Wrigley Claydon Solicitors

Author:

  • How often have you all heard this…

    How often have you all heard this…

    “He’s not seeing the children again”

     

    “She is stopping me seeing my children because I have a new partner”

     

    “No money, you are not seeing the children”.

     

    “She/he is using the children as a weapon to try and punish me for ending the relationship”

     

    These are but a fraction of the reasons repeated by parents who are angry and upset following the breakdown of a relationship. Relationship breakdown is often difficult and emotions are raw and can impact on the children.

    Under the Children Act of 1989 it is a child’s fundamental right to spend time with each parent unless there are very good reasons why this should not happen. After parents separate, promoting contact with both parents can help children adjust to the separation and feel more happy and content, knowing they are able to spend time with each.

     

    We at Wrigley Claydon understand the difficulties raised by our clients and are here to help if you need help or guidance through this difficult time. If you would like to discuss your situation with us, please feel free to contact one of our family team and speak to either Terri Pickup or Rhona Royle.

    Click here to find out more about Arrangements for Children
    Click here to find out more about Family Lawyers

  • Probate centre cuts and closures

    Probate centre cuts and closures

    The government has begun work on closing down regional Probate Registries and moving the service under one roof. The first centre to close will be Birmingham at the end of August. Questions are being asked as to why probate services are being cut when the government has plans to increase probate fees. Ministers insist the new service will improve through bringing together shared expertise ultimately at the Courts and Tribunal Service Centre in Birmingham.

     

    However, for many people this will raise concerns with the removal of the face to face service. Probate can be applied for on line but for many people, at this already stressful time, the ability to speak to someone in person, is really important.

     

    If you are dealing with probate and need help and guidance, the wills and probate team at Wrigley Claydon will be happy to help. We offer a free initial consultation. Please call Rachel Damianou or Jyoti Patel on (0161) 624 6811 (option 3).

  • What happens when a couple appear to die together and evidence fails to prove the order of their death?

    The judge in the Scarle estate dispute, in which an elderly married couple were found dead in their Essex home, has ruled that there was not enough medical evidence to determine who died first. As such the commorientes rule was invoked and the elder was deemed to have died first.

     

    The couple, who had both been married previously and had children from their previous marriages, sadly died in October 2016 from hypothermia. The autopsy evidence was confused by differing temperatures in different rooms in the house and the possibility that an intruder might have disturbed the scene.

     

    It became important to decide who had died first because joint assets would pass, all be it briefly, to the second to die by survivorship and then to their children.

     

    This case highlights the need not only to make a will, but also to consider what assets will pass under that will and whether or not inheritance should be conditional upon surviving the first to die by a specified period.

     

    For more information on wills and probate please call Rachel Damianou or Jyoti Patel on (0161) 624 6811 (option 3) or email rld@wrigleyclaydon.com

    Click here to find out more about Wills, Powers of Attorney, Probate and Trusts
    Click here to find out more about Legal Support when someone dies

  • Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s third-richest man involved in planning battle

    Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s third-richest man is involved in another planning row with neighbours over plans for a caretaker’s cottage to maintain his £6million New Forest holiday home.

    He had previously overcome a six-year battle against neighbours, officials and conservationists over his plans, which were rejected five times.

     

    Work eventually started last year but his latest proposal is opposed by the Environment Agency, which said it posed an ‘unacceptable risk to life and property from flooding’.

    Locals fear that it could make the flooding, which is already a problem, even worse. More than 40 neighbours objected to the initial plans on the basis that the development would ‘change the character of an unspoilt area’.

     

    Suffering a neighbour or boundary dispute can have serious implications on your wellbeing and property. Our Civil and Commercial Litigation solicitors will quickly and efficiently put your case together and act on your behalf. Call Vijay Srivastava or Shalish Mehta in our Civil and Commercial litigation department on 0161 624 6811(Option 6) or email vjs@wrigleyclaydon.com or sm@wrigleyclaydon.com. We can advise you on the appropriate course of action and assist with any legal documents or proceedings that may occur.

    Click here to find out more about Litigation Solicitors
    Click here to find out more about Property Dispute Solicitors
    Click here to find out more about Neighbour Disputes

  • Is it time to consider a Pre-Nup?

    Is it time to consider a Pre-Nup?

    It was recently announced that “Avengers” actress Elizabeth Olson has become engaged to musician Robbie Arnett.

