Who Gets the House in a Divorce?
As divorce lawyers we are asked, often at the first meeting with a separating husband or wife, whether a husband or wife will get the house in the divorce financial settlement. It is a perfectly reasonable question to ask your family law solicitor when embarking on no-fault divorce proceedings.
For expert advice on divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Divorce financial settlements and the family home
It can be frustrating for both the family lawyer and a separating husband or wife if a divorce solicitor can’t answer the question ‘’who gets the house?’’ at a first meeting. Sadly, solicitors have a bit of a bad reputation for not answering a question with a straightforward reply but that’s not because they don’t want to answer but often down to needing more information before being able to give an informed legal opinion.
What information is needed to decide who gets the house in a divorce?
A lot of the information needed to help guide you on who is likely to get the house in a divorce financial settlement is pretty basic but not everyone knows all the answers at a first meeting with their divorce solicitor. The necessary information is:
How much is the house worth – this can be your estimate rather than a valuation
Is there a mortgage? If so, how much is outstanding on the mortgage and how much does the mortgage cost each month? Are the payments due to go up?
Is there an endowment policy linked to the mortgage? If so, how much are the monthly payments and what is the surrender value of the policy?
Are there any other loans or debts secured against the house?
Did any family members lend or give you money to help buy the house or to fund home improvements?
Was the house owned by you or your spouse before you started living together or before you got married?
Do you have a prenuptial agreement or postnup (after marriage) agreement in place that says how your property will be split if you get divorced?
What other property, savings, pensions, and investments do you and your husband or wife or civil partner own, and what do you both earn?
Do you have children? This is relevant as having children affects the size of your housing requirements and you may also feel constrained in your choice of relocation by school catchment areas or shared parenting arrangements
How much do you both need to spend to buy new houses? The answer may depend on whether you or your husband or wife will be looking after the children full-time or if one of you plans to move out of the area
[related_posts]
Don’t worry if you don’t have the information to help decide who should get the house in the divorce
The main thing to remember is that you are not alone. Lots of people are in the same position and don’t know the value of investments or what sort of mortgage they have or the amount outstanding on loans. This can be the case whether or not you own property and investments with your spouse or if the family home and all the investments are held in your spouse’s name.
If you can’t get the information then your divorce solicitor can help. If you are worried that your husband or wife hasn’t given you all the information and paperwork or if you are concerned that they have hidden investments or not told you about extra bank accounts then your family law solicitor can carry out investigations to make sure there is full financial disclosure.
Talk to a divorce solicitor about who gets the house in a divorce
If you are thinking about splitting up it is never too early to talk to a family law solicitor to explore your options. Seeing a divorce solicitor isn’t just about sorting out who gets the house. You will also need to talk about other financial matters, such as spousal maintenance, get advice on childcare arrangements or, if you are planning on getting divorced, get help with the no-fault divorce proceedings.
Getting specialist legal help at an early stage in your separation can pay dividends as it can reduce conflict by helping you both understand your legal options and save money by reducing potential areas of conflict.
Seeing a family law solicitor for an initial consultation and review may not be as expensive as you might fear and in the long term could save you a lot of stress and fear of the unknown legal territory.
At Evolve Family Law we believe in providing trusted advice for a transparent fee. Knowing how worrying it can be to meet a divorce solicitor for the first time we offer a fixed fee comprehensive initial review of your situation.
At that meeting, we can explore your circumstances and what information is needed to help you come to informed decisions on what will work for you. Sometimes people automatically think they want to keep the house but, after they have had time to reflect, they realise they either want a fresh start or want to release cash. What is right for you and your family is different from what is right for the next couple. That is why bespoke early advice is needed so you don’t get railroaded into quick decisions about your long-term family future.
Who does get the house when you divorce?
Often the answer to who gets the family home lies in what other assets there are and choices and priorities. If you want the house, it may mean that you don’t get a share of your spouse’s pension. That is why it is so important to know how much everything is worth before deciding who gets the house. Often, a husband or wife will say that their spouse has said they can have the house. That sounds great, maybe even generous, but when you explore the fact that your spouse’s pension is worth 5 times the equity in the family home, or that you won’t be able to afford to stay in the house because of the mortgage payments or household bills, then getting the house doesn’t seem such a great deal.
