When the Judge allowed Mr Kernott, the ex partner of Miss Jones, to claim 50% of the value of their jointly-owned house, despite having left the home 17 years previously and paying no part of the mortgage in that time, the judgment caused an uproar.
Our Offices
FORWARDS »
Recent Articles
We want to keep you updated on developments in both the legal world and at Wards. Recent articles are posted here and you can search by both date and service area. If you can't find what you're looking for, however, please contact Jane Sanger.
What happens when living together doesn’t work? A cautionary tale for unmarried cohabitees
July 12th, 2010 | Posted by Martin Keegan
Did you know? – Voluntary First Registration
July 9th, 2010 | Posted by Susan Ellis
- that 30% of Land in England and Wales is unregistered *
- that even if your title is currently unregistered you can apply to the land Registry for this to be registered.
Did you know? Land registration
July 6th, 2010 | Posted by Susan Ellis
All land and property ownership in England and Wales is subject to a system of registration at the Land Registry. Land registration confers benefits and safeguards to property owners. In particular the registered title is guaranteed so that if an owners suffers loss as a result of an error in the title, compensation should be payable.
Cashing in on death
July 2nd, 2010 | Posted by Wards Solicitors
On 16th June, The Daily Mail reported that banks, specialist probate firms and will-writers were exploiting the public with their probate charges. Conversely, solicitors came out of the survey in a positive light.
Did you know? – that ‘deeds’ are a thing of the past
June 25th, 2010 | Posted by Susan Ellis
Or certainly this is the case for property which has a registered title, which applies to some 70% of property in England and Wales.
Since the Land Registration Act 2002, came into force on 13 October 2003, no physical deed is now issued by the Land Registry when property changes hands or any other change is made to it. Instead the title is held by the Land Registry electronically. It is open to the public and anyone can view this.
Are All Men Created Equal?
June 24th, 2010 | Posted by Alex Lyttle
Introduction
With all the political shenanigans over the last couple of months, it is easy to forget that not everything has changed. If matters proceed as planned the Equalities Act 2010 will come into force this October. Though there is currently some discussion as to whether the new Government will go through with all or any of the Act, it is always good to be prepared.
Getting personal
June 23rd, 2010 | Posted by Rebecca Parkman
Article published in Elderly Client adviser March/April 2010
As a solicitor specialising in Wills and Probate work I inevitably spend a large proportion of my time dealing with the elderly. As a firm our philosophy is to offer all our clients a rounded service in addition to focusing on the individual transaction or issues that the client may have consulted us about. It has become increasingly apparent that this is of prime importance when dealing with the elderly client market and our firm’s Wills Probate and Trusts department has spearheaded the development in our firm of applying this “holistic” approach.
Delaying protection
June 22nd, 2010 | Posted by Jenny Pierce
The first report into the work of Court of Protection, established when the Mental Capacity Act came into force on 1 October 2007, reveals a consistent failure to meet five out of six targets for the time taken to respond to applicants and arrange hearings.
Did you know? – Conveyancing terminology
June 18th, 2010 | Posted by Susan Ellis
There is always a need in all walks of life for clarity. At Wards our aim is to advise clearly and in terms our clients can understand, without underestimating their ability to assimilate new terminology.
This however is a brief guide to common conveyancing terms which may assist newcomers:
Nursing Home Fees – Anti Avoidance and making the family pay
June 3rd, 2010 | Posted by James Taylor
There are many ways for Local Authorities to recoup the cost of long term care from residents or their families. The political debate rages on about how fair it is to charge prudent savers for their care, or force people to sell cherished homes to pay these charges. In a recent case handled by Wards, a family was able to keep the money which had been distributed to them by an elderly lady on sale of her house – precisely because the court held that there was no intention on her part to avoid care fees.