Wrigley Claydon Solicitors

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  • 10 Top Tips on Commercial Leases

    Commercial law can be complicated, here are our top tips on making sure things go smoothly.

    1. Location

    Before you enter into negotiations consider whether the property is right for you. Speak to a surveyor to make sure you are not paying over the odds for a property in that location. Also make sure that the Landlord and the local planning regulations permit you to use the property for your desired use.

    2. Term

    When negotiating on the length of a lease term you should assume that you will be liable for the entire term. It sounds obvious, but do you really want to be committed to pay rent in the property for the next 10 years, whether or not your business is doing well? Do you have protection under the Landlord & Tenant Act?

    3. Costs

    Landlords will sometimes request that you pay their legal fees for entering into a lease with you. This is not something you have to agree to and is a matter for negotiation.

    4. Guarantors

    A Landlord may request a guarantor to the lease, especially where the tenant is a limited company. A guarantor will guarantee a tenant’s performance of a lease and is liable on the same basis as the tenant.

    5. Rent Deposit

    Landlords may request a deposit upon commencement of a lease to cover the possibility of a tenant default. Consider whether you wish to negotiate that such a deposit is released before the end of the lease e.g. after 1 year or when you can provide accounts showing annual turnover three times greater than the rent.

    6. Break Clause

    Do you want the ability to bring your lease to an end early? By including a break clause you can have the right to do so at specified times during the term of your lease.

    7. Alienation

    Are there going to be any restrictions to your ability to ‘transfer’ the lease? Leases often include restrictions that do so, which could make it very difficult to dispose of your lease should you wish to do so before the term has ended.

    8. Security of tenure

    Leases for business purposes generally attract ‘security of Tenure’ under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. ‘Security of Tenure’ means that you have an automatic right to renew your lease at the end of its current term (subject to some exceptions) should you wish to. Check whether your lease going to be excluded from these provisions or not.

    9. Repair

    This is the most important element of negotiations to get right. Decide whether you are happy to have an open ended obligation to put a property back into repair (whether or not it was in repair when the leases starts) or whether you would like the obligation limited by reference to a schedule of condition

    10. Finally

    Take advice from a Solicitor.

    If you would like further information or to talk to us about commercial law please call us on 0161 785 3521.

  • Medical Negligence Claim

    If you have been unlucky enough to suffer from medical negligence the results can obviously be catastrophic, ranging from minor inconvenience to death.

    Medical negligence occurs when you have suffered unduly from the malpractice of a medical practitioner which can come in the form of things like misdiagnosis, wrong treatment, clinical malpractice, botched surgery, and a host of other negligent practices.

    Usually when the term ‘medical negligence’ is used; most people think a doctor is at fault however, medical negligence stretches across healthcare professionals such as nurses and dentists.

    Dental negligence is considered if there is irreparable damage or injury to the gum and teeth sustained as a result of a misdiagnosis or botched dental procedures.

    But what do you do if you think you have a dentist malpractice claim?

    The next step is to decide whether you wish to make a case of your complaint. You may think that accountability needs to be forced home; you may hope for the same malpractice never to happen again, and you may feel rightly entitled to some form of monetary pay out for your discomfort.

    You can receive information on whether to pursue a medical and dental negligence claim from a reliable solicitor’s office and you will find a host of these on the net. Particularly useful are sites that guide you through the legal process as this takes away some of the trepidation inherent in making a legal claim.

    Look for decent accredited solicitors which are privy to medical expertise and have experience in the area of law you are pursuing. The solicitor will firstly take the information of your potential claim and tell you if you should proceed.

    If so, you and your solicitor will then construct your medical negligence claim with any diaries or records as well as your official medical records. This claim will be sent to the defendant and they will decide whether to refute the claim or offer an out of court settlement.

    Some medical negligence claims will be decided this way and others will be decided in a court of law.

    For more information or to speak to our team about a possible claim please call us on 0161 785 3534.

    Team: Vijay Srivastava and Shalish Mehta

  • Do I need a divorce lawyer?

    Deciding that your marriage is over is a hard decision to reach. In addition to your personal feelings there maybe children or other family members who will be affected, and wider financial implications to consider.

    Once you are sure that a permanent split is the only way forward, seeking professional legal advice from a divorce lawyer is recommended.

