Clarke and Son News

Basingstoke Law Firm Clarke & Son LLP has recently expanded their Commercial Services Department with the appointment of Solicitor, Amy Muncer.  Amy has over three year’s experience at a firm in Bournemouth as a Company and Commercial Solicitor.  At Clarke & Son she will be dealing with all aspects of non contentious Company and Commercial law including company formations, business sales and acquisitions, all forms of commercial contracts, shareholder and partnership agreements and terms of conditions of trading.

After joining Clarke & Son as a trainee Solicitor in 2008, Debbie Bowey qualifies as a Property Lawyer on 1st September 2010. She is delighted to be taken on by the firm in the Residential Conveyancing Department.  Debbie says:

“I am thrilled to be offered a permanent contract at Clarke & Son as it is such a friendly and approachable firm.  I look forward to continuing my busy workload in Residential Conveyancing.”

Peter Turner, Senior Partner at the firm comments on the new recruits:

“We are delighted at both the appointments of Amy and Debbie and hope this expansion of our firm will help with our continued success.”

For more information on Clarke & Son’s Services, email us.  Clarke & Son LLP is a QualitySolicitor Firm.

Amy Muncer (Left) and Debbie Bowey, Clarke & Son’s two new recruits

Acas has published its annual report and accounts for the year ending 31 March 2010, giving a picture of the state of individual and collective dispute resolution in Britain.  The number of individual employment claims referred to Acas for conciliation rose by 13% to 87,421 (up from 77,478 in 2008/09).  This increase in workload has inevitably affected the overall state of resolution, which dropped slightly to 70.8% (from 72.5% in 2008/09). As always, unfair dismissal was the most common type of claim and featured in 64,878 cases referred to Acas, nearly 10,000 more than last year.

The new pre-claim conciliation (PCC) service introduced in April 2009 has proved very popular and successful in avoiding the need for proceedings to be issued. Acas received nearly 10,000 PCC referrals, of which the overwhelming majority concerned unfair dismissal, deduction of wages and/or breach of contract. It hopes to see this number doubled in its second year. A third of PCC referrals resulted in resolution, with the most common reason for failure being the employer’s unwillingness to engage in the process.

Although large-scale collective disputes have continued to hit the news headlines this year, the number of collective disputes referred to Acas has in fact dropped by 6% to 905. These mostly concerned pay and conditions, recognition, or redundancy. 94% of cases were resolved or moved towards resolution by Acas.

To see the full report, visit: Acas Annual Report and Accounts 2009/10

 For further information on Employment issues, please contact Thomas Hunt on Tel: 01256 320 555.

Clarke & Son LLP has gained Investors in People (IIP) accreditation for the 11th year running.

Investors in People, launched in 1991 offers a business improvement tool to help all kinds of organisations develop perfomance through their staff.  IIP provides tailored assessments designed to support organisations in planning, implementing and evaluating effective strategies for organisations of all sizes and sectors.

This accreditation is further support and evidence of the firm’s continued commitment to the provision of quality services and its membership of QualitySolicitors.com.

Peter Turner, Senior Partner at Clarke & Son is delighted with the IIP renewal,

“We are very proud to receive this renewal as the partners believe it is a very worthwhile accreditation, illustrating our commitment and dedication to all our staff. We pride ourselves on being a friendly and approachable firm, not just with regards to our clients but also within the organisation itself and I think this shows in our continued success.”

For more information on Clarke & Son’s services, please email us.

The Law Society reports that lawyers have seen a significant increase in cohabitation  cases.

The recession has caused an ‘explosion’ in the number of cohabiting couples seeking advice on relationship breakdown, according to family lawyers who have called for ‘complex’ laws appled to them to be updated.

It is thought that part of the reason for the rise is because fewer people are marrying, but the recent surge is principally related to the impact of the recession.

 The law in relation to cohabitees is complex and there is a view that it should be brought in line with the law applied to married people and same sex couples in civil partnerships.

