Wednesday Guest Blog

Another blog from Jeremy Frost of Frost Business Services:

It is very rare for me to know more than a day or two in advance what I will be doing.  On Friday I got a call to attend a Board Meeting with a client on Monday to discuss the Company’s pending Insolvency.  It was clear that the Board Meeting was the culmination of a twenty year business relationship which had disintergrated as, amongst other things,  trading pressures had built over the course of 2012.  A tough meeting culminating with the Board inviting in an Administrator.  To paraphrase the Chairman; I could go and borrow £250,000 to refinance this business, but not with  him in it and, quite frankly I would prefer to go back on the tools.

Very sad and very understandable.

And yesterday I was on my way to the little boys room in our business centre, merrily minding my own business when I got asked to partake in a television programme called Real Women which is produced by www.Croydontv.co.uk.  I was invited to discuss the effect of the mountain of debt on UK corporations and how it affects more of us than we might believe.  I tried to inject a bit of  humour but thought better of using my usual joke about buying too many handbags and shoes!  Hopefully it will look as good on the Interweb as it sounded when being there!

Jeremy Frost FABRP MIPA, Director  Frost Group Limited

Tel: 0845 260 0101   Fax: 020 8915 1018    http://www.frostbr.co.uk

Freedman Alexander LLP  – solicitors in Epsom and Ewell – http://www.fallp.co.uk 

Reduced Rate of Inheritance Tax

The rate of Inheritance Tax is 40% for estates over the “nil rate band” of £325,000.   After 6 April 2012 the 40% tax has been reduced to 36% if 10% or more of the relevant estate is given to charity.  This new measure affects people who are considering leaving or who have already left a charitable legacy in their Will.

If your Will contains legacies to charities or you want to benefit a charity and pay less tax then it would be an appropriate time to take our professional advice with regard to your Will.

Graeme.Aston@fallp.co.uk

Freedman Alexander LLP  – solicitors in Epsom and Ewell – http://www.fallp.co.uk 

Wednesday Guest Blog

Here’s a guest blog by Jeremy Frost of Frost Business Services:

It seems that I have been banging on about the damage done to UK plc by the increase in the prevelence of Zombie Companies and general fraud for months.  Is anybody listening I ask myself?

Well the amount of lip service is certainly increasing in term of the Zombies in our midst.  The latest example is Chris Loughton’s (Editor of R3 Magazine) views in the latest Recovery newsletter.  He is in “the business” so it is unlikely that I would disagree with him too violently, but I find it difficult to explain the current predicament better.  The Recovery newsletter is available on our website: http://www.frostbr.co.uk.

That was first thing this morning.  And next I got a call from a likely new instruction wanting advice on the threats of action being made against him resulting from an alleged personal guarantee of a corporate debt.  All sounded a bit fishy to me with requests to write letters after the event and the further request to remove “without prejudice” from correspondence.  Good job that I could speak to Freadman Alexander to get my head straight.  Something to do with one of the oldest statutes on the books!  dismissing aggressive solicitors is always best achieved once you have succinct advice.  Thanks guys!

Well well; both hobby horses ridden in a morning!

Jeremy Frost FABRP MIPA, Director  Frost Group Limited

Tel: 0845 260 0101   Fax: 020 8915 1018    http://www.frostbr.co.uk 

Why You Should Make a Will

As a Wills, Probate and Trusts Solicitor I am amazed at the number of people who put off making a Will.   There are many reasons why you should make a Will, but the simple fact is that the ownership of any possessions, whether money, property or otherwise, needs to be covered by a Will.

If you die without a Will you are said to die intestate.  There are certain statutory rules, which cover how the money, property or possessions should be allocated.  There are limits as to the amount that the surviving spouse and children inherit and this may not be the way you would have wished your money and possessions to be distributed.  It could mean that certain people who you did not want to benefit from your estate are given a share and those who you did want to look after are given very little.

Unmarried partners and partners who have not registered a Civil Partnership cannot inherit from each other unless there is a Will.   The intestacy rules do not make provision for them.   This means that the death of one partner may create serious financial problems for the remaining partner.

If you have children, you will probably want to set up a Will Trust so that they inherit at a particular age.  You will also need to name Guardians in case both parents die.

Carefully drafted wills can ensure that you do not pay more Inheritance Tax than is necessary.  We can provide advice on Inheritance Tax and suggests ways in which the Tax can be minimised.

Particular circumstances lend themselves to having a professionally drafted Will.  Some examples are where: –

• You share a property with someone who is not your husband, wife or partner
• You wish to make provision for a dependent who is unable to care for themselves
• There are several family members who may make a claim on the Will, for example a second wife or children from a first marriage
• Your permanent home is not in the United Kingdom or you are resident here but have overseas property
• There is a business

If you would like advice as to the costs for preparing a new Will give me a call on 0208 393 0941.  I am a qualified practitioner with the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners.

Graeme.Aston@fallp.co.uk http://www.fallp.co.uk

Landlords: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Possession Proceedings

There can be several reasons why a landlord would want to recover possession of a property from a residential tenant. Commonly these are (a) Landlord wants to sell the property (b) Tenant is in arrears of rent (c) Tenant is in breach of other terms in the tenancy agreement, such as allowing the property to fall into disrepair, causing damage, or moving someone else into the property without permission. Frustratingly for landlords you can’t simply gain possession by re-entering the property and changing the locks without incurring civil and criminal liability. Typically a landlord must follow the following steps to secure possession of a property:

1. Serving notice on the tenant that possession is required;
2. Issuing a claim for possession in the county court;
3. Obtain judgment for possession; and
4. Recover possession after judgment.

The law in this area favours the tenant and it is worth bearing this in mind at every stage of the process of seeking possession: if you do not act in accordance with the law at each stage. You risk having possession proceedings struck out and potentially find yourself liable to pay compensation to the tenant and face a fine and/or imprisonment. It can be a costly and frustratingly long exercise if you get it wrong. Freedman Alexander LLP is a pro-active and modern forward thinking and firm of solicitors with a wealth of experience in eviction and other tenant- related problems.

We act for numerous landlords and several estate agents and letting agents. We believes in getting the job done and the importance of communication with the client through each stage of the process. We can swiftly identify the issues and the necessary and appropriate action.

Contact us at david.sumner@fallp.co.uk

http://www.fallp.co.uk

New Web Site

Hi everyone – the Freedman Alexander website (http://www.fallp.co.uk) is now up and running.  Don’t forget to “like”us on FaceBook.