As frustrating as it may sound sometimes it pays to reflect and take your time to decide on who gets the house. That way, if you do end up with the family home, you can be sure that it is a fair divorce financial settlement.
For expert advice on divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Robin Charrot
May 19, 2023
·
6 minute read
How Much Does a Divorce Cost?
You would be right to think that the simple question ‘how much does a divorce cost?’ deserves a straightforward reply. However, very few law firms publish price information on their websites. Evolve Family Law was one of the first law firms to publish fixed family law and divorce fees so clients get an idea of costs before calling or emailing us.
For expert advice on divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
The cost of no-fault divorce proceedings
If you are applying for a no-fault divorce as a single applicant the cost of the divorce proceedings can be found here.
At Evolve Family Law we believe in keeping things simple so our fixed fee no-fault divorce quote includes:
Our legal fees
VAT on our fees
The court fee payable to the family court when the divorce proceedings are issued at the court
What our fixed fee divorce package does not include is:
Relationship breakdown comprehensive legal review
Children arrangements advice and applying to the court for a child arrangement order
Divorce financial settlement advice and applying to the court for a divorce financial settlement or asking the court to convert a financial agreement into a financial consent order
We offer a fixed-fee relationship breakdown review and a range of fixed fees for converting a financial agreement into a court order. For work where we can't offer a fixed fee because we don’t know how much work is involved, we publish the hourly charge out rates of our family law solicitors. We also discuss the potential issues or complexities of any contested children law application (such as an application for a relocation order or for a prohibited steps order) or the complicated features of a financial dispute (such as the existence of a family business or an argument over pre-marriage contributions or the relevance of an international prenuptial agreement) so we can give you a bespoke quote and an idea of timescales.
Are all divorce proceedings fixed fee?
On rare occasions we can't offer a fixed fee divorce package but, on those occasions, we can provide you with a quote so you understand our fees and the reasons why you need a bespoke quote.
Examples of when you may need a bespoke divorce quote include:
You do not know where your husband or wife is living so service of the divorce paperwork is not straightforward
Your husband or wife is living outside the UK
There is a dispute about which country you should get divorced in as there is potentially a choice of divorce jurisdictions
You want to ask the court to make a divorce costs order – this type of application is rare in no-fault divorce proceedings
[related_posts]
Transparency and fees
When Evolve Family Law was set up in 2015 by founders Robin Charrot and Louise Halford, they didn’t want to create just another law firm. They knew they wanted Evolve to be different with a vision to put clients (and not the fees) at the heart of what their family law solicitors do by being trusted legal advisors, and charging a fair and transparent level of fees.
What that means is that whatever the nature of your family law query you get bespoke advice tailored to your personal situation at a cost that you can understand. What do we mean by that? To give examples:
Robin Charrot met someone who was thinking about starting divorce proceedings. After talking through their circumstances, we realised that he didn’t actually want a divorce and there was no legal or financial reason to push ahead with one. Better for the client to wait until he was ready, whether that is in a few weeks, or a couple of years. The answer might have been different if the client had been a business owner with an expanding company or other assets that could increase substantially in value meaning that delay was financially prejudicial to him
A lady was clear she wanted a divorce. She knew from the outset that her divorce costs would be a set fixed fee. That meant she could budget for the costs, without worrying about how much her divorce legal costs might add up to
Every divorce is different but our fixed fees and pricing guide are available online to give you an idea of the costs involved so that you can contact us with confidence.
For expert advice on divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Robin Charrot
May 18, 2023
·
4 minute read
Getting the Wording in your Will Right
Where there is a Will there is a way, well that is the old adage. It isn’t always true though. That’s because if you are writing your own Will mistakes can be made that aren’t immediately obvious. Sometimes it is only when a Will solicitor is reviewing a handmade Will, or applying for probate to sort out an estate, that the problem is discovered.
