Proctor Moore Solicitors will be closed during the Christmas period from 5:00 pm Friday 21st December 2018 and open for business as usual 9:00 am Wednesday 2nd January 2019.
We would like to wish you a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Proctor Moore Solicitors will be closed during the Christmas period from 5:00 pm Friday 21st December 2018 and open for business as usual 9:00 am Wednesday 2nd January 2019.
We would like to wish you a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Litigants in person have the right to “reasonable assistance” from a McKenzie friend. The assistance a McKenzie friend can provide however is limited. The practice of permitting litigants in person the assistance of a McKenzie friend developed in the county courts (as they were called until 22 April 2014). With increasing numbers of litigants in person, it has now spread into the higher courts.
The McKenzie Friend is a “lay person”, however, in principle a practising lawyer who is not on the record could act as a McKenzie friend, subject to observing any relevant professional conduct rules.
The Court of Appeal held that the judge had been wrong to refuse the husband litigant in person in contested divorce proceedings voluntary assistance from an Australian barrister working for the firm of solicitors who had been acting for the husband previously (McKenzie v McKenzie [1970] 3 All ER 1034).
A McKenzie friend has no right to exercise rights of audience and no right to conduct litigation.
McKenzie friends may assist the litigant in person in court by making notes, quietly making suggestions and giving advice, however, they cannot address the court.
A McKenzie friend may assist the litigant with advice or administrative matters out of court, but cannot manage or conduct the case, or sign court documents.
On 25 February 2016, the Judicial Executive Board issued a consultation paper, which proposed reforms to the existing guidance for McKenzie Friends. Possible reforms included:
1. Codifying existing guidance into formal court rules.
2. Introducing a code of conduct for McKenzie Friends which would ensure that they acknowledge a duty to the court and a duty of confidentiality in relation to the litigation.
3. Prohibiting fee recovery by paid McKenzie Friends.
On 15 September 2017, it was reported that the judiciary is set to reassess the proposals. This announcement came as a result of the large number of responses to the consultation from a number of bodies, including the Law Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
As recently reported Bruce Forsyth left his entire estate to his wife to avoid inheritance tax!
To explain, no inheritance tax is payable on assets passing from one spouse to another. This is known as ‘Spouse Relief’. Mrs Forsyth has inherited £17million so the question is what happens after her death? To say that the late Mr Forsyth has avoided inheritance tax by leaving his entire estate to his wife is misleading because almost certainly inheritance tax will be payable upon her death and that includes his £17 million fortune. In other words inheritance tax has been deferred and not avoided. Inheritance tax is 40% above threshold i.e. £325,000.00 or in case of married couples £650,000.00.
To give all assets to remaining spouse so that no inheritance tax may not be the best inheritance tax advice. There are tax advantages to drafting a Will. Whilst a Will is not a tax planning tool it can be structured in a tax-efficient manner but many other important benefits may be gained.
The most obvious benefit to having a Will is that a testator’s assets can be disposed of as they wish, making sure that the persons they wish to benefit actually do benefit because without a Will this may not happen.
If you have any questions or concerns about how and when to plan for your estate please feel free to contact me on 02083643111 or xen@35.242.129.174.
Xen Andreou, LLB (Hons), Principal, Solicitor Advocate
Proctor Moore Solicitors
You may find yourself in a situation where you owe a person or a company money (creditor).
If this happens you must not ignore the reality of the situation. The worse thing to do is bury your head in the sand. The chances are the situation will not go away and will certainly advance (with or without your cooperation). It is always good for you to seek legal advice at the outset. There are firms that provide free initial consultation or a fixed fee*
Whatever the case it is very important you seek legal advice and I cannot stress this enough. Obtaining the right legal advice can save you a lot of time, money and stress.
If you owe the money then you should try to negotiate terms. If you can pay a lump sum then you may be able to negotiate a discount but this depends on the situation. If you have trouble paying the debt then you should communicate this to the creditor and negotiate a payment plan suitable for you.
If you wish to challenge the debt then you should set out your reasons to the creditor without delay.
If you do nothing then the creditor does have an option to issue a claim and the reason for this is to seek a judgement through the courts. The creditor will need to go through a court process. Once the claim form is issued the clock starts ticking. You will have 14 days to reply to the claim and do have the option for an additional 14 days. If you wish to dispute the claim you have to file with the court a defence and failure to do so gives the creditor the opportunity to apply for judgement.
