Kent Solicitors

If you are shopping around for a price for a Will, you may well find cheap deals but are they really cheap? Are there hidden charges?  Kaslers are competitive and we do not have hidden charges.

For Example:-

• A bank may offer to prepare your Will for £75, but they introduce “hard sell” tactics.

• A bank may talk you into appointing them as Executor and then could charge you almost twice as much as solicitors for dealing with the deceased’s Estate.

• When the bank is Executor, bereaved families are prevented from looking around for better deals for the administration of the deceased’s Estate.

• Some Research has shown that banks charge an average of £10,830 for dealing with an estate worth £270,000 with one major bank having an average charge of £13,000. Some banks may charge a hefty percentage of the value of the estate on top of their usual charges.

• As for ourselves, whilst it depends on what the assets are and where they are placed, our average charge for administration may be nearer £2,500.

• Banks often entice customers with a cheap “Will Deal” to ensure they get to deal with the administration of the deceased’s Estate and get the fee that goes with it. If you contact us and tell us the extent of the estate and what assets are involved we will be happy to give you an estimate of the costs.

Here at Kaslers, when you make a Will we will charge you a fair price for the information and advice you receive and the time involved.

On making your Will, you are free to name Executors of your choice. Although if you wish to name us as your Executors or if your Executors wish to instruct us this is fine however neither you nor your Executors are under any obligation whatsoever. Indeed some people wish to deal with the administration themselves.

So why not give us a call? Vanessa Adamson can be contact direct on 01622 844607 or Howard Sykes on 07702 710294 or send us an email with your enquiry.

You contract to buy something. Completion is some time off.

Meanwhile there is the economic slump. You do not want to buy something that is worth less than you agreed to pay for it. Perhaps you can no longer get finance to buy it!

Can you back out, pleading frustration or force majeure? Short answer: No

Labels: contract law, force majeure

A village green can be registered if “a significant number of the inhabitants of any locality….have indulged as a right in lawful sports and pastimes” on the land for a period of at least 20 years.

You cannot develop a village green so locals may seek to register in order to thwart your development plans

‘Sports and pastimes’ can be as little a walking the dog!

‘As of right’ can include situations where locals defer to the primary users of the land e.g. golfers.

So if you are buying open land for development, you should ask the sellers to warrant that the land has not been used in such a way that would support an application for registration of a village green under the Commons Act 2006.

If you own such land and are happy for golfers, dog walkers etc to use it for the meantime, either fence it or put up lots of signs saying that use of the land is by permission only.

Labels: Commons Act 2006, property development, property legal advice

20% of the UK workforce has a public sector pension. This equates to 12.5million members. Nearly all public sector schemes are defined benefit.

There are 8 main schemes. These include 3 locally run schemes include the police, fire-fighters and the local government scheme and 5 centrally run which are the teachers, civil service, the armed forces, National Health Service and the Universities Superannuation Scheme.

Debt enforcement officers are now motivated by result. There have been several instances where they come in their enthusiasm to collect the debt, have overstepped the mark

We were recently consulted by a client, who had been subjected to their attention

Company A owed money and indeed had a judgement debt against it. However, it had sold its assets, including its premises, to company B and received money for them.

Enforcement officers called at the premises, happened upon our client and intimidated her into paying them £4000 on her personal credit card. 
What was her connection with either company A or company B? No real connection - only that she was the wife of a director of company B, not a director herself employee or shareholder. She was just passing by the office to drop something off!

For help and advice please contact Michael Breeze

Labels: debt collection, debt enforcement officers, legal advice

If you own a timeshare week or timeshare points and want to get rid of them, be careful how you do this.
There are a number of unscrupulous companies out there who call you in a meeting, subject you to a barrage of information and sales pitches until you are so tired and exhausted that you pay them a serious amount of money on your credit card to be your agent in disposing of your timeshare weeks/points.

There are reputable companies out there but do your due diligence checks first on any that you propose to approach.

For help and advice contact Michael Breeze

Labels: legal advice, timeshares

If there is a will when someone dies contact the executor if this isn’t you (usually nominated in the Will to sort out the deceased’s affairs) to enable them to start the process of obtaining probate.  Contact Vanessa Adamson at Kaslers Solicitors LLP on 01622 844607 to guide you through the process.

Labels: beneficiaries, Executor, Probate, Wills

Anyone purchasing residential accommodation, particularly if they are unmarried, should address their minds to the size and fate of the respective beneficial interests on acquisition, separation and thereafter.

For help and advice contact Simon Scott on 07979 916619 or email him on ss@kaslers.co.uk

Labels: purchases, residential property, unmarried couples