Take care when planning for later life

The BBC has recently reported on the collapse of the Ipswich based inheritance planning firm, Universal Wealth Management.

The company ran seminars called keep it in the family, in which they promised to protect people’s assets from inheritance tax – they also promised to help people avoid care home fees.

After attending a seminar, people would typically put their home into a trust run by the company, which meant they no longer officially owned it. The idea was that local authorities would then disregard the property in the event someone needed long-term care.

The national body that deals with fraud on behalf of victims, Action Fraud, said at least 140 clients of Universal Wealth had contacted it about missing money – some of whom may have lost significant sums.

Many people have made Wills and set up Trusts in recent years, with the intention of protecting their assets for their family. If a Trust is set up correctly, it can prove to be a flexible legal tool to help meet a family’s long-term needs.

Many people have been poorly advised however, as they have been told that the Trust will protect all, or a significant proportion of their assets, from the payment of care fees and Inheritance Tax.

When customers have sought advice from Universal Wealth it appears that they have paid more than £4,000 to have Wills prepared and to create some form of a Trust.

Companies that offer Will Writing services, together with Estate and Inheritance Tax Planning, can operate ‘unregulated’, which means that they are not necessarily policed by an independent body to whom they are accountable. This means that there may be no avenues to seek redress when customers have a grievance or are unsatisfied with the advice they have received, or when something goes wrong.

If you or a family member are concerned because you have used a company such as Universal Wealth Preservation, to make Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney or to create a Trust, it would be advisable for you to seek independent legal advice at the earliest opportunity.

Rogers & Norton have a specialist team who have a wide knowledge and experience in dealing with planning for your later life. They can advise you on the potential risks that you may have to consider, together with the preparation of the necessary documentation that will give effect to your wishes, if appropriate.

You can contact us at wills@rogers-norton.co.uk or on 01603 675655 if you wish to discuss the matter further.

Author: Louisa Shailes

Solicitor - Joint Head of Wills & Probate

Debt Recovery – What is the best way forward?

15th Oct 2018

A very distressing story has been reported by the BBC recently, concerning a man who took his own life after being declared bankrupt by his local district council, over what started out as a relatively small amount of unpaid council tax.

The council wrote to the gentleman continuously over a period of years, pursuing the monies through the courts and eventually having him declared bankrupt. The debt involved rose from £1,473.00 up to £72,000.00 through a combination of non-payment; interest; charges and court fees.

Throughout the nine year period that the council chased the outstanding debt, no one attempted to talk to the gentleman, either face to face or by making a telephone call – it was just letter after letter.

It has been acknowledged that the lack of engagement from the debtor to help solve the issue did cause the council considerable frustration, but if they had taken the initiative to talk to gentleman and establish what the exact problems where – in this case divorce and a life threatening illness, then they may have saved themselves considerable time and a lot of effort that achieved very little for them.

It can be stressful and irritating when you are owed money and the urge to pursue it as vigorously as possible is very tempting. This very sad story illustrates how important it is to establish a dialogue with anyone who may owe your company money and to understand what the issues are that lie at the root cause of their problems.

It may be that once you have full knowledge of the debtor’s circumstances, court proceedings are the way forward – it may also be the case though that by simply discussing the issues and problems they are facing, a solution can be found.

We have a very experienced and knowledgeable debt recovery team, who act daily to help a wide variety of companies to reclaim monies they are owed. They are faced with many differing causes for non-payment and work closely with both parties to ensure the best possible outcome.

The team are also experienced in offering assistance to those who are facing difficulties and insolvency, to help and support them to navigate their way through the issues they are experiencing.

Should you wish to discuss any finance and debt problems you are facing due to non-payment you can contact us at eg@rogers-norton.co.uk or on 01603 675641.

Builders Tea

We were pleased to host our regular Construction Club event at the Assembly House recently.

Peter Hastings gave an informative talk on the contractual issues that can be experienced when two parties in the construction industry enter into an agreement to build or refurbish properties.

We were also delighted that Rob Panter, Joint Managing Director of Canham Consulting, agreed to be our guest speaker – his instructive presentation on the role of the structural engineer was very well received.

Our litigation team continue to receive instructions from Developers; Employers; Contractors; Architects; Surveyors and Suppliers (including builders merchants), providing advice on both contentious and non-contentious issues that affect all those within the construction industry.

https://rogers-norton.co.uk/specialist-sectors/construction-engineering/

Details of the cases are linked below:

Dacy Building Services Ltd v IDM Properties LLP

Grove Developments Ltd v S

The prevention principle and concurrent delay

Beach Homes Ltd v Hazell

Great Start for the Rogers & Norton Law Academy

We were really delighted with the success of the first session of the Rogers & Norton Law Academy.

After an introduction from Director Mark Hambling, Laura Rumsey & Charlotte Ranson from our Private Client team, gave an overview on the work covered in their department. The objective of the Academy is to work in partnership with a range of local schools and colleges to offer guidance and support to students with an interest in undertaking a career in the law, together with an opportunity to gain a better understanding of what the process entails.

We were pleased to welcome sixth form students from The Langley School; Wymondham College; Notre Dame High School and Thorpe St Andrew School, who all engaged with the interactive nature of the Academy and appreciated the chance to gain a greater knowledge of what the work entails in the Private Client team.

We have a further six sessions planned, covering a number of the other areas of the law that the students will find helpful if they want to go on to pursue a career in the law.

In the Year of the Woman 2018....

Put the 3rd October 2018 in your diaries. This is set to be a momentous occasion because for the first time, an appeal will be heard in the Supreme Court before a majority of female Justices.

On the 3^rd October Lady Hale, Lady Black, and Lady Arden together with Lord Carnwath and Lord Lloyd-Jones will hear the appeal in the matter of D (A Child) UKSC 2018/0064. There has never been a female majority of the female Justices in the Supreme Court or its predecessor, the House of Lords.

The appeal concerns whether the confinement of D, a young person aged 16, who lacked capacity to make decisions relating to his living arrangements or care, amounted to a deprivation of his liberty under Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights, in circumstances where his parents were consenting to the confinement.

This is History in the making and a great strive forward in females having a direct say in the law which govern this country. Case law and judicial precedent makes up a significant proportion of precisely how we as lawyers advise and conduct litigation. To have both sexes equally represented in making those precedents is surely the way forward.