Meaby & Co Family Law Afternoon Tea

Joanna Toloczko, our Head of Family Law hosted the first Meaby & Co Family Law Afternoon Tea at the Prince Regent Hotel on Friday 23rd November.

The event is a “thank you” to professionals who have referred legal or mediation work to our family team, or helped them in other ways. It is an opportunity to strengthen relationships with old friends and to make new contacts.

We were joined by 20 guests, including solicitors, mediators, accountants, therapists and mortgage advisers, over a delicious tea of finger sandwiches, scones and cakes.

Thank you to the staff of the Prince Regent for looking after us so well and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.

Some of the kind comments from our guests:-

I wanted to write to thank you for the invitation to Meaby’s Afternoon tea. It was a delightful and well organised event and a lovely end to a busy week. 

Deborah Butterworth

It was such a wonderful afternoon, thank you so much for inviting me. 

Sarah Tsindides

May I thank you and your firm for inviting myself and Rachael to such a wonderful event……. I met some very charming people. 

Julian Beard

 

 

 

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Meaby & Co Solicitors supports Resolution’s Good Divorce Week

Resolution is the leading organisation of family lawyers and other professionals in England and Wales. Our Head of Family Law, Joanna Toloczko is a member. This week is Resolution’s Good Divorce Week.

Conflict can have some serious long-term effects on children. Studies have shown that it’s not the separation or divorce proper that has an impact, but rather the conflict stemming from it that often has a detrimental impact on their well-being.

Resolution members are committed to reducing conflict, agreeing to a non-confrontational way of working that puts the best interests of children first.

The current law says, unless you have been separated for 2 years with consent, or 5 years without, you have to divorce on the grounds of adultery or behaviour. In 2016, the majority (60%) of divorces in England and Wales were granted on adultery and behaviour.

Divorce is always difficult, but having to show fault can increase the conflict between the couple and make it more difficult to sort out child and financial arrangements. 71% of the population agrees that no fault divorce is urgently needed to protect the long-term interests of children.

Without wanting to trivialise it, we call it ‘the blame game,’ but one that can have very serious consequences for the couple and any children they might have. Urgent reform is needed to remove blame from the process to reduce the negative impact of conflict on children.

Facts: Divorce in England and Wales

  • There are over 100,000 divorces in England and Wales each year. (ONS 2018)
  • Behaviour is the most common Fact used for opposite-sex divorce (52%) and same-sex divorce (83% among women, 73% among men. (ONS 2018)
  • In 2015, 60% of divorces in England and Wales were granted on adultery and behaviour, compared with just 6-7% in Scotland where the law is different (Finding Fault 2017)
  • National opinion survey showed only 29% of respondents to a fault divorce said that the Fact used very closely matched the reason for the separation. (Finding Fault, 2017)
  • Fault is associated with shorter marriages, and evidence shows that fault enables a quick exit from a marriage. (Finding fault 2017)

What Resolution members think of current law (2018 Resolution survey)

  • 90% say current law makes it harder to reduce conflict between ex-partners.
  • 67% say the current law makes it harder for separated parents to reach agreements.
  • 80% feel the introduction of no fault divorce would help separating couples reach an agreement out of court.

For further information and advice regarding divorce or other family law matters, please contact our Head of Family Law, Joanna Toloczko on 020 3861 5155 or jtoloczko@meaby.co.uk

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Blogs

Why you should use an established estate agent, and not be taken in by online hype

“No commission,” the adverts tell us.  How can that be true?  Increasing numbers of online estate agents are offering 0% commission when you advertise your property with them.  You merely have to cover their advertising and marketing fees with a one-off payment at the outset, and when the property is sold there is nothing else to pay.  No estate agent is able to chip away at your sale proceeds by taking a percentage of the price from you – sounds good, right?  Think again.

The classic estate agency model sees the agent take no initial payment from you, and they will market the property until a sale is agreed.  A good estate agent will then mediate between buyer and seller, and liaise with both solicitors, to ensure that the transaction runs smoothly (an essential part of the sale process, known as “sales progression”).  Their commission (i.e. their fee) will be negotiated with the seller at day one, usually a percentage of the sale price, or perhaps a fixed fee on occasion, and they are paid nothing until the day that the sale completes.

A member of my family recently moved house.  He used an online estate agent, as he was understandably impressed by the “no commission” claims.  He paid the agent’s initial fee of more than a thousand pounds, they valued the property, took some photographs, and advertised the property on the usual websites.

He conducted viewings himself, as there was an extra fee payable if he wanted an agent to show the property for him.  When he eventually received and accepted an offer, the estate agents’ involvement ended.  They had found a buyer, they had their money, and that was that.

The agents didn’t put the solicitors in touch with each other, and the buyer and seller had to make contact with each other direct to swap solicitors’ details and to discuss matters such as the completion date.  Coupled with a buyer who lived overseas and a buyer’s solicitor who failed to return any calls made to them (I understand that solicitor was recommended by the estate agent), the entire process was needlessly prolonged and stressful for my relative.

Moving house is one of the stressful experiences of anyone’s life.  Thankfully, most people will choose a solicitor who fits their needs, and not seek to save a few hundred pounds at the expense of their time, and more importantly their sanity.  Why wouldn’t you do the same when choosing an estate agent, even if your savings might be a few thousand pounds?  The loss you will incur if your chain breaks down, in respect of legal fees and disbursements, surveys, mortgage applications, etc, not to mention the added time and stress, will soon swallow up any savings that you thought you might have made.

