We guide you through the confusion and complexity involved in buying or selling your house. This is usually the largest financial commitment that people undertake in their lifetime and can be quite stressing.
We recommend you contact us as soon as possible after you decide to embark upon these transactions. We then provide advice in connection with surveys and valuations, deposits, estate agents and a number of other features about which you will need to know.
We outline the steps which will be involved, from the initial stages of obtaining details of the title and preparing a draft contract on your sale, to completing the transaction on the date when you move into your new home. Thereafter, we deal with all the necessary transactions such as payment of stamp duty, registration of your title, giving notice of the transfer in the case of leasehold properties, issue of a new share certificate where a management company is involved and generally ensuring that all necessary procedures have been complied with on your behalf.
If after the transactions have been completed you need to take advice with regard to your obligations under any convenants which may affect the property, the buildings insurance, boundary rights and so on, we are available to assist you.
For business clients our services extend to the sale and purchase of business premises which include offices, shops, factories, warehouses, licensed premises and so on. This may also involve granting a lease to a tenant, administering a lease from a landlord or a lease of commercial premises. We also offer assistance in the complex procedures concerning renewal, rent reviews and the many obligations normally taken on by a tenant of business premises.
In dealing with business premises we raise all necessary searches and enquiries to ensure that our clients have a complete picture of the many features involved in the commercial premises. We also liaise with other professional advisers of clients involved such as accountants and surveyors.
The importance of making a Will cannot be overstated. The lack of a Will can be disastrous. Statistics show that 69% of people do not make a Will. Each Will is tailormade for the client, taking into consideration his or her personal financial circumstances, family and commitments and the possible incidence of taxation and in particular inheritance tax.
After a death it is important to those who are left behind that the estate is administered with sympathy as well as with efficiency. It involves obtaining valuations of all the assets of the estate, agreeing the inheritance tax liability, applying for the Grant of Probate (or Letters of Administration in the event that there is no Will) and then with the benefit of that Grant, gathering in the assets of the estate and administering them according to the Will or according to law as the case may be. In some cases a trust may arise under the provisions of a Will or an intestacy (i.e., where no Will exists) and that trust could last for many years. It will require the advice and assistance of the solicitor.
In dealing with the personal affairs of clients it is appropriate to mention Enduring Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection Orders. These are granted to enable relatives, friends or professional advisers to administer the affairs of elderly or infirm persons who, for whatever reason, are unable to manage their own affairs. Other matters to be considered are, for example, inheritance tax planning, protection of infant beneficiaries and provision for nursing fees.
We make home visits for the elderly and housebound.
Please apply for a copy of our detailed "Will Notes".
It is an unfortunate fact of life that not all marriages are successful. In divorce, a fair division of the family assets, including the matrimonial home, must be worked out. In the majority of cases this is achieved by negotiation between solicitors and agreement between the parties. We emphasise negotiation and agreement rather than conflict and confrontation in the application of the principles of matrimonial law to the special circumstances of each individual case. We also advise on matters in relation to contact and residence of children, domestic violence and injunctions.
We have a Legal Services Commission franchise for Public Funding (formerly known as Legal Aid) in this area of work.
