Legal Guides - Your Legal Matters Explained

Disputing a Will
When a loved one dies family members and close friends all have to deal with the resulting emotional impact.  This comes at a time when there will be also be time-consuming and, sometimes difficult issues relating to their loved one’s personal affairs and the administration of their estate to be dealt with...

Avoid the Pitfalls of Partner and Shareholder Disputes
Disputes between business partners, directors and shareholders arise for any number of reasons from a basic personality clash to fundamental disagreements over the direction and development of a business.  The danger is, if everyone takes their eye away from the core development and growth of the business everyone stands to lose...

16 Tips When Moving Home
We understand the importance of ensuring your move proceeds as quickly as possible and this is why we have created a team of property experts dedicated to providing a fast, efficient and effective service. We have created this guide to provide you with helpful tips and insights to ensure your house move proceeds as quickly, and more importantly, as stress-free as possible...

Quick Guide to Buying and Selling
Part one of this guide is a flow chart which details the various stages involved in the process of buying and selling and the average time between each stage. Part 2 is a more detailed narrative on the stages detailed in the flowchart...

Buy to Let Guide
One of the most effective ways of researching for a buy to let property is by speaking to local letting agents...

Top Tips when Buying Business Premises
Many businesses will consider the requirement to operate from or own commercial premises and often this will form a key part of the business plan. The decision of whether to lease or buy commercial property will usually depend on the financial viability of the business but there are also a number of other factors associated with buying or leasing commercial premises which should be considered...

How to Conduct a Disciplinary Hearing
We have set out a checklist setting out the basic procedure for a disciplinary hearing. It takes account of best practice to ensure compliance with the law relating to unfair dismissal and the Acas Code of Practice. The checklist could also be used for formal hearings that could lead to warnings for capability or attendance...

Issues to Consider for Maternity Leave
We have set out a checklist for use when meeting with an employee due to go on maternity leave...

Recruitment Checklist
We have set out a checklist of the steps involved in the recruitment process from preparing a job description and person specification, advertising the vacancy, carrying out an interview process and making an offer of employment..

Employee Rights when Facing Redundancy
We have set out a checklist of the rights that an employee has in a redundancy situation. These may be statutory or contractual, individual or collective. Some rights will require a qualifying period, others will not...

Guide to the Bribery Act 2010
The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011 and replaces all preceding anti-corruption legislation and provides what has been described as the most far reaching bribery laws in the world...

8 Good Reasons to Make a Will
The most important reason to create a Will is that it provides your loved ones with clear and definitive instructions on how you would like your last wishes to be undertaken. This is important as it avoids any unnecessary disagreements occurring at an already difficult time...

Guide to Capital Gains Tax
Capital Gains Tax is a tax on the profit or gain you make when you sell or dispose of an asset. Any gain you make is taxed, not the amount of money you receive for the asset...

Guide to Lasting Powers of Attorney
The purpose of a Lasting Power of Attorney is to enable you to plan for the future by electing one or more persons to act on your behalf and make decisions for you if you are either physically or mentally incapable of doing so...

What to do when Someone Dies
Deaths occurring in England and Wales should normally be registered within five days at the registry office covering the district where the death occurred. Before registering a death it will be useful to collect various information about the deceased...

Guide to Finances on Divorce
There is no simple answer with regard to how much you are entitled to after your marriage breaks down. If matters cannot be agreed between spouses, and the need arises to settle matters in court, the aim of the Court is to achieve fairness and a key factor is often the reasonable needs of each spouse...

Top Tips: How to Minimize Distress to Children During Divorce of Seperation
It is never easy when a marriage or relationship breaks down and parties decide that they can no longer live with one another. The children’s feelings can often be inadvertently overlooked by the parents as they themselves are going through an extremely difficult time...

Information for victims of domestic violence
You may (depending on all of the circumstances of the case, including the need to secure the health, safety and well-being of the person in need of protection, or any relevant child) apply for an Order preventing the other party (who will be known as the Respondent) from inflicting or threatening violence...

A Quick Guide to an Undefended Divorce
Terminology (to be read in conjunction with the flow chart below)...