This month we witnessed National Grief Awareness Week from the 2nd-8th December and this year, perhaps more than any other year, highlights the importance of recognising grief, supporting those experiencing grief and becoming aware of the support systems available. Barrett and Co Solicitors are proud to support and work alongside the Good Grief Trust and…
Who will pay for litigation and how much it will cost are two of the most frequently asked questions by clients. A common response is that “it depends”. Below I explore that answer. Before court proceedings commence Each party bears their own costs and generally you cannot recover your costs from the other party. The…
Good Morning Britain presenter and former I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here contestant, Kate Garraway, has this month spoken out about the financial struggles she and her family have faced whilst her husband has been in hospital battling Covid-19; purely because he did not have a Power of Attorney in place. Derek Garraway,…
One of the difficulties with understanding court procedure is the technicalities involved and the baffling language used! This article explains one such technicality and summarises it briefly. The Tracks The Civil Courts allocate cases to different “tracks” once proceedings have been issued. This is for case management purposes. There are three tracks: the small claims…
For those who have had to undertake the task of obtaining a Grant of Probate recently, you may have noticed that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic seems to be affecting turnaround times on various key parts of the process, right from the start with the “Tell Us Once” government service, all the way through to the…
We are delighted to announce that Barrett and Co has once again been rated as one of the three best estate planning solicitors in Reading. Three Best Rated gave Barrett and Co’s Hilary Buckle five stars and have rated us as one of the best in Reading. Three Best Rated is an independent website and…
This is a question which we are frequently asked. The answer is not as straightforward as you may think. To answer this question, it is best to separate it into two main parts: before the Grant of Probate and after the Grant of Probate. Under a third heading, we then go on briefly to discuss…
It is important to have a plan in place for your business and here is some guidance depending upon how you trade. If you are a sole trader Your sole trader business may include the intangible asset of goodwill. As many sole trader businesses are fundamentally “you”, i.e. people deal with you for your particular…
During the administration of an estate, all assets and liabilities of the deceased must be investigated and declared to HMRC. This includes business interests. This can be a burdensome challenge for executors to deal with as estates which contain businesses are generally more complex. This challenge is multiplied if the estate has become the subject…
Whether you like him or loathe him Alan Sugar is one example of a British business mogul who has built himself up from a one-man market trader to an international billionaire business tycoon and is now the face of a plethora of business ventures. But following Lord Sugar’s health scare last year (from which luckily…