If you require expert help or advice in relation to any cohabitation matter, whether it is dealing with a potential dispute or taking pre-emptive action to avoid a dispute (such as preparing the terms of a cohabitation agreement) Clarke & Son can assist.  Please contact Bhupendra Sankhla on Tel: 01256 320 555.

In this week’s Panorama programme, presenter Vivian White highlighted the risks in using a will writing service.  Many people are under the false impression a ‘Will writer’ is a solicitor, but unlike a solicitor they do not have to undergo any training, have insurance, and are not regulated by any organisation which ensures that they conduct their activities in the interests of the consumer and provide some form of redress, if things go wrong.  If they go out of business, there is little that can be done - sometimes the Will cannot be found, even where charges have been made for storing it.

Andrew Poole’s wife, Suzanne used a Will writer, but the Will failed to include any provision for him, leaving the entire estate in trust for his stepdaughters.  Caroline Bielanska, Chief Executive of Solicitors for the Elderly, appeared on the programme, and expressed concern that a spouse had not been provided for.  The Will writers appeared to have failed to advise on his right to bring a claim against the estate for inadequate provision.  She said,

 ”a specialist solicitor would have asked why a spouse was left out, kept a detailed record of those reasons and advised of the high risk that the Will would be challenged.  Solicitors are in the business of giving legal advice, taking into account the client’s domestic and financial circumstances - it does not appear that Suzanne Poole received any such advice.”

The lack of regulation has enabled many Will writers to adopt high pressure selling techniques which was illustrated in the programme, often offering Wills for a low or discounted fee, and then recommending themselves to be appointed as executors, selling other services without full advice, such as transferring the home into trust in an attempt to avoid care fees.  Terms and conditions can be poorly worded and difficult to understand.  In secret filming undertaken by the BBC for the programme, an elderly couple was not told the details of charges which were confusingly set out in writing but then taken away by the Will writer.

The fear of solicitors costs, prompts some people to use Will writers. Nia Wharry, Partner and Head of Wills & Probate commented,

“Solicitors are required to set out in writing the basis of their charges, and in many cases Wills are undertaken for a fixed fee with free storage of Wills and other documents.”

Recent research by the consumer group, Which? found that the average fee for a Will drafted by a solicitor was £130, compared to that of a Will writer of £107.

Nia Wharry said,

“This programme highlights the potential for getting it wrong without full legal advice and the need for proper regulation of Will writers. It can be very costly to undo after you have gone and can leave your family in disarray when they have to pick up the pieces as problems generally only come to light when you have died.”

For more information on Making a Will, contact Nia Wharry on Tel: 01256 30 555.

The Pensions Ombudsman has highlighted the importance of completing and keeping up-to-date nomination forms for pension death benefits on the back of a complaint they received.

The complaint was issued against AEGON by the daughter of a deceased scheme member who had not completed an expression of wish form to nominate a beneficiary (he was not aware that this scheme did not form part of his estate).  The daughter’s complaint was that AEGON Scottish Equitable had used their discretion together with information provided to them by a third party to pay the benefit to her father’s partner without her knowledge as executrix and beneficiary in her father’s Will.

Under the scheme rules, AEGON Scottish Equitable has discretion to pay the benefit to anyone on a ‘prescribed list’. They paid the benefit to the deceased’s partner, based on information supplied by the partner’s son. They did not ask the deceased’s daughter to verify this information and furthermore she was not included on the forms as a beneficiary.

The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman held that when exercising discretion under the pension scheme rules to select the recipients of a lump-sum death benefit from a prescribed list and to decide how much to pay each beneficiary, the scheme administrator must properly consider all potential beneficiaries.  It must also consider only relevant matters and follow a reasonable process to obtain relevant information.

For further information on making a Will, please contact Nia Wharry on Tel: 01256 320 555.

