The death of a family member or close friend is a distressing time. The last thing you want when you’re grieving and coming to terms with the situation is to be bothered with admin and paperwork. However, there are a few practicalities that need to be dealt with. Here’s a quick guide.First, you need to register the death within 5 days. You’ll need a medical certificate for this, so ask the GP or hospital doctor for it. Call the local registry office to make an appointmen […]

While bankruptcy does not have the stigma it used to have, if you’re made bankrupt it is still a very significant event in your life. Although it can come as a relief, with pressure from creditors taken away and debts cancelled, it has serious knock-on effects. Your home can be sold and business closed down, and it makes it difficult to get credit in future. These consequences can mean that some people who have been made bankrupt look into having their bankruptcy order cancelled.Tec […]

​A limited company’s Articles of Association are its main constitution. They set out how the company is run, governed and owned. If you are involved in the running of a company, whether as a director, company secretary or manager, you need to be familiar with what the articles say. The articles will specify, for instance, how the company is managed, how company meetings are to be held and how decisions are made by directors and shareholders. They will also say what the re […]

Houses and flats are expensive, and it’s difficult to get on the property ladder. So it’s quite common for friends to buy a property jointly, rather than spend money on rent. But what happens if one friend wants out and the other doesn’t? Can one of them force a sale?I often see arrangements like this, and also the problems they can cause. What usually happens is that the two friends start off sharing the property, and then one wants to relocate, or is getting married an […]

If you lease a residential property, the chances are that you’re paying fees to the freeholder, for ground rent and service charges, and so on. The fees can amount to thousands of pounds a year. But if the fees are excessive, you can challenge the freeholder and may be able to get them reduced.The best way to avoid paying high fees is not to buy a lease with excessive charges in the first place. Before agreeing the purchase, you should always obtain proof of the service charges and […]

It’s an annoying and extremely frustrating situation. You’re owed money by a company, or have a claim against it, and suddenly it goes bust, leaving you high and dry. Can you ever hold the shareholders to account or get your money from them?The short answer is probably No. It is a cornerstone of the law that a company is a separate legal entity from its shareholders and directors. A well-known case from the Victorian era established that a company has a separate legal personal […]

Being an attorney (or deputy) for someone who lacks capacity often involves difficult decisions. One of the trickiest is whether you should make a gift from their funds. You might believe that they would approve if they had capacity, but the consequences of making an unauthorised gift can be very significant, involving possible civil and even criminal liability.The Office of the Public Guardian has the power to investigate gifts. They can require you to explain any gifts (or financial tra […]

The Party Wall Act 1996 governs the procedure you should follow when developing or doing works to (or near) a party wall. It is a complex area of law, and in this post I will summarise the main issues to be aware of.First of all, what is a ‘party wall’? It is a wall, fence or building that shares a boundary between two properties. For example, semi-detached or terraced houses or commercial buildings that linked together by a wall or boundary feature.The aim of the Party Wall A […]

When negotiating a commercial agreement or contract, the parties will often agree ‘heads of terms’ before negotiating and signing the final document. They might be known as letters of intent, memoranda of understanding, notice of sale or term sheets. But what are heads of terms and why are they used?Heads of terms are used in many different commercial transactions including joint ventures, property sales, purchases and leases, corporate business sales and mergers. They are a d […]