    If you are ready to proceed here are our top tips from our Divorce Lawyers to help you get started:

    1. If you both accept the marriage is over then this will make the process easier. Try and get the other party to co-operate.
    2. Get hold of your marriage certificate or an official copy.
    3. Make sure you have the correct address for your spouse.
    4. Try and agree some arrangements for your children.
    5. Choose your timing carefully. Is getting a divorce the priority or is it really sorting out the arrangements for the children or finances?
    6. Choose your ground for divorce carefully for a smoother process – eg it may not be worth alleging adultery if it is not admitted.
    7. If using the behaviour ground, do you really need to throw in the kitchen sink as well? Think what you really need to say and don’t over-egg the pudding.
    8. If possible, sort out and agree how the legal and court costs are going to be paid and by whom. Are they to be shared in some way?
    9. Don’t just apply for the decree absolute at the first opportunity without considering the financial implications, particularly if financial matters have not yet been resolved. Remember that the divorce only changes your marital status and does not in itself resolve or conclude any financial arrangements.
    10. Make a new will to reflect your changed circumstances – you don’t have to wait for the final decree (decree absolute) to do this.
    If you would like further information or to talk to a Divorce Lawyer at Wrigley Claydon please call us on 0161 785 3521.

  • What we do as your probate solicitor after someone has died

    Probate SolicitorDo I need a probate solicitor?

    When someone dies, someone needs to sort everything out. Death is a major event which has consequences that need to be properly handled on behalf of the deceased. Probate is the legal authority conferred upon someone to carry out the administration of the estate.

    The ‘estate’  includes;

    • money, both cash and money in a bank or building society account. This could include money paid out on a life insurance policy
    • money owed to the person who has died
    • shares
    • property, for example, their home
    • personal possessions, for example, their car or jewellery
    As your probate solicitor these are the services we can provide;

    1. Register the death with all the relevant authorities without the need for you to obtain numerous death certificates and contact numerous authorities.

    2. Obtain the official document called a grant which authorises a named individual to administer the estate for example close bank accounts and encash insurance policies held by the deceased.

    3. Our application for a grant as a probate solicitor will be dealt with in priority to an individual’s application.

    4. Deal with the inland revenue on your behalf.

    5. Ensure monies are paid out to the correct beneficiaries – identification can be problematic especially if there is no will. we are fully insured.

    6. Arrange for property to be transferred following a death or deal with its sale.

    It is always best to get legal advice from a probate solicitor.  We are an experienced firm who understand and are able to deal with all possible aspects that can arise on someone’s death.

    For more information or to speak to one of our probate solicitors Rachel Damianou or please call us on  0161 624 6811.

  • Should you be influenced by hospital advertising by personal injury solicitors?

    In recent times certain members of the government have made calls for hospitals to stop personal injury solicitors from advertising in NHS hospitals. They want patients to have the time and peace to recover rather than being diverted by thoughts of claiming compensation.

    As a reputable Personal Injury Solicitor and Partner at Wrigley Claydon Vijay Srivastava comments:-

    Vijay’s family is steeped in the medical profession going back many generations and therefore appreciates the sensitivities of this issue and the need for clinical care to be the primary concern of all patients in hospital including those who have been injured.

    I suspect that the individuals from the Government making these calls want to prevent patients from thinking about suing the hospital that is treating them if the treatment goes wrong. However, we understand that most solicitors who advertise in hospitals are banned from bringing clinical negligence claims against the hospital in which they advertise in.

    It is possible that the Government representatives are in some small way trying to reduce the concept of the compensation culture.

    Vijay does not advertise his services as a personal injury solicitor in hospitals and is fortunate that his clients seek him out having been referred to him by friends and family whom Vijay has acted for in the past. However, Vijay would favour a ban of solicitors adverts in hospitals as it is important that people who have been injured choose their solicitors carefully based upon reputation, experience and recommendation rather than the size and location of an advert. Whilst Vijay is a whole hearted supporter of the NHS on the rare occasions when clinical negligence occurs, Vijay has successfully represented clients in bringing claims against the hospital where the treatment has gone wrong due to the negligence of the clinicians.

  • The Green Deal for residential properties

    The Green DealThe Government has recently introduced an initiative called The Green Deal, which is designed to reduce carbon emissions and save energy in the home.  The premise is that, if residential properties can be better insulated and have other energy efficiency improvements made to them, then energy demands will be reduced.

    The Green Deal allows property owners to pay for the energy improvement measures with no up-front payment.

    The idea is that the installers will install the appropriate energy enhancing measures (e.g. cavity wall insulation, solar panels, boilers etc.) at their cost.  The householder will then repay the cost (together with interest fixed for the period) over many years, using the savings made through their reduced energy bills.  The Green Deal repayments will be incorporated within the utility bills, which should be below the actual cost of the energy bills prior to the works being carried out.

    The Government’s policy is to ensure that consumers are protected at all stages.

    The works must be completed by registered installers who will be required to obtain the necessary planning and building regulations consents for the works being done.  If the owners of a Green Deal property plan to sell or rent their property then there is a duty to disclose the existence of the Green Deal and its financial implications.  The basic intention is that this will be achieved by disclosing the Green Deal in the Energy Performance Certificate.  If a Green Deal is not disclosed, then a new owner or tenant can challenge the obligation to repay, which may then leave the debt with the seller or the landlord.

