What is a Power of Attorney? A Power of Attorney is a document by which one person (“the donor”) gives another person (“the Attorney”) the power to act on his behalf and in his name. What’s it for? It may be completely general, entitling the Attorney to do almost everything the donor could himself do, [...]
Joint Ownership And Property
In whose name should you put the house? These days, it’s scary enough even trying to get your foot on the property ladder, let alone dealing with the necessary legal paperwork that results if you’re successful. But, if you’re buying your house with your partner, it pays to give some careful thought to whose name [...]
Buying A House
What happens when you buy a house? Finally, after weeks of scanning the newspapers and trawling round the local estate agents, you’ve found your dream home (or something as near to it as you can get). But, if you’ve never bought a house before, you’ll soon find out that there are still several hurdles to [...]
Selling Your House
What happens when you sell a property? When the time comes to up sticks and move on to pastures new, you’ll need to get to grips with the legalities of the selling procedure. This simple step-by-step guide explains the legal process involved in selling a property: Obtain Title Deeds Once you’ve chosen your solicitor, s/he [...]
Probate Administration Of Estates For Overseas Citizens
What happens on your death if you lived abroad but still had assets in England and Wales? With an ever-increasing number of Brits opting to move abroad, it’s more and more common to come across a situation where a person dies overseas but leaves assets in the UK. In these circumstances, there are special procedures [...]
Probate – Administration Of Your Estate After Death
How to make life easier for those you leave behind… After your death it’s left to your Executors (the people chosen to ensure that the wishes in your Will are carried out) to sort out your estate. Although the role of Executor is not an onerous one, there is lots of paperwork to sort out [...]
Probate And Winding Up A Deceased’s Estate
Applying for probate or letters of administration Let’s face it, we don’t really talk much about what happens when someone dies. As a result, it can be something of a mystery to know what to do when a loved one dies – at a time when you may be too upset and stressed to think [...]
Checklist For Drafting A Will
What information will you need? Whether you choose to seek the specialist help of a solicitor in drafting your Will, or decide to have a go at drawing up your own, you’ll need to gather together certain information. Below is a checklist of the things you’ll need: 1. Information about You (a) Your full name [...]
Making A Will – Why it pays to plan for your death
Okay, none of us likes to think about death. There are more cheery things to think about and, anyway, life is for living. After all, things will take care of themselves should anything happen to you, right? Well, not exactly. In fact, if you die without having made a will (otherwise known as ‘intestate’), certain [...]
Cohabitees – Does living with someone give you the same rights as a married couple?
For whatever reason, more and more of us are choosing to show our commitment to our loved one through living together rather than going the whole hog with a lavish wedding. And if you’ve lived with your partner for several years, bought a house together, had children together and contributed equally to the family income, [...]