For expert advice on Wills and probate call our team of specialist probate lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Will writing and avoiding mistakes
When people give instructions on their new Will most are concerned about getting the addresses of executors and beneficiaries correct without realising that their proposed Will doesn’t actually do what they want. If the problem isn’t spotted before their new Will is finalised it could cause massive heartache for the family.
One common example of Will writing mistakes and the importance of getting the wording in your Will right is leaving your estate to your ‘children.’ You know what you mean by your children but legally your estate will go to your biological children, excluding a much-loved step-child whom you may have brought up as your own and never intended to exclude from your Will.
The same sort of problem can occur with grandchildren when your children’s relationships are complicated and you have a number of children in your family who are not biologically related to you but whom you view and treat as your grandchildren because you are so close to them.
When a Will solicitor is writing a Will it is important to understand family dynamics to make sure that the wording in your Will reflects your family circumstances and your wishes.
You may think that a Will mistake can be sorted out by your executors but that involves all interested beneficiaries agreeing to the change and extra work by the probate solicitor. Alternatively, if the excluded relative has the grounds to do so they could challenge the Will and make a claim against the estate. That can be expensive and time-consuming and the last thing that the Will writer anticipated when writing their Will.
[related_posts]
Will solicitors can't over-emphasise how important it is to consider your family circumstances when writing a Will. For example:
If you are in a cohabiting relationship with your partner, they are not legally your husband or wife and so should not be referred to as your spouse in your Will. You may still have a legal spouse if you have not finalised the divorce proceedings and obtained a final order of divorce
If you leave your estate equally between your children and one passes away before you do so then your remaining children will inherit your estate. That means your grandchildren from your late child will miss out and will not get a share of your estate even though their cousins will eventually inherit a share of your estate via their parents
Leaving money to named children can be a problem if you have any additional children because they will lose out unless you change your Will when they are born. With the work that comes with a new arrival, it can be easy to forget to review and change your Will. A Will solicitor tries to avoid this sort of problem by naming any non-biological children but also ensuring that the definition of biological children includes any additional children you may have
Giving a specific legacy to a beneficiary can result in Will problems as you may not own the specific asset at the date of death. That means the beneficiary gets nothing even though that is not what you intended as you simply forgot to review your Will when you sold the specific asset or the property creating an unfair result for the named beneficiary
Leaving a large legacy to one person before giving your residuary estate to relatives can be an issue. If the legacy is large you need to continue to review your Will provisions because if, by the date of your death, your estate has reduced in value (for example because of care home fees) your entire estate may be eaten up with the large legacy to an old friend leaving your residual beneficiaries with little or nothing because the old friend’s legacy has to be paid before the residuary beneficiaries receive anything
You may think that Will errors and wording mistakes are exceptionally rare but that isn’t the case. Our experience as solicitors who specialise in preparing Wills and helping families sort out probate and legacies after loved ones have passed away say that it is surprisingly common for mistakes to be made in Wills. Most people think their financial affairs are straightforward and so problems won’t crop up in their Will but sadly homemade Wills don’t always do what the Will writer wanted and may cause a lot of extra grief when the Will writer passes away.
Get advice from a professional when preparing a Will can save you and your family a lot of money when your estate is sorted out. The cost of getting your Will prepared by a specialist Will solicitor can also save you money during your life as your Will may not need to be changed as often. What’s more the cost and speed of getting a professionally prepared Will is often a lot less than you might think and gives you and your family peace of mind.
For expert advice on Wills and probate call our team of specialist probate lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Chris Strogen
May 12, 2023
·
5 minute read
Parental Disputes on Schools and School Fees
After a child’s health and happiness, there is nothing more important to parents than their child’s education. Getting your child into the school of your choice can be more challenging when you are separated or divorced from the child’s other parent.
For expert advice on children and family law call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Parental disputes and schooling issues
Children lawyer, Louise Halford, has helped many parents resolve where their child should be schooled, and sometimes just as importantly, who should pay the school fees. The sorts of parental disputes over education and schooling include disagreements on:
Whether a child should be state or privately educated and if educated privately who should pay the fees
Whether a child should be home educated by one parent
Whether a child should attend a school with a religious affiliation
The specific school, with issues over school catchment area and parent’s homes and the feasibility of mid-week contact visits if the school choice is some distance away combined with debates over the Ofsted rankings of potential schools
Whether a child should board or be a day pupil
Whether a child should have a SEND assessment and be mainstream educated or attend a specialist school to address health concerns such as a child being on the autistic spectrum or dyslexic
whether a child should move to a new school, for example if a parent’s new partner’s children attend a different local state school or are being privately educated
Who decides on the choice of school?