    If you have any questions or would like to discuss The Green Deal further with a conveyancing solicitor please call Gary Burns on 0161 624 6811, gb@wrigleyclaydon.com at the Oldham office or Emma Piszkalo on 01706 815712, ep@wrigleyclaydontod.com at the Todmorden office.

  • Cuts to Legal Aid for Family Law

    Today marks a huge change in the way in which legal advice is funded for families from family lawyers.

    From today, 1st April 2013, those on a low income going through divorce and separation or experiencing difficulties with issues relating to their children, will no longer automatically be eligible to receive Legal Aid to pay for family lawyers.

    Only those cases involving domestic abuse, forced marriage, child abduction or care proceedings, will be eligible for Legal Aid, and only then, after strict criteria have been met.  If couples wish to resolve their dispute then they will either need to fund their own legal action or represent themselves.

    Those who sought public funding before 31st March 2013 will be entitled to continue with their matter using Legal Aid after this date with Wrigley Claydon’s family lawyers.

    Head of the Family Department at Wrigley Claydon Solicitors in Oldham, Jill Walker, says,

    “These changes will have a big impact on the cost of legal advice for many couples.  People who would previously have sought assistance from the Government to help them fund family disputes will no longer have this financial assistance available.”

    To make the funding of  family lawyers more affordable, Wrigley Claydon have introduced a range of fixed fee packages.

    “More clients are looking for cost certainty and want to know exactly what a service will cost before they instruct us to carry it out.”

    Initial free consultations can be arranged to discuss these packages and a free advice clinic for family clients is available at the Oldham office each Wednesday from 12 noon until 4pm.

    If you would like further information or to talk to one of our team of family lawyers at Wrigley Claydon please call us on 0161 785 3521

  • Finding the right Conveyancing Solicitor for you

    You may think that there is little difference between one Conveyancing Solicitor and another. The cost of conveyancing and the quality of service can, however, vary greatly.

    You may have also considered to carry out conveyancing process yourself, this is a high-risk strategy and not some thing we would recommend. Do you have the skills, knowledge and experience? It’s likely the answer is no.

    So what does a Conveyancing Solicitor actually do?

    Your Conveyancing Solicitor should provide a service which is designed to safeguard your interests to make sure that your sale or purchase proceeds as smoothly as possible.

    There are many reasons why delays can occur in the conveyancing process such as problems on survey, the wait for local authority searches, broken chains etc. It is often the failure to communicate these which causes frustration and confusion. Your conveyancing team should keep in touch with you at every stage of the transaction.

    SELLING A PROPERTY

    • Prepare an up-to-date redemption figure for your mortgage.

    • Redeem the mortgage and send the net proceeds of the sale to you (or put them towards the purchase of your new property).

    BUYING A PROPERTY

    Buying a property is more complicated, because here we will be seeking to ensure that what you buy does not involve you in unforeseen disputes over rights of way, boundaries, fences, restrictive covenants, road charges or other legal entanglements. We will do a Local authority search to establish whether or not there are to be any public works affecting the property (such as motorway schemes) and whether there are any planning restrictions .

    The information obtained relates only to the property being purchased and not to the neighbourhood in general. After receiving the contract from the seller’s solicitor, we will check through the documentation and raise any specific queries.

    The next steps are:-

    The legal processes involved in selling a property are relatively straightforward. It is our responsibility to :-

    •Obtain the Deeds from your mortgage lender.

    •Send a draft contract to the buyer’s solicitor.

    •Agree on a completion date.

    The Process

    1. SURVEYOR’S REPORT

    Your lender will appoint a surveyor to determine the value of the property. It is not a full structural survey and it is not certain to uncover defects in the property. If the property you are buying is not newly-constructed, we would recommend that you appoint a surveyor to prepare a full report. If significant defects are found, it may be possible to negotiate a lower price with the seller.

    2. RECEIPT OF MORTGAGE OFFER

    Your bank or building society will send written confirmation of the mortgage advance.

    3. EXCHANGE OF CONTRACTS

    This takes place after the full deposit (usually 10% of the selling price) is paid. Once contracts have exchanged, the sale is legally binding. We will then settle a completion date.

    4. RECEIPT OF MORTGAGE FUNDS

    We receive the funds from your bank or building society to enable you to purchase the property.

    5. COMPLETION

    The full purchase price is settled and ownership is transferred to you

  • What is Civil Litigation?

    Oldham SolicitorsThis area of law revolves around the resolution of disputes. The disputes can be between individuals, families or commercial organisations.

    Civil litigation is a legal dispute where one party is seeking money damages or specific performance rather than criminal sanctions.

    Whether you are a business or an individual unfortunately disputes do arise and debts remain unpaid.