    Sources close to the couple have claimed that they have taken their relationship to the next level with Robbie proposing. Both stars however are yet to confirm the happy news.

     

    Often celebrities and other members of the public, after making wedding plans, turn their minds to whether a pre-nuptial agreement is necessary to protect assets if their relationship should fail.

     

    A pre-nuptial agreement  is a contract which the parties enter into before marriage.

    This document sets out each of the parties rights in respect of any joint assets, including in relation to property, income, inheritance and other such matters.  The agreement will set out how these will be divided in the event that the marriage should end.

    A pre-nuptial agreement can provide parties with peace of mind for the future and can often prevent acrimony in the event of marriage breakdown, with each party knowing precisely what will happen if things do go wrong.

     

    If you would like advice or wish to consider whether a pre-nuptial agreement is right for you, please contact our experts who will be happy to guide you through the pros and cons of considering such an Agreement.

    Please feel free to contact Rhona Royle or Terri Pickup on 0161 624 6811 or another member of our family department.

    Click here to find out more about Family Lawyers

  • Mamadou Sakho sues WADA for £13m over drug test error

    Crystal Palace defender Mamadou Sakho is suing the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for £13m after accusing them of a drug test-error that ended his career at Liverpool.

    Sakho was provisionally banned for 30 days on April 28 2016 after being notified by European football’s governing body, UEFA, of an anti-doping offence relating to a test taken after March’s Europa League quarter-final against Manchester United.

    UEFA launched their own investigation at the time into whether the fat-burning substance, Higenamine, Sakho took should even be on the banned list.

    The ban meant Sakho missed Liverpool’s Europa League final defeat to Sevilla, while Sakho claimed at a High Court hearing that it cost him a place in the France squad for Euro 2016.

    Higenamine, was found not to be on WADA’s prohibited list and Sakho was subsequently cleared by UEFA.

    Sakho’s argues that a move away from Liverpool had a big impact on his salary and that it represented a loss of £13m in earnings.

    However, WADA denies responsibility for his transfer from Liverpool, arguing that “disciplinary issues” and a “personality clash” with the manager Jurgen Klopp were the root causes.

    At the end of the hearing, the judge ordered that the trial on liability – whether Wada was negligent – should take place before the amount of compensation is considered.’

     

    Suffering a dispute can have serious implications on you and your livelihood and reputation. Our business solicitors will quickly and efficiently put your case together and act on your behalf. Call Vijay Srivastava or Shalish Mehta in our civil and commercial litigation department on 0161 624 6811(Option 6) or email vjs@wrigleyclaydon.com or sm@wrigleyclaydon.com. We can advise you on the appropriate course of action and assist with any legal documents or proceedings that may occur.

    Click here to find out more about Litigation
    Click here to find out more about Civil Litigation
    Click here to find out more about Dispute Resolution

  • Customers who do not pay on time reduce your profits and can put your business at risk.

    Customers who do not pay on time reduce your profits and can put your business at risk.

    Chasing these debts can be highly time consuming and frustrating, taking you away from the vital job of running your business. However, with the right legal support, it is often possible to recover business debts quickly and cost-effectively, unlocking vital funds for your business, while saving you a lot of time and stress.

    Our Debt Recovery solicitors have been supporting local and national businesses to recover unpaid debts. We will quickly and efficiently put your case together and act on your behalf. Call Shalish Mehta in our Debt Recovery Department on 0161 624 6811(Option 6) or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com. We can advise you on the appropriate course of action and assist with any legal documents or proceedings that may occur.

    Click here to find out more about Litigation Solicitors
    Click here to find out more about Debt Recovery Service
    Click here to find out more about Commercial Debt Solicitors

  • F1 Driver, Daniel Ricciardo fighting £10million court case

    F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo is facing a claim in the High Court of more than £10m in alleged unpaid earnings from his former manager, Glenn Beavis.

    Beavis is claiming that Ricciardo has not paid him commissions owed on his new contract with Renault; Ricciardo left Red Bull at the end of last season to join the Renault

    The first defendant is Whitedunes International Holdings Limited, a British Virgin Islands company wholly owned by Ricciardo, who is the second defendant.

    Beavis’ claim is that he had an agreement with Ricciardo that saw him earn “20% commission on the value of all new deals that Beavis introduced and which were subsequently concluded”.

    Ricciardo’s lawyer says he has until the end of July to do so.

