This year we will be closing our offices for the festive period at 1pm on Wednesday 23rd December 2020 and will re-open on Monday 4th January 2021. We take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. We look forward to working with you in the New Year.
The Current Situation The first national lockdown in March brought rapid and unexpected change to Family hearings. Gone were the attendance of all parties at the Court building and we swiftly moved to telephone hearings. Over time the court has also used video platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Skype for Business. The Court has … Continued
What is a Settlement Agreement? A settlement agreement is a legally binding agreement which sets out the terms of agreement to settle a potential or existing employment related dispute. Most commonly, such agreements are used to deal with termination of employment on mutually agreed terms. An employer may propose such an agreement in a situation … Continued
Those of you reading this who have followed our series of monochrome images highlighting some of the elements of our legal services may appreciate that we are ending the series with an image that perhaps is most associated with Darlington – a steam locomotion. It was natural that the series ended with this image with … Continued
Following government advice to commuters to avoid public transport and use alternative forms of transport to work, cycling retailers are reporting significant increases in the sale of new bicycles and increased demand for parts and servicing. Moreover, the Department for Transport and local authorities have expressed intention to invest heavily in cycle friendly transport infrastructure. … Continued
The lifting of lock down restrictions coupled with the stamp duty changes has seen a boom in the property market. As a result fraudsters are trying to take advantage of that situation. This has meant that there has been a huge increase in fraud attempts on Solicitors firm and their clients. This can range from … Continued
As a former Director and Head of the Wills & Probate team at Coles Solicitors for many years, it is extremely saddening to see that Kingly Solicitors Ltd, trading as Coles Solicitors, have been intervened by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This is a deeply distressing time for clients and the staff at Coles, many … Continued
The Government is introducing legislation to allow people to use video-conferencing technology for the witnessing of Wills being made during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ordinarily, a Will is required to be signed in the physical presence (or at least line of sight) of two witnesses which has caused a number of problems during the pandemic, especially … Continued
The Office of Public Guardian (OPG) has commenced a new digital service to help people acting as an attorney in England and Wales confirm that a Lasting Power of Attorney exists and to help update to financial institutions, healthcare providers and other interested organisations. Once a lasting power of attorney (LPA) is registered, attorneys and … Continued
In England & Wales, a person is generally able to write a Will to distribute their possessions and wealth as they wish to do so or, if they have not written a Will, the Intestacy Rules stipulate who will inherit. There may however be occasions when there is cause for concern and someone may wish … Continued
