Clarke and Son News

Leading local firm of Solicitors, Clarke & Son LLP has recently revamped their website, www.clarkeandson.co.uk

The site now offers quick links to all the sections of the website for easy use by potential and existing clients in addition to an online Wills Forms and an easy-to-submit enquiry form.

Peter Turner, Senior Partner says,
“Our marketing agency The Escape has once again done an excellent job for us with the redesign. I have received many compliments already about the site content, but with this new look it also now looks fresher and is even easier to use. There is no doubt in my mind that the website plays a big part in our procurement of new clients and retention of existing ones. I am confident that the new-look site will contribute towards our continued success.”

For further information on Clarke and Son’s services Tel: 01256 320555, email mail@clarkeandson.co.uk

Local Firm Clarke & Son LLP has successfully raised over £1,000 for Will Aid 2008. In November last year, the Firm entered into the National campaign to raise money for the organization who supports the work of nine National and International charities including The British Red Cross, Help the Aged and NSPCC.

The scheme works by clients paying a donation to Will Aid as opposed to the Solicitor’s usual fee. Surprisingly, despite the Economic downturn, over £900,000 was raised nationally with a further estimated £4.5million pledged in legacies.

Peter Turner, Senior Partner at Clarke & Son LLP was delighted with the Firms efforts:

“November is always a busy time for our Wills & Probate Department and this year we surpassed ourselves in the amount raised for this incredibly worthwhile cause.”

For more information on Will Aid or leaving a legacy in your Will, Contact Nia Wharry on Tel: 01256 320 555.

Local Firm, Clarke & Son LLP have recently raised over £700 for Great Ormond Street Hospital, their chosen charity for the year 2008/2009. The firm undertook various fundraising events for the national charity including a weekly lotto, staff lunches, guess the number of golf balls, Guess what’s in the Box, a cake sale and the Grand National sweepstake.

Catherine Sheard from the Fundraising Team at Great Ormond Street Hospital was delighted with the Firm’s efforts:

“The money you have raised is helping us to fund life-saving equipment and ground-breaking research to find cures and treatments, giving children everywhere a brighter future.”

Clarke & Son hope to double their efforts for Naomi House Children’s Hospice, in Sutton Scotney, near Winchester, their chosen charity for 2009/2010. The hospice provides care and support through good days, difficult days and last days to children, young people and their families from the counties of Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Surrey, West Sussex and Wiltshire.

Julie Tunnicliffe, Legacy Co-ordinator at Naomi House explains the importance of local support,

“With just 10% of our income coming from the government, Naomi House relies on the generous support of local people and businesses like Clarke and Son to help us raise £2.5million each year to provide care to life-limited children and their families.”

For more information, please contact: Peter Turner, Senior Partner on Tel: 01256 320555

Leading local firm, Clarke & Son LLP has been awarded a founder membership of an exclusive nationwide alliance of high quality solicitor firms, QualitySolicitors.com. QualitySolicitors.com is the UK’s first ever truly national legal brand and promotes the use of real solicitor firms over “call-centre law” soon to be provided by supermarkets and banks. It has initially selected just one hundred of the best solicitor firms nationwide to form the founder membership and has chosen Clarke & Son as one of those recognised firms.

QualitySolicitors.com will match users of its free service to the best high quality solicitor for their particular issue. The QualitySolicitors.com innovative website, www.QualitySolicitors.com aims to address all possible legal needs by including extensive legal resources, DIY documents, online legal advice as well as referring users to the telephone legal advice service from consumer organisation, “Which?” Members of the public wishing to use a solicitor will be directed by QualitySolicitors.com’s legally trained case handlers to the best matching solicitor from within the organisation’s members firms.

Clarke & Son’s senior partner Peter Turner said,

“we are delighted that our high quality of service has been recognised by being accepted into this exclusive organisation. We have always prided ourselves on putting our clients first and this is recognition of that”.

QualitySolicitors.com Chief Executive and Barrister, Craig Holt, said,

“I am extremely pleased to welcome Clarke & Son into our alliance. For too long members of the public have had to face a lottery when choosing a solicitor. Recent events like the miners’ compensation scandal have shown us all that choosing the right solicitor is absolutely crucial. All our member firms are specifically selected for their exceptional quality and are then subject to continual public feedback, with any firm not meeting our high standards forced to leave the organisation. QualitySolicitors.com provides a long overdue resource where people can find a solicitor and be confident that they will both be of the highest quality and provide value for money”.

For more information, please contact:  Peter Turner, Senior Partner on Tel: 01256 320555

QualitySolicitors.com can be found at www.qualitysolicitors.com. Chief Executive, Craig Holt, can be contacted on 0845 50 50 025.
 

In the current economic climate redundancies are becoming more and more common. Both employers and employees are having to go through the compulsory redundancy process and although the procedures have relaxed slightly since April they can still cause problems, particularly for employers. In some cases the employer will be prepared to offer a “deal” to the employee so that the employment relationship can end on agreed terms without the stress caused by having to follow lengthy and sometimes overly formal procedures. However such a deal needs to be embodied in what is known as a Compromise Agreement, which is a specific type of Agreement, created and controlled by statute, designed to end employment relationships.

Essentially the Compromise Agreement will provide for the employee to receive a sum of money as compensation for loss of his or her job and in return the employee will agree not to pursue any further claims against the employer arising out of the employment or its termination.

The benefit for the employer is that they will often receive more than their strict legal entitlement, such as the statutory redundancy payment. The benefit for the employer is that the Agreement represents finality and it removes the risk of an expensive Employment Tribunal claim from the employer following termination of the employment.