The judgment takes the creditor closer to recovering the money from you.
You have 28 days to pay the judgement otherwise it will remain on your credit record for 6 years (unpaid or settled). This can have serious implications if you try to obtain any credit.
If you still wish to dispute the debt even after judgement obtained then you will need to make an application through the courts.
Whatever stage your debt matter is at, from initial default letter from creditor to judgement we can help.
*If you would like to discuss the above further please feel free to contact me on xen@35.242.129.174 or 02083643111. Quote ref XA/0101/DA for free initial consultation.
A new department opened at Proctor Moore Solicitors specialising in Personal Injury and Immigration. Here is some information about services we offer and we have provided fixed fees regarding our immigration.
PERSONAL INJURY
Employer’s liability: These are work related accidents with various types of injuries sustained in the course of your employment.
Road Traffic Accidents: We can represent you in your RTA whether you are the passenger, pedestrian, driver who has sustained damage and personal injury resulting from the accident. We can also represent you for cases where the driver at fault is uninsured or has caused the accident but drove off (untraced).
Product Liability: If you have purchased defective goods which were not of satisfactory standard and as a result of which you sustained personal injury then we would like to hear from you.
Occupiers Liability: If you are a visitor at a premises and during the course of your presence in the premises you sustain injury the claim can be made.
Public liability: If you have an accident or suffer a personal injury whilst on public property, which was not your fault, then you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation. The person or company owning or being responsible for maintaining the public area should have taken out a public liability insurance policy to compensate members of the public for any injury they sustain whilst on the property caused by their negligence; therefore your PI for compensation will be made against that insurance policy.
File transfers: Or if you are simply dissatisfied with the service provided by your current solicitor in relation to a personal injury claim feel free to contact our firm and we will provide free legal advice.
IMMIGRATION
Naturalisation applications £500 + VAT
Ankara Agreements £1000 + VAT
Indefinite leave to remain £800 + VAT
Sponsorship declarations £100 + VAT
The head of the new department is Handan Demir, solicitor and consultant.
Handan has joined the firm as a consultant solicitor. Handan speaks fluent Turkish and specialises in Personal Injury and Immigration. Handan graduated from the University of Hertfordshire in 2005 and completed the Legal Practice Course at the Inns of Court School of Law. Handan is also does voluntary work for Haringey Victim Support she provides assistance to victims of other crimes.
I chose Handan because of her strong knowledge, experience and level of expertise. She has very good client relations. She has already shown a capability of establishing a new department in just weeks. I am pleased to confirm at this stage that Handan’s contribution to the firm shows real prospects of success.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/13/london-mayoral-elections-womens-rights
This article from Julie Bindel really does hit home with how out of touch the mayoral candidates are when it comes to women’s legal rights on two issues:
1. Violence against women and
2. Forced marriages.
There should be a campaign and I am sure they get enough money to fund this. I have seen some very short adverts on TV about this but it really needs to be a proper campaign – not just some random posters, protest or flyer. Women and the general public should be educated about their rights they do have rights.
It is also for the mayoral candidates to get themselves up to date on the law to show they care. For example, anyone mention the injunctions available to women and the fact that the police now have more power to take action. In 2001 the BBC reported a woman becomes the victim of domestic violence in Britain every 20 seconds and two women die every week as a consequence. The women’s aids reported in August 2006 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence over their lifetimes and between 6-10% of women suffer domestic violence in a given year. Do you think any of the mayoral candidates knew about these statistics?
Offences with regard to forced marriages should be looked at in comparison to the law against false imprisonment. A good lawyer will explore this avenue and women under force imprisonment should automatically qualify for public funding.
It is my view that PM should look to the economy (whatever it is he is doing) and it’s for the mayor to get these issues resolved.
Proctor Moore Solicitors is launching a new campaign with regard to Will writing. It is challenging for most solicitors to put forward an appealing way for people to consider having a Will. Often people think, if they contemplate completing a Will, they will die some time in the near future. People who think like this say “I don’t care what happens after I die” (I hear this all the time). It is our aim to extract that thought away from the consumers mind. It is not a matter of bringing in business to Proctor Moore as a Will can cost no more than £180.00 (including VAT, consultation, drafting, finalising and storage). It is simply about making sure your last wishes are carried out. If any of you have a thought on this issue please feel free to comment on the Proctor Moore Facebook page onhttp://www.facebook.com/?sk=welcome#!/proctormooresolicitors