Both parents have equal rights and responsibilities for their child if they share parental responsibility for their offspring. Parental Responsibility means parents have an equal say in the choice of school.
If parents can’t reach an agreement after discussion or mediation then ultimately the court can decide and make a specific issue order identifying the school that the child should attend.
The court decision is based on what the judge thinks is in the child’s best interests taking into account a range of statutory factors. That is why it is important that the judge knows your child’s personality and likes and dislikes as if your child is sporty and not academic that might influence the judge in deciding that a school with a focus on exam results might not be the best environment for them. When presenting an argument for a particular school pastoral care can be as important as a focus on sports or academic achievement.
[related_posts]
Who pays the school fees?
Most parents’ fear on separation is that their child may not be able to go to the planned private school or may have to come out of private education and move into the state system.
The Child Maintenance Service can’t order a parent to pay school fees as part of general child support but the court can make a school fees order to make one parent either pay or contribute towards private school fees and ‘extras’, such as uniforms, music lessons, or the annual school ski trip.
The court looks at a range of factors when deciding whether or not to make a school fees order, including the affordability of private education.
What next?
The new school year, the graduation from nursery to primary school or from primary to secondary school may seem a long time away but all of a sudden choice of schooling will become a pressing issue. That is why separated or divorced parents need to start to talk early and do their research on suitable school options to hopefully reach an agreement on what type or specific school is in your child’s best interests.
If an agreement can’t be reached then, after mediation, either parent could start court proceedings. The court will try to decide on children law applications as quickly as it can but inevitably court timetables aren’t as quick as parents ideally want. That means that it pays to think and talk early so the judge has time to make a decision on the choice of school or payment of school fees well in advance of the new school year.
For expert advice on children and family law call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Louise Halford
Apr 26, 2023
·
4 minute read
How to Sell a House to a Family Member
According to the latest research householders over the age of 50 own about 75% of the country’s homes. That’s a lot of equity tied up in property and can create a generational divide with parents and grandparents having too much space and newlyweds looking to start a family not able to afford to buy a first property without assistance or separated couples not being able to create 2 homes for themselves and their children after a divorce.
Our private client solicitors are often asked about estate planning when writing Wills and our family law solicitors are asked for innovative solutions in divorce financial settlements. In this blog, we answer some questions on sharing property wealth with the next generation.
For expert advice on family law and estate planning call our team of specialist lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Housing options
As private client and family solicitors, we come across these types of housing issues on a regular basis:
A husband or wife is getting divorced and can’t afford, on their own, to take over the mortgage to stay in the family home
An older couple wants to make sure that their son or daughter can get on the housing ladder but is concerned about their deposit being kept safe from their child’s partner
A family is thinking of moving in together so there is a three-generation household
A person is thinking of buying a house and doesn’t know if their partner should be a joint owner or not
An older person is thinking of downsizing and either transferring their house to a child or gifting money to a child or grandchildren
[related_posts]
Property solutions
No two families are the same and so one solution doesn’t fit every family. Generally, there are several property solutions, for example:
If a husband or wife can’t afford to stay in the family home after a divorce either because they can’t afford to take over the existing mortgage or to borrow more money to buy off a former partner then a parent or other family member could stand as guarantor to the mortgage
If a couple want to get their child on the property ladder, they could lend the child money with the loan secured against the house. The loan can suit the family, for example, interest may or may not be payable or interest could be accumulated and only paid if the house is sold
If three generations are moving in together the property could be jointly owned by all the adults with a deed of trust setting out the details of property ownership or the mid-generation couple could be the legal owners with the older generation having a right to occupy the house
A person buying a house could either buy jointly with their partner or on their own – if the property owner is in a relationship, they should sort out a cohabitation agreement whether or not their partner is a joint owner or lives at the property with them
If a person is thinking of giving property or money away, they can do so during their life through what is known as lifetime gifting. Gifts can be made outright or money can be put in trust for family members. Alternatively, the gift could be made outright but protected by the family member receiving the gift asking their partner or spouse to sign a cohabitation agreement or post-nuptial agreement
What property and estate-planning solution fits?