The moral of the story: If it sounds too good to be true, it most probably is.

Post-script: My family member did eventually move, and is settling in well, and I’d like to think that it is thanks, at least in part, to his smart choice of solicitor  🙂

If you are buying or selling a property, please contact Andy Roscoe at Meaby & Co for advice: andy@meaby.co.uk or call 020 7703 5034.

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Getting the most out of Family Mediation

All too often family mediation is presented as a quicker and cheaper alternative to the court process. Whilst this can be true, the emphasis is misplaced. Family mediation should not be viewed as an easy option. Couples will only conclude mediation successfully, with a set of joint proposals, if they are both prepared to commit themselves to the process and work hard at finding solutions. It is like most things in life – the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

Mediation is a process, and financial mediation in particular, has a structure. Couples are often anxious to resolve their issues quickly and often try to circumvent the structure – this is usually a big mistake, as the structure provides the strong foundations needed for the mediation to conclude successfully. For example, if you have not agreed what assets there are and the value of those assets, how can you sensibly discuss how the assets should be divided between you?

There is a lot of paperwork to go through at the beginning of the mediation process. In the early stages, mediation mirrors the court process in that the first step is disclosure and the parties are required to complete a Form E (the court prescribed form) and provide relevant documents. It can take several hours to prepare a Form E, but it is worth investing your time in this as it will make the next mediation session more productive and may reduce the number of sessions you need.

Make sure that you keep all of the mediation documents in an ordered fashion – in a lever arch file with section dividers is best. Always bring your set of documents to the mediation sessions so that you can refer to them during the sessions and make notes on them if necessary.

Don’t worry if it takes you some time to understand the family finances – it is common for one party to have taken the lead on the family finances and be on top of them while the other party has been less involved and needs time to catch up. The mediation sessions move at the pace of the slowest person in the room and that is usually the mediator as they don’t know anything about your circumstances.

It is important to play an active role in the discussions in mediation – you should feel comfortable to do this as all of the discussions in mediation are “without prejudice” which means that they cannot be referred to in any subsequent court proceedings. This should give you confidence to make suggestions without fear that you will be held to them, should you change your mind.

It is just as important to listen carefully to what your former partner is saying as it is to get your own point across – you may not agree with your former partner but it helps the mediation if you are able to understand and empathise with their worries and fears for the future.

Do your homework – if the mediator suggests that you need to research something, such as your mortgage capacity, or take advice from your solicitor before the next session, make sure you do it or it is likely that the next session will not be productive.

For help on all family law matters, please contact Joanna at jtoloczko@meaby.co.uk or on 020 7703 5034

 

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The return of the Probate fee rise

In February 2017, you might remember that the Government planned to introduce a rise in the probate fee that is payable upon an application for a Grant of Probate. This was dropped when the general election was announced in May 2017.

This week, the Government has reintroduced the rise.  The current fee payable on an application for probate for any estate is £155 (if applying through a solicitor) or £215 (if applying in person).

It is expected that the new probate fee will be dependant upon the size of the estate.  Those valued at less than £50,000 will not pay anything.  For estates worth £50,000 to £300,000, the fee is expected to be £750.  It then rises in increments up to a maximum of:-

  • £2,500 for estates worth between £500,000 to £1,000,000;
  • £4,000 for estates worth between £1,000,000 to £1,600,000;
  • £5,000 for estates worth between £1,600,000 to £2,000,000.

Executors will be given different options to fund the fee from the estate.

Justice Minister Lucy Frazer said the move was justified to support the courts service.  However, many are arguing that this is just another “backdoor tax” by the Government.  In any event, we may expect to see more people attempting to dispose of property in their lifetime, which can often by very effective but will likely require professional advice in order to ensure that property is passed correctly without attracting other unexpected taxes.

The fee is expected to be introduced in April 2019.

If you have any questions, Laura Sentkovsky in our private client team is always happy to assist laura@meaby.co.uk or 0207 703 5034.

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Underletting – an unfair contractual term?

Many years ago the writer of this blog appeared at the Property Tribunal on behalf of a freeholder to argue that the words in a residential long lease to “only use the premises for the occupation of the Tenant and the Tenant’s family” constituted a owner occupier restriction. She was successful. Residential leases regularly contain the words to only use “for the occupation of one family only” and that will mean any family, not just that of the tenant. Owner/occupier restrictions will inevitably down value a flat: it will not be of interest to a buy to let investor so there will less potential buyers on the open market and any potential purchaser wanting the freedom to sublet in the future will be discouraged by such a restriction.

It was with interest that we noted the reporting of the Court of Appeal this week in the decision in Jones & Anor v Roundlistic Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2284 (19 October 2018) which held that  a similar clause did not constitute an unfair contract term under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. The relevant lease appears to have undergone a statutory renewal under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. In the first instance the First-tier Tribunal considered that the clause constituted an unfair contract term. On appeal it was found that the restrictive clause was sound for various reasons not detailed here. The covenant had been in the original lease and incorporated by reference in the renewal lease. The tenant had failed to challenge the clause on renewal. However, even had they tried to relax that restriction, statutory lease extensions must mirror the terms of the existing lease save for modernisation and rectification. The writer suspects that to have requested the relaxation of the owner/occupier restriction would have constituted an alteration of the existing lease terms so may not have been accepted on statutory renewal.

Contact Nicky Cleightonhills on ncleightonhills@meaby.co.uk for any enquiries on the construction of lease terms.

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