The importance of making a Will was highlighted recently following the death of famous boyband singer Stephen Gately who died intestate. Sephen’s estate was worth £3.5million and after settlement of all liabilities left approximately £1.5million being divided according to the rules of intestacy.  The intestacy rules meant that his husband would receive two thirds of his estate and his parents the remaining one third and it is unclear as to whether or not these would have been his wishes had he made a Will.

So what happens if there are insufficient funds in the estate to pay all the legacies in the Will?

If there is not enough money in an estate, then debts and expenses have to be paid in a particular order:

1. Those who have incurred funeral and testamentary expenses

2. Anyone owed a debt that has been secured upon the deceased’s property

3. HM Revenue & Customs

4. Department for Work and Pensions

5. Anyone who is owed unpaid wages

6. Beneficiaries named in the Will: a. Pecuniary Legacies b. Residuary Estate

If there is insufficient to pay the legacies in full, unless the deceased had provided clear directions, the legacies must be decreased in equal proportions.

If there is a situation where the legacies add up to a far larger sum that the testator’s estate had for many years, this could possibly raise queries relating to the mental capacity of the testator at the time the Will was made.

If you would like to find out more about Making a Will or What to do when someone dies without making a Will, contact Nia Wharry Tel: 01256 320 555.

Clarke & Son entered into the spirit of the World Cup with a red and white themed day when England played Slovenia on 23rd June.

The staff broke with solicitor etiquette and dressed in England shirts or red and white for the day in support of their team. A special cake and treat sale was held including England-themed cakes, raising nearly £40.00 for their annual charity - Help for Heroes.

Clarke & Son Staff in coordinated dress ready to support the England team.

Update from the Chief Economist at RBS (5 July 2010)

Mortgage approvals for house purchase in May dipped marginally compared with April while house prices were flat m/m in June according to Nationwide. This despite the cost of borrowing on new mortgages falling to an all time low, at least for those with some equity. The average market rate for a two-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 25% deposit fell to just 3.78% in May. Monetary policy may now be ‘pushing on a string’, at least in the housing market.  In other words, the impact of lower interest rates may have been exhausted.  Figures from the bank of England also pointed to a slowdown in the supply of credit for buying houses due to concerns about lower availability of wholesale funding, on which bank lending depends.

If you would like information on Buying or selling your home or Re-mortgaging, please contact Jenny Axe on Tel: 01256 320 555.

The following are predicitions of how the Emergency Budget on 22nd June 2010 could affect you and your business:

Rise in tax-free allowance - the Government has indicated that they intend to raise the personal tax-free allowance which currently stands at £6,475 to £10,000 over the lifetime of this Parliament. It is likely that in the first instance the allowance will rise between £700 - £1,000.

National Insurance Rise - A 1% rise in National Insurance Contributions is likely to kick in next April.

VAT Rise - There is speculation of an increase in VAT.

Corporation Tax - it has been announced that the headline rate of corporation tax will be reduced however there has, at present, been no indication as to the rate it may be reduced to.

Pensions - The Coalition Government has agreed to restore the link between the basic state pension and earnings. There is a likelihood that further pension reliefs will be taken away from high income earners, perhaps lowering the proposed threshold for tapering of higher rate relief which is set at £150,000 of income. The Government could go further and implement other reforms such as increasing the state retirement age for men and women.

Inheritance Tax (IHT) - there is unlikely to be any change to the current IHT threshold of £325,000.  However, there may be changes to some restrictions to IHT including the rules for non-domiciled individuals.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) increase - the actual rate is yet to be determined but it is thought that there will be an increase in order to bring CGT in line with income tax, indicating it could go up (from 18%) to approximately 40%, leading to owners of second homes, share portfolios and other investments facing substantially higher CGT bills. It is predicted that this increase will begin at the start of April 2011. The increase is to be on non-business activities only, however there has been some discussion as to what is classed as ‘business’ and ‘non-business’.  The Emergency Budget may also introduce changes to Private Residence Relief which enables people to sell their only or main residence free of CGT.

For more information on any of these issues, please email Nia Wharry or Tel: 01256 320 555.