The right ‘’property solution’’ is down to a number of factors, for example:
Inheritance tax implications of making a gift or putting money into a trust
The need to protect family money from potential financial claims on the separation or divorce of a family member
Family circumstances and personal preferences
Given the range of options, it is always sensible to ask for help from specialist private client, estate planning, and family solicitors before gifting money to family members or moving in with a partner. Early bespoke assistance can make sure that you make the right decisions for yourself and your family and protect your loved ones.
For expert advice on family law and estate planning call our team of specialist lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Robin Charrot
Apr 13, 2023
·
4 minute read
Ellie Stokes Joins the Family Team at Evolve Family Law
Evolve is delighted to announce that family law solicitor Ellie Stokes has joined the team at Evolve Family Law.
Ellie previously worked in Staffordshire where she maintains strong ties and plans to continue to work with family law clients in Staffordshire as well as with new clients in Cheshire and the Greater Manchester area.
As a new recruit who professes to enjoy quizzing, we quizzed Ellie about her reasons for joining Evolve Family Law and her career plans:
Why Evolve Family Law?
I was looking to join a niche family law practice in the North West and Evolve Family Law fit the bill as I wanted the opportunity to gain experience from senior family lawyers. With founders Robin Charrot and Louise Halford’s nearly 50 years of combined legal experience and the friendly supportive team at Evolve, I had no hesitation in saying yes to the move.
The first week at Evolve has already been insightful and I feel like I am learning so much directly from my colleagues. Judging from my first week, I just know I am going to learn so much and enjoy the variety of family law work at Evolve.
Your path to becoming a solicitor?
My working life started at McDonalds flipping burgers but with a degree in International Management with Spanish I knew that I needed to find a career that suited a tidy and organised mind whilst allowing me to get to meet people. A career in law seemed to combine the two.
Time spent as a legal intern in the USA working at the California Innocence Project confirmed that qualifying as a solicitor was the right career path for me. The internship was challenging and combined both legal know-how with helping those incarcerated who had nowhere else to turn to for help. I learned a lot and think that my time in the USA made me the advocate that I am today; feisty and prepared to stand up for what is right.
Why family law?
Whilst training as a solicitor, I worked in a variety of departments, some of which I enjoyed, others less so. However, I was still yet to find an area of law which I found resonated with me most as a person.
Just by chance, I was asked to sit behind a barrister on a contested final hearing in relation to an application for a child arrangement order. Within 15 minutes of that hearing, I knew family law was for me and luckily, I was able to do my final seat in family law and qualify as a family solicitor.
I’ve always been passionate about making a difference in people’s lives in my work or making people’s lives easier during potentially the most awful times of their lives. I feel like family law fits the bill in that sense.
What areas of family law do you specialise in?
I advise on the full range of family law because I love the variety but I have particular expertise in financial claims on relationship breakdown and in helping resolve the financial and property claims of non-married couples, LGBTQ+ partners, and married and civil partners.
As a family lawyer, I am keen to get the message across that your legal rights are very different if you are in a cohabiting relationship rather than if you are married or in a civil partnership. Cohabitees have to rely on property rights. However, if you are married or in a civil partnership the court has wide discretion to make orders that meet your needs rather than orders based on property and trust law.
In the LGBTQ+ community, there is a particular need to understand your family law rights and options, such as the use of cohabitation agreements, civil partnership and prenuptial agreements, as well as the need for specialist children law advice on topics such as parental responsibility for your children or achieving parenthood through international surrogacy.