A crucial part of the procedure for a Compromise Agreement is that the employee must take independent legal advice from his own Solicitor and the Agreement will contain a certificate from the Advisor that such advice has been given. This is designed to prevent employees being pressured into signing Agreements which are not in their best interests or which do not provide them with adequate compensation for the loss of their job.

Since the taking of legal advice is essential for the Agreement to be valid the employer will invariably make a reasonable contribution to the employee’s legal costs.

If you are facing redundancy or if your employer is talking to you about a Compromise Agreement then we can advise you on your position. Contact Nick Bowers, Partner for further information or advice on any aspect of Employment Law.

Clarke & Son LLP hosted a wine-tasting and dinner for a number of commercial clients and their wives at Caviste in Overton. Three Pinot Noirs and three Sauvignon Blancs were on the menu along with an excellent selection of refreshments.

Peter Turner, Senior Partner at Clarke & Son commented:

“We believe client loyalty is key to our business and the relationship we have built up with our clients over the years is what keeps the wheels of our industry rolling. I felt the evening was a great success with good wine, food and company.”

If you would like to learn more about Clarke & Son’s Commercial Services, please contact Peter Turner on Tel: 01256 320 555

On 21 April 2009, the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced the launch of the UK Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme (HMS), which is now available to borrowers.

The Scheme is designed to give homeowners suffering from a temporary loss of income breathing space. Eligible borrowers will be able to reduce their monthly mortgage interest payments for up to two years without being at risk of losing their home during that time.

The Lenders participating in the Scheme are: Lloyds Bank Group (which includes Halifax and Bank of Scotland), Northern Rock, the Royal Bank of Scotland (which includes NatWest and Ulster Bank), Bradford and Bingley, Cumberland Building Society, and the National Australia Bank Group (which includes Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank).

A number of other banks, building societies and specialist lenders have also confirmed that they will offer their customers HMS as soon as possible. These are Bank of Ireland (which includes Bristol and West), GMAC, GE Money, Kensington Mortgages, the Post Office and Standard Life Bank.

Lenders offering HMS will have the security of a Government guarantee if the borrower defaults.

At the same time, four other high street lenders, Barclays (including First Plus), HSBC, Nationwide and Santander (including Abbey and Alliance and Leicester) have all confirmed today they will offer comparable arrangements to HMS to their customers, while opting not to take up the Government guarantee. Customers of these institutions experiencing a reduction in income and willing to make regular monthly payments will receive a similar level of support and be encouraged to seek independent money advice.

Borrowers who are interested in applying for Homeowners Mortgage Support, or finding out about comparable arrangements should contact their lender in their first instance to check their eligibility.

For lenders offering HMS with the Government guarantee, the borrower must:

• Have bought their home before 1st December 2008;
• Be an owner-occupier - the scheme is not open to buy-to-let or investment properties
• Have an outstanding mortgage of less than £400,000 and savings of less than £16,000.
• Have a regular household income and should be able to make a minimum contribution of 30 per cent of the total interest payment
• Have talked through other options with their lender and have been making regular payments for at least five months.
• Have sought independent money advice.

The Government will continue to work with smaller lenders to encourage them to either offer the Scheme to their customers, or put comparable arrangements in place.

For more information on Buying and Selling your Home or Re-Mortgaging, please contact Paul Cowdery on Tel: 01256 320 555

The recent introduction of Energy Performance Certificates for all Commercial Properties being sold or rented from last October has led to a wave of providers to offer services at knock down prices, whilst not necessarily providing a legally valid certificate.  Please see the attached article for more information on how you can ensure your EPC provider is providing you with a valid certificate.

For more information on EPCs for Commercial Properties, please contact Charles Marchant-White on Tel: 01256 320 555.

is-your-epc-valid.pdf

The current uncertain financial climate is leading to more applications to vary Maintenance Orders which were made in more prosperous times. Agreements under Court Orders requiring (usually) the husband to pay maintenance to an ex-wife may not be sustainable due to the downturn in the economy because the husband may have had a pay cut, lost his job, etc. As a result ex-husbands are looking to renegotiate the amount they pay to their ex-wives.

A fluctuating economy also means that family lawyers are finding it increasingly difficulty to value and divide assets amongst spouses/civil partners. With a falling property market (usually) the main asset of the marriage being the matrimonial home is worth significantly less. Therefore it is more difficulty for it to provide enough funds to parting couples to support two separate households on divorce.

B Sankhla, Partner, and head of the family department at Clarke & Son LLP advises:

“Marrying couples should consider Pre-Nuptial Agreements in order to provide some economic certainty in the current uncertain economic conditions. The divorce Courts are more willing to honour agreements between parties made prior to or during the marriage.”

For more information on please contact Bhupendra Sankhla on Tel: 01256 320 555.

The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (TCEA 2007) contained provisions on a wide range of topics, including tribunals and inquiries, judicial appointments, enforcement of judgments and orders and debt management.

Part 3 of the TCEA 2007 replaces the ancient remedy of distress with a new system of commercial rent arrears recovery (CRAR). The Law Commission recommended that there should be a delay of six months between the TCEA 2007 receiving Royal Assent (19 July 2007) and the provisions relating to CRAR coming into force, to allow landlords time to become familiar with the changes.

On 17 March 2009, the Justice Minister made an announcement in Parliament on bailiff and enforcement law, but the announcement made no reference to CRAR. This has been queried informally with the Ministry of Justice which has advised that the Government also intends to implement CRAR in April 2012.

For more information on landlord and tenant issues, please contact Paul Cowdery on Tel: 01256 320 555