a will void unless a clause is included to say that you are contemplating marriage. |
||||
| Q | I have an elderly relative who can no longer manage their affairs. What happens now? | ||||
| A | - If your
relative is still mentally capable they can set up an Enduring Power of
Attorney to enable the person or persons they appoint as attorneys to manage
their affairs. The attorneys can be friends, relatives , a member of the legal
profession or a mixture of any of the three. - If your relative is mentally incapable but made an Enduring Power of Attorney when they were well, the Enduring Power of Attorney can be activated and the persons appointed Attorneys can take over managing the affairs. - If there is no Enduring Power of Attorney an application needs to be made to the Court of Protection for them to appoint a Receiver to handle their affairs. The position of Receiver and Attorney are very similar, but a Receiver must provide the Court of Protection with detailed accounts each year in relation to the Patient's finances. A charge is made by the Court of Protection each year for reading these accounts. Also, if the Patient has assets in excess of £10000, then the Court of Protection will insist that the assets are lodged with them. The Receiver must then always make application to the Court of Protection for any of the money to be released and then it will only be released for the benefit of the Patient. |
||||
| Q | I am a beneficiary under a will. How long will it take to wind up the estate? | ||||
| A | The length of
time taken to wind up an estate depends on a number of factors. The time scale
is out of our hands for much of the time as we wait for third parties to
provide information. Some of the things to consider when deciding how long an
estate could take to wind up include:- - The complexity of the investments of the Deceased. Obviously an estate that consists of a single bank account will be much easier to wind up than one which is made up of stocks and shares, property and numerous bank accounts. - Whether all the assets and persons involved in the estate are in the UK. If correspondence needs to be sent abroad the amount of time waiting for papers to be signed and returned can be considerable. - Whether the paperwork is in good order. If close family and friends know exactly where to find all information relating to the affairs of the deceased it is much easier for us to know exactly what we are dealing with. A great deal of time can be wasted trying to find investments, bank accounts etc if we don't have the relevant information. |
||||
If you need help on the above or if you have any other questions we may be able to help you with please contact the Probate and Trusts Department on one of the following numbers.
|
|||||
| Back to Common Questions |
Civil Litigation - Common Questions
| Q | I sold someone something, but he won't pay me . What should I do? | ||||
| A | Firstly you should send him a letter telling him that if he doesn't pay within 7 days you will take him to court. If he still won't pay you can begin a Claim through the court. If your Claim is for less than £5000 then it will be a small claim. This means that if you lose you will not have to pay the other side's costs, but if you win your costs will not be paid. If you would like more information about this please contact us. If your Claim is for more than £5000 then you may be able to fund it by obtaining Community Legal Funding (legal aid), or by obtaining insurance ,or by a Conditional Fee Agreement. Please ask us for advice about this. | ||||
| Q | I bought something which doesn't work.Can I get my money back? | ||||
| A | Probably! It depends on things like how long you had the goods before they went wrong, what you used them for, and whether you have given the person who sold them to you a chance to put them right. Please ask us for advice. If you decide to start a court case then the same rules apply as in the answer to question 1 | ||||
| Q | I have been injured in an accident which wasn't my fault. Can I do anything about it? | ||||
| A | You may be able to claim money from the person who caused your injury to compensate you for any money you have lost because of the accident, and for your pain and suffering.You should start by sending a letter set out in a special way to the person who caused your injury. You will need to get a medical report about your injuries, and you will need to prove you have lost money. If the person who caused your injury will not agree to compensate you then you may consider bringing a court case against them. You must normally do this within 3 years of your injury. You can't get Community Legal Funding (legal aid) for this kind of case, but if you are successful the other side will have to pay your costs (or at least some of them), and you may be able to get insurance or a Conditional Fee Agreement. Please ask us for more information. | ||||
| Q | I have been treated unfairly at work, can I do anything about it? | ||||
| A | There are lots of rules about being treated fairly at work. These include rules about sex discrimination, race discrimination , not being properly paid and about being sacked unfairly. If you employer has broken the rules then you can take him to the Industrial Tribunal. If you want to take a case to the Tribunal you must normally do so within 3 months. Please ask us for advice about whether you have case. | ||||
| Q | I have an employee who I want to sack. Can I ? | ||||
| A | The employment rules can
be a minefield for an employer. We can advise you of the best way to proceed
without breaking the rules and being taken to the Tribunal. If the worst
happens and your employee starts a claim in the Tribunal we can represent you.
We can also advise you on Terms of Employment which all employees should have.
Please contact us for more details. |
||||
| If you need help on the above or if you have any other questions we may be able to help you with please contact the Litigation department on one of the following numbers.
Back to Common Questions |
Family Litigation - Common Questions
| Q | My marriage is over , what should I do? | ||||
| A |
First of all, find out all the information you can about your finances,eg who owns your home, how much it is worth, how much you owe on the mortgage, if you have an endowment policy and any other information you can obtain. Then you need to work out what you can afford to do, for example whether you could afford to buy a house or if you will have to rent. When you have thought about what you want to do try talking to your partner. Discuss who the children are going to live with, and how you think you could sort out your finances, and whether you just want to separate,or whether you want to end your marriage. If you can agree what you want to do, come and see us and we can sort out the legal side of what you have agreed. If you can't agree, don't panic, come and see us and we will give you advice on what to do next. |
||||
| Q | My ex-partner will not let me see our children, what should I do ? | ||||
| A | You could go to mediation. You and your partner will be able to discuss the problem with the help of another person who is trained to help people like you. You may be able to sort out a solution yourselves. Alternatively, you could take your case to court and let the court decide what should happen. Contact us for more information and advice on what is best for you. | ||||
| Q | My ex-partner is violent and I am scared he will hit me. What should I do? | ||||
| A | If your ex-partner has already used force against you or threatened to do so then you should call the police because he has committed a criminal offence. The police should go and see him, and may begin a criminal prosecution against him.If they do this they will probably set bail conditions so that he can't come near you until after his trial. If the police decide not to take any action you may be able to start proceedings yourself against your ex-partner under The Family Law Act.Please contact us for more details about this. | ||||
| Q | Will I get Legal Aid for legal advice? | ||||
| A | Legal Aid is now called Community Legal Funding, and it is provided by the Legal Services Commission. Whether you will get funding depends on how much money and property you have, and the facts of your case. If you have no savings, and you are on benefits you will probably qualify, but many other people may also qualify. Please ask us for details. | ||||
| Q | Someone who supported me financially has died without leaving me anything. What can I do? | ||||
| A | If you have been married to, or living with the person who has died, or you are his or her child, or someone who has been maintained by him or her then you may be able to make a claim under the Inheritance Act for some or all of the money that has been left . Contact us for more information | ||||
If you need help on the above or if you have any other questions we may be able to help you with please contact the Litigation Department on one of the following numbers.
|
|||||
| Back to Common Questions |