In every family law matter, you are helping someone at an important point in their life whether that is:
New relationships – with cohabitation agreements, declarations of trust, prenuptial agreements, or changes to their Will
Extending the family – with advice on parental responsibility and child arrangement orders, surrogacy, and parental orders
Relationship breakdowns – by trying to help couples reach a property or financial resolution that works for them by providing constructive legal help focussed on what can be agreed to enable both of them to move on with their lives
What gets you up in the morning?
Other than my 5 alarms, a large cappuccino is my answer to getting going and seated at my desk. Once I am at work, I am kept busy with lots of client calls, meetings, document preparation, and court hearings. No 2 days are ever the same and that is what makes life as a family law solicitor so interesting.
I’m at the start of my career but I look forward to the day when I am advising on international surrogacy using my Spanish language skills as I have a keen interest in this subject. Until then I generally find myself knee-deep in financial disclosure trying to unravel complex financial paperwork. For example, when 1 party to a marriage or civil partnership has moved money or assets or is a director and shareholder in a family business and there is a need to understand movements and discrepancies in a director’s loan account.
Is there life outside Evolve Family Law?
There is definitely life outside of Evolve and family law. Whilst I live in Staffordshire, I am an ardent Liverpool football fan and I get to all the matches I can. I combine my love of football with being a lead guitarist in a local band and being a quiz buff. My claim to fame is winning ITV’s tipping Point and being cast for ITV’s The Chase. My ultimate quizzing goal is to be an Egghead though I have got some way to go in achieving that ambition.
For expert advice on family law call our team of specialist lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
[related_posts]
Robin Charrot
Apr 06, 2023
·
6 minute read
Do You Know How Your Lawyer is Charging You?
At Evolve Family Law we believe in being upfront about charges. That helps you and us.
Being open about legal charges means you know how much your family lawyer or private client solicitor is charging you. In this article, founder Robin Charrot offers insight into some of the outmoded charging structures used by most law firms and explains how the Evolve pricing philosophy is different.
For expert advice on divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Units of time
For work that is charged on a ‘time spent’ basis, all other law firms that Evolve’s lawyers have ever come across charge per hour, but using 6-minute ‘units’ of time.
So, if a phone call takes 2 minutes you get charged for 6 minutes of your solicitor’s time and with a 7-minute call you get charged for 12 minutes of your lawyer’s hourly rate, and so on. That may strike you as unfair. We agree. Evolve has been charging in ‘units’ of 1 minute since we started in business set up our offices in Holmes Chapel and North Manchester. That means if something takes a minute, you only get charged for a minute of our time, with the charge based on our published hourly rates.
Fixed fees or units of time billing
At Evolve Family Law we offer some of our services on a fixed fee basis and other services are charged on a time-spent basis. Evolve was one of the first law firms in the country to publish our fixed fees and hourly rates on our website.
Some of our family law and private client work is particularly suited to fixed fee charging, such as:
Divorce
Agreed financial court orders
Standard Wills
Lasting Powers of Attorney
Preliminary advice on prenups or postnups
For a full list of our fixed-fee services take a look here.
Other types of family law work are not possible to charge on a fixed fee basis. For example, some child arrangement order applications involve 1 or 2 hearings whilst others involve the instruction of experts and several more court hearings, such as a finding of fact hearings and a welfare hearing. Likewise, a contested divorce financial settlement hearing may take a day or a week of court time for the judge to decide on the appropriate financial court order because of the complexity of the assets and the parties’ circumstances.
As every family situation is different it isn’t possible to devise a fair fixed fee structure for all types of family law work as the couples who decide to settle early or limit the points in dispute would be penalised as the fixed fees would need to encompass the whole range of straightforward or complex children law or financial court proceedings. In addition, it isn’t always readily apparent when first instructed, just how complicated matters are. For example, a spouse may try to hide assets in financial settlement court proceedings or a children’s law application for a child arrangement order may involve allegations of parental alienation.
[related_posts]
How does unit of time billing work?
We welcome questions about how our fees work as we believe it is best to be clear and upfront about costs so you know how the unit of time billing works and can budget for legal services.
Our family law solicitors and private client lawyers’ hourly rates are published on our website and contained in our client care information. Each minute is charged at the fee earners’ hourly charge-out rate.
