All
Renewing a commercial lease: a beginner’s guide
Having a secure business premises from which to operate is integral to many companies’ success – and indeed survival. That’s why there are statutory protections in place to ensure that commercial tenants are not at risk of being summarily evicted from their premises whenever a lease comes to ....
Continue reading Renewing a commercial lease: a beginner....
Dividing lives: financial and custody arrangements on divorce
Quite apart from the emotional upheaval of deciding to end your relationship, the prospect of detangling your finances after years or even decades spent with your ex-partner can be a daunting and stressful one. Moreover, decisions regarding the shared custody of any children you have together can b....
Continue reading Dividing lives: financial and custody ar....
Getting through your divorce with less stress
Making the decision to end your relationship is often difficult, stressful and life changing. And that’s before you even commence the process of detangling the life you’ve built together. Depending on your personal circumstances, there are ways to minimise the stress and emotional trauma that d....
Continue reading Getting through your divorce with less s....
Property in Hertfordshire and Essex: an excellent investment
Despite all the odds, our Private Wealth Guide for 2021/22 painted an extremely positive picture of Hertfordshire and Essex’s booming property markets. In Essex, searches for properties in popular hotspots such as Saffron Walden and Walton-on-the-Naze nearly doubled in 2020, while seaside destina....
Continue reading Property in Hertfordshire and Essex: an ....
Which pre-contract searches do I need when buying a commercial property?
When buying a commercial property, it is vital to ensure all mandatory searches are carried out, aswell as any additional checks needed for the specific property. The required searches will vary depending on the property’s location and whether it is bought with cash or a mortgage. Why are ....
Continue reading Which pre-contract searches do I need wh....
Hertfordshire and Essex: centres for investment and innovation
In our Private Wealth Guide for 2021/22, we featured some of Hertfordshire and Essex’s best and brightest businesses – those that were bucking the downward economic trend and achieving impressive things despite the odds. In recent years, both counties have attracted significant regiona....
Continue reading Hertfordshire and Essex: centres for inv....
Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill announced
The government has published a press release announcing the next stage of its moratorium on commercial evictions due to rent arrears: the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill, which was introduced to Parliament on 9 November. Commercial landlords have been barred from evicting tenants unable to pa....
Continue reading Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill annou....
Leaving cryptocurrency in your Will
In our previous blog, we wrote about digital assets and their importance in estate planning. One such asset is cryptocurrency – a type of digital currency which is controlled independently from a central bank – which has taken the investment world by storm in recent years. You may have heard of....
Continue reading Leaving cryptocurrency in your Will....
What are digital assets and why should you include them in your Will?
If you have a social media account, use an online banking app, or are subscribed to a music service like Spotify, then you are the proud owner of a digital asset. What are digital assets? A digital asset is anything that is stored digitally (i.e. in binary format) that you either own or h....
Continue reading What are digital assets and why should y....
A picture of strength and resilience: Hertfordshire, Essex and COVID-19
In September, we published the third edition of our annual Private Wealth Guide, fully updated for 2021-22 and, as usual, full of facts, figures and statistics outlining the very best that Hertfordshire and Essex have to offer to high-net-worth individuals. This year, however, has been somewhat ....
Continue reading A picture of strength and resilience: He....
Bank of Mum and Dad: Potential pitfalls of parental lending
NatWest, HSBC, Nationwide… when we think of mortgage lending, our thoughts inevitably stray to the household names of the banking sector. But did you know that parents and relatives – also known as the Bank of Mum and Dad or BoMaD – are collectively the UK’s ninth largest mortgage lender? I....
Continue reading Bank of Mum and Dad: Potential pitfalls ....
Is it time to buy your freehold?
Extending your lease can be a long and complicated process. However, doing so promptly, with the help of a specialist solicitor, can save you thousands of pounds in extra costs and add value to your property. If you are in a position to do so, however, the best course of action might be to buy the ....
Continue reading Is it time to buy your freehold?....
Preventing sexual harassment in the workplace
According to charity Rights of Women, 44% of callers to their sexual harassment helpline reported that they had been sexually assaulted in their place of work. In a survey of callers to the charity’s Sexual Harassment at Work advice line between August 2019 and August 2020, it was revealed tha....
Continue reading Preventing sexual harassment in the work....
Freedom Day is coming… what employers need to know
Following a four-week delay on 21 June, so called ‘Freedom Day’ is almost here – exactly 480 days after England’s first lockdown measures were introduced. On Monday 19 July 2021, all remaining legal coronavirus restrictions in England are set to be lifted. However, with the Delta variant of....
Continue reading Freedom Day is coming… what employers ....
The eviction ban has ended but landlords should still proceed with caution
In March 2020, the government introduced a series of emergency measures to protect residential tenants from the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. One of these measures was a ban on residential possession proceedings and eviction, with the aim that “no renter in either social or privat....
Continue reading The eviction ban has ended but landlords....
Enforcement of possession orders in the post-COVID era
On 1 June 2021, the ban on residential evictions was lifted in response to the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions. The enforcement process The first stage of an eviction is for a court to issue an order for possession telling your tenant to leave, or a suspended order for possession,....
Continue reading Enforcement of possession orders in the ....
2022 will see ‘no fault’ divorce become law
In April 2022, the much-awaited Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 will introduce what has become known as ‘no fault’ divorce. It has long been seen by campaigners and legal professionals as a much-needed amendment that will greatly reduce the stress, expense and acrimony that charact....
Continue reading 2022 will see ‘no fault’ divorce bec....
Business owners: don’t forget about succession planning
According to a study conducted last year by the Institute for Corporate Productivity, 44.4% of businesses had no formal approach to succession planning, while 10% performed no succession planning whatsoever. Even the largest companies struggle; research suggests that two thirds (68%) of all FTSE 10....
Continue reading Business owners: don’t forget about su....
Lifetime gifting and the ‘presumption against double portions’
The rules around inheritance are highly complex, as many of those who have had to go through probate or deal with Inheritance Tax issues know all too well. Because so few people fully understand them, however, they may risk unintentionally jeopardising the inheritance they leave behind for their be....
Continue reading Lifetime gifting and the ‘presumption ....
The return to work: your questions answered
Rising cases and the transmissibility of the ‘Delta variant’ of COVID-19 may delay the UK’s ‘freedom day’ of 21 June; even so, increasing numbers of people are either making or soon expect to make the transition back to the office. If you have any questions about the return to office life....
Continue reading The return to work: your questions answe....
