We are delighted to announce that Barrett & Co have joined Certainty, the National Will Register. This is a national register which records the existence of your original Will at Barrett & Co. Your actual original Will remains with us in Deeds Storage and all details about the contents of your Will remain confidential. On…
As a Private Client Solicitor, I am often asked by clients, usually within a Will meeting, “what is Probate?” Probate is defined as a judicial process whereby a Will is proved through the Courts; this, as one might expect, is not an overly helpful or clear explanation to give to clients! Generally speaking, Probate is…
As our children are heading back to school and university, and home-working with a full house becomes a distant memory, now is as good a time as any to take the opportunity to review our financial and personal affairs. September is often a time for families to get organised for the future; with children progressing…
In order to make a Will in England or Wales, the law requires you to understand fully what you are doing and its implications. This is known as having “testamentary capacity”, which is a special category of capacity. Broadly, in relation to making a Will, it relates to whether a person is capable of understanding:…
The old saying goes that there are only two guarantees in life: death and taxes. Therefore, with this in mind, it makes sense why so many of us want to ensure that after we die, our hard-earned assets are passed to the people who mean the most to us. Although Barrett & Co recommends that…
It is a common misconception that people think they do not need to make a Will because they do not have anything of ‘significant value’ to leave to family and friends. However, with the modern world and technology constantly evolving, most people now have some form of digital assets which are equally as important to…
Among the Private Client team, clients often ask us whether putting their home into the names of their adult children would be a good idea. This is usually due to concerns about the costs of care as they become elderly, or perhaps fears that their home would have to be sold to pay Inheritance Tax…
When you decide to buy your first house there are many things to consider: what colour to paint the walls? or where you are going to put that bookcase? so it is easy to forget about some of the (perhaps) less exciting, but nonetheless important, things. To assist, we compiled a non-exhaustive list of matters…
At the start of September 2020, the Private Client department expanded with Charlotte Corcoran qualifying from Trainee Solicitor to Solicitor. Having qualified, Charlotte joined the Private Client team to work alongside Hilary Buckle, Vanessa Ruparel and Juliette Spanner on various matters including Wills, Probates, Trusts and Lasting Powers of Attorney. Charlotte has a growing interest…
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…