When you first contact us, you may have been recommended to a particular solicitor or you may be happy to be guided by us as to who would be best placed to help you so we match your needs with the most cost-effective fee earner for you.
Although you will always have a named solicitor working for you, we make sure that if we can delegate work to a junior fee earner we do so. For example, whilst you may need the knowledge and experience of a specialist child abduction solicitor who has handled lots of complex children law proceedings there is no reason why they should be preparing a court bundle when it is cheaper for you if one of our junior solicitors or paralegals assists with this type of task.
At Evolve Family Law we are acutely conscious that unit-of-time billing works to the advantage of slow solicitors who take their leisure over completing legal paperwork. We don’t operate like that. Whilst we deliver an excellent standard of legal help we don’t ponder whilst the clock ticks away. We are efficient because we know that our clients have a right to expect that when they are paying by the minute. Our efficiency and level of client service are rewarded not just in prompt payment but by clients recommending us to their friends and family.
For expert help with divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Robin Charrot
Mar 17, 2023
·
5 minute read
Do I Need a Lasting Power of Attorney & How Much Will it Cost?
Do you have a Lasting Power of Attorney? Everyone needs a Lasting Power of Attorney and no one can afford to not have one in place. Sadly, most of us don’t realise how important a Lasting Power of Attorney is until there is an accident or decisions need to be taken to help an elderly relative.
For expert advice on Lasting Powers of Attorney call our team of specialist LPA lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
A Lasting Power of Attorney authorises nominated members of your family and/or trusted friends to act on your behalf if you are not capable of making your own decisions.
There are 2 different types of Lasting Power of Attorney:
Health and welfare – this type of Lasting Power of Attorney allows your nominated family or friends (called attorneys) to make decisions about your medical treatment and care needs if you are not able to do so because you lack capacity
Property and financial affairs – this type of Lasting Power of Attorney allows your attorneys to manage your financial affairs (for example to manage your bank account, pay bills, or sell your house) if you lack the capacity to make your own decisions
You can do one or both types of Lasting Power of Attorney – the decision is yours.
The Lasting Power of Attorney is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. A health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney won’t be used unless there comes a time when you lack the capacity to make your own decisions. Provided you have the capacity you can cancel a Lasting Power of Attorney or nominate new attorneys.
Do I need a Lasting Power of Attorney?
Most people think that an elderly relative might need a Lasting Power of Attorney but don’t think that they need one. However, no one knows when you might need an attorney to quickly act for you, either temporarily (after a ski or car accident) or permanently. That is why everyone needs a Lasting Power of Attorney to cover the what-ifs.
What you can’t do is wait until you or your relative has lost capacity (either as a result of an accident, health scare, or dementia) and then ask an LPA lawyer to prepare a Lasting Power of Attorney.
To give an example of why a Lasting Power of Attorney is important take the example of a business owner, keen on winter sports and skiing off-piste, who was separated from his wife and living with a new partner. If he were to have an accident and lose capacity then without a financial Lasting Power of Attorney his business might quickly get into trouble as there would be no one with the power to handle matters temporarily (to pay bills and salaries) or long term basis (to employ a manager or sort out a sale of the business). Without a health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney, the man’s next of kin would be his estranged wife, rather than his girlfriend, parents, or siblings. Lasting Powers of Attorney are essential to give peace of mind.
[related_posts]
What happens if there is no Lasting Power of Attorney and capacity is lost
If capacity is lost before a Lasting Power of Attorney is in place an application can be made to the Court of Protection for a deputy to be appointed to look after the affairs of the incapacitated person. The appointment of a deputy costs more in legal fees than drawing up a Lasting Power of Attorney. In addition, there is likely to be a delay between the Court of Protection application and the appointment of the deputy. During that period your friends and family won’t be able to access bank accounts to help manage your financial affairs and pay essential bills or make health or care decisions for you.
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a bit like a Will; everyone needs one at any age, even if none of us like to think of accidents, dementia, or death.
How much does a Lasting Power of Attorney cost?
A bespoke Will and Lasting Power of Attorney drawn up by an experienced and regulated solicitor isn’t as much as you might fear.