    The Civil Procedure Rules allow an opportunity for resolving disputes without going to court. If court proceedings have to be issued our solicitors competently and systematically deal with the considerable paper work and procedural issues within the Litigation process to bring the case to trial whilst always looking for ways to strengthen the case both evidentially and tactically as well as negotiating; thinking laterally to explore avenues to resolve the case, narrow the issues or avoid a costly trial.

    The cases Wrigley Claydon, your Todmorden and Oldham Solicitors can help you with:

    • Breach of Contract

    • Property Disrepair Claims

    • Defective Goods and Services Claims

    • Construction and Building Disputes

    • Unpaid Invoices and Debt Liability

    • Professional Negligence Claims

    • Landlord and Tenant

    • Intellectual Property

    • Defamation and Libel

    • Neighbour and Boundary Disputes

    • Property Litigation

    • Wills and Probate Claims

    • Partnership Disputes

    • Business Lease Renewals

    We have solicitors both at our Todmorden and Oldham offices who specialise in civil litigation. They work efficiently and methodically, gathering evidence early, analysing the issues involved and advising on the cost effective way of resolving the dispute.

    Throughout this whole procedure we constantly try to support our clients to the best of our ability knowing you are experiencing a challenging and often frustrating time in your life.

    As your Todmorden and Oldham Solicitors we strive to provide a high quality legal service to the people and businesses of our area and wider community.

  • Neighbour Disputes

    You don’t have to be going through a bitter divorce or family rift to be involved in regular disputes these days. All you need is a disagreement over who owns a four-inch strip of land and you can be at loggerheads for years with your neighbours, and as well as causing you heartache, such fights can cost you dearly and even make your house unsaleable.

    “There is a definite increase in claims in neighbour disputes” says Frankie Nicholson of insurer Norwich Union.

    As a nation we are complaining more and becoming less willing to compromise.

    Why so many disputes these days?

    We find the main causes of disputes are entrenched attitudes, a higher expectation of quiet, incompatible lifestyles with neighbours, lack of modern sound insulation and more powerful sound equipment.

    Boundary disputes over tiny bits of land can flare up when triggered by another cause such as leaves from one’s tree falling into a neighbour’s garden or a disagreement over parking.

    If you want to prevent boundary disputes you should get an exact map of your land and borders drawn up by a surveyor when you buy a property.

    Top Tips from your Todmorden and Oldham Solicitors in keeping the peace!

    • Be very much on your guard if the person you buy your house from says there is an ongoing dispute with the neighbours.
    • There is a standard declaration for vendors to alert you to this, and if they conceal a problem they are guilty of misrepresentation and may have to subsequently reimburse buyers for any costs incurred as a result.
    •  Also look at the terms of your lease if you have one. You will see that in many cases floors have to be carpeted and you will be breaking the terms of the lease if you strip them down to the wood.
    • If the situation does get nasty try to negotiate with your neighbours.
    • Taking someone to the County Court is expensive and time consuming. One solution would be to mediate. The process starts when one party approaches the Mediation Service. A mediator will then pay you a visit, talk the issues over with you and approach the other party, usually by letter. Parties can then choose to have either “face-to-face” or “shuttle” mediation, where the mediator acts as a go between. Once an agreement – either verbal or written – is reached, the mediator backs off. They check back in a month to make sure the agreement is holding up.

    Mediation

    Mediation services can be free if funded by councils or charities, but it depends where you live. If they are not free the cost will be around £1000.00 without the use of lawyers. Both parties must reach agreement about splitting the cost early on, but either way it is, as far cheaper than going to court.

    Going to Court

    If you are determined to proceed to court then consult an experienced solicitor. They will discuss with you various ways to fund your claim including purchasing legal expense insurance whereby an insurer will agree to fund your claim subject to your claim having a reasonable prospect of success.

    If you have any plans to sell up in the near future think twice about starting a row with your neighbour.

    If you do make a complaint and then disclose it, solicitors would usually advise potential buyers to not complete the purchase until the issue is resolved. However, if you live next to a fanatic the issue may never be resolved.

    Even complaining to your local environmental health officer could leave you in a similar position. Of such complaints, only one in six eventually leads to an officer issuing an abatement order, and getting to that stage can take months as you have to prove the problem is a continuing one and not just a one-off.

    And if we eventually get a summer, windows will be open and people will be out in their gardens – two of the main ingredients in increasing neighbourly friction.

    What Our Clients Say About Us

    “I always found him to be very professional and knowledgeable. He
    was able to communicate well and had a very good understanding
    of the issues needed to be addressed with excellent results.”Ash Hussain- Client

    If you have any questions or would like to discuss a neighbour dispute call Shalish Mehta on 0161 624 6811 or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com.

    Wrigley Claydon are Todmorden and Oldham Solicitors experienced in dealing with neighbour disputes, we can help you resolve your problem minimising the stress and hassle for both parties.