    Suffering a contractual dispute can have serious implications on you and your business.  Our business solicitors will quickly and efficiently put your case together and act on your behalf. Call Vijay Srivastava or Shalish Mehta in our civil and commercial litigation department on 0161 624 6811(Option 6) or email vjs@wrigleyclaydon.com or sm@wrigleyclaydon.com. We can advise you on the appropriate course of action and assist with any legal documents or proceedings that may occur.

    Click here to find out more about Litigation Solicitors
    Click     here to find out more about Civil Litigation
    Click     here to find out more about Dispute Resolution
    Click     here to find out more about Contract Disputes

  • How long will it take to get divorced?

    How long will it take to get divorced?

    Rhona Royle, Head of Family Law at Wrigley Claydon Solicitors, comments:

    Only a few years back when posed with this question by a new client I’d have advised with some confidence “about 6 to 9 months”.

    Not any longer.

    Figures released for the first quarter of this year showed that the average time for getting from the start of the case (the issue of a divorce petition) to the end (receipt of the Decree Absolute) it is now taking an average of 59 weeks or over 14 months!

    This is an increase of 6 weeks from the same period last year.

    So why might this be?

    More cases for the courts to deal with? Fewer court staff to process the paperwork and Judges to make decisions? Withdrawal of legal aid for early advice?

    To a degree, all these factors appear to be contributing.

    In the first three months of this year just over 29,000 new divorce cases were started up 6% from the same period in 2018.

    But it is the impact of an increase in all types of family cases not just divorces. Domestic violence case starts were up by 15% and “private law” cases (namely those between parents to settle the arrangements for where children should live and how much time they should spend with the other parent) were up 12%.

    The number of courts dealing with Divorce cases drastically reduced upon the creation of 11 “Regional Divorce Centres”.

    The most senior Family Judge, Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division said earlier in the year that these centres “have not worked well” and “indeed some, including {the Regional Centre for the North West} Liverpool have provided a wholly unacceptable service”.

    His predecessor, Sir James Munby, said the centres had become “bywords for delay and inefficiency, essentially because HM Courts and Tribunal Service had been unable or unwilling to furnish them with adequate numbers of staff and judges”.  Not a ringing endorsement for a process you must pay a court fee of £550 for!

    In April 2013 legal aid for many Private law cases and early advice was removed which inevitably led to litigants representing themselves. Having two warring parties in court without the filter of legal representation inevitably causes cases to take longer.

    In the quarter to March 2013 (before the removal of legal aid) both parties had legal representation in 41% of cases by the first quarter of this year that figure had dropped to 19%.

    What does the future look like? In one-word DIGITAL.

    Click here to find out more about Family Lawyers
    Click     here to find out more about Divorce Solicitors

  • Geoffrey Rush awarded $2 million in Sydney defamation case

    Oscar winning actor Geoffrey Rush has been awarded the largest ever defamation pay out to a single person in Australia.

    Rush was awarded A$2.9m (£1.57m) after winning the case against Nationwide News, which publishes Australia’s Daily Telegraph after it published stories accusing him of behaving inappropriately towards his former co-star Eryn Jean Norvill in a production of King Lear in 2015.

    The judge found that Ms Norvill was “prone to exaggeration” and called the reporting a “recklessly irresponsible piece of sensationalist journalism of … the very worst kind”.

    Rush has sought an injunction to prevent the Telegraph re-publishing accusations at the heart of the case.

    Rush was awarded $850,000 in general and aggravated damages plus more than $1m for past economic loss, $919,678 in future economic loss and $42,000 in interest; he was originally seeking more than $25m in damages.

    Actress Rebel Wilson was awarded A$4.7m pay out last year, but that sum was reduced to $600,000 on appeal.

    She sued magazine publisher Bauer Media over articles that she said had wrongly portrayed her as a serial liar, but an appeals court later found that “there was no basis in the evidence for making any award of damages for economic loss.”

    If you have been defamed or have been accused of making defamatory statements our Commercial Litigation solicitors will quickly and efficiently put your case together and act on your behalf. Call Vijay Srivastava or Shalish Mehta in our civil and commercial litigation department on 0161 624 6811(Option 6) or email vjs@wrigleyclaydon.com or sm@wrigleyclaydon.com. We can advise you on the appropriate course of action and assist with any legal documents or proceedings that may occur.

    Click here to find out more about Litigation
    Click here to find out more about Defamation Solicitors