Very few law firms publish price information on their websites. Evolve is one of the first law firms to publish fixed fees for the preparation of Powers of Attorney so you have an idea of our charges before making a call or emailing us. Take a look at Our Prices | Standard Fixed Fees.
The Evolve Family Law fixed fees mean you get private client Lasting Power of Attorney assistance tailored to your personal situation, based on what is best for you in return for charges that are affordable and you can understand.
Everyone’s personal and financial circumstances are different and that is why it is so important that everyone has protection in place to protect themselves and their family.
For expert advice on Lasting Powers of Attorney call our team of specialist LPA lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Chris Strogen
Mar 01, 2023
·
5 minute read
Applying for Probate
When a family member passes away, with or without leaving a Will, the process of sorting out the personal and financial affairs of the deceased can seem overwhelming. This is often not helped by the need to obtain probate before the family can access funds and distribute the estate in accordance with the Will.
In this article, specialist private client lawyer, Chris Strogen, offers guidance on what probate is and how to go about applying for it.
For expert advice on Wills and probate call our team of specialist probate lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
What is probate?
When someone dies their assets and property (known as their estate) are left in limbo until someone gets the legal right to deal with their property and possessions by applying for probate and obtaining a grant of representation or letters of administration.
How do you apply for probate?
Normally, the probate application process involves these stages:
Check and see if there is a Will – the Will may be kept with other important papers, at the bank or a solicitor’s office. If there is a Will the people authorised to sort out the deceased’s financial affairs (known as the executors) will apply for probate. If there is no Will then family members can apply for the grant
Estimate the value of the estate – this is necessary so you know if inheritance tax is likely to be payable by the estate
Pay any inheritance tax due – this needs to be sorted out before applying for probate
Complete and submit a probate application form and where necessary an inheritance tax form
What happens after probate is granted?
The executors will need to:
Pay any remaining inheritance tax that is payable
Pay any debts
Collect any property, for example, selling a share portfolio or a family home or investments
Distribute the estate, either under the terms of the Will or, if there is no Will, under the intestacy rules
Do you have to get probate?
Sometimes it is possible to sort out a deceased’s financial affairs without applying for probate. For example:
If the deceased person did not own any property or property was jointly held and passed automatically to the survivor
The deceased held a joint bank account with a husband, wife, or partner so the savings or bank account passed automatically to the joint account holder
The deceased’s bank may consider the account balance small enough to release without the formality of probate
[related_posts]
Is getting probate straightforward?
The complexity of the probate process depends on how complex the deceased’s estate, family dynamics, and Will is. Sometimes getting probate is straightforward but there are often things to sort out or check such as:
Entitlement to bereavement allowance
Whether it is in the family’s best interests to change a Will after death (known as a deed of variation). Executing a deed of variation can result in inheritance tax savings
Resolve any inheritance claims by family or dependants who want to challenge the Will or do not think that they will receive reasonable financial provision under the intestacy rules
Obtaining a presumption of death certificate
Sorting out life insurance and pension claims – these benefits may or may not pass under the terms of the deceased’s Will
Sorting out the creation and administration of any Trusts created in the Will
Changing the appointment of Executors
How much does probate cost?
Some people have complex finances and businesses and there is therefore a lot of legal work to do to get probate. However, even if the deceased’s estate is not complex, it often pays for executors to get specialist legal help to make sure that the estate does not pay more than it needs to in inheritance tax and that the estate is distributed correctly. If you need help in applying for probate call Chris Strogen at Evolve Family Law for a quote.
For expert advice on Wills and probate call our team of specialist probate lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.
Chris Strogen
Feb 21, 2023
·
4 minute read
Can't find what you're looking for?
Getting in contact with Evolve Family Law could not be easier.
We put a lot of legal information on our website and if you have a single question about your situation, you should find an answer in our blog here.
If you need a greater level of help, please use this form and one of our team will call you to make an appointment. Please note that we cannot offer Legal aid.
Unfortunately due to the level of single question enquiries we receive, we cannot guarantee to provide written answers to individual questions posted via this enquiry form.
1
Call us on 0345 222 8 222
2
Email us at info@evolvefamilylaw.co.uk