| Welcome to the July issue of our newsletter, keeping you up to date with news from the world of law.
There has been much in the news about financing care lately and it’s certainly an issue many of our clients come to see us about on a regular basis. Saga estimates that one in five people will require the most expensive type of care, but most will be unable to afford it. There are ways to plan, however. Annuities and other financial solutions are there to be considered so talk to us about a plan to finance care and protect your assets; there are paths we can explore for you. The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Bill, has recently been introduced in the House of Lords. It is hoped the Bill will make it easier for insurers and insured parties to know their rights and obligations. Currently, the law calls for consumers to volunteer information about anything a “prudent insurer” would consider relevant. However, the view is that most consumers are unaware they are under a duty to volunteer information and even if they are aware, they often have little idea of what an insurer might consider relevant. Therefore, the changes will shift the responsibility to the insurer to request specific disclosures. If you ever become involved in a dispute with an insurer, don’t feel you are alone: remember we can help.
The area of employment law continues to undergo major change. Recent months have seen new proposals to change rights of employees to request flexible working arrangements. This month employment specialist Elizabeth McGlone looks at the Government's consultation paper on modern workplaces. Ensure that your employment contracts are keeping pace with the rapid changes by contacting Elizabeth to discuss how she can review your procedures.
Using your pension fund to cost effectively lend money to your business seems to be gaining in popularity and we have been involved with a number of clients recently who have utilised this income source. Read more on our website. We make no excuses for continuing to remind our clients about shareholder and partnership agreements, which many businesses do not have, but which are vitally important to protect against future disputes between business owners or to set in place procedures in case a business owner dies. See our recent article and contact Stewart Matthews if you would like any further information. Further information appears on our website this month from financial advisers Business & Personal Investment Limited turning the spotlight onto Inflation Beating Retirement Planning. Click here to read more.
Neves News
We are pleased to announce that solicitor Pui Au-Yeung has recently joined our Family team. Pui will be based at our Milton Keynes office servicing clients in both Milton Keynes and Northampton.
As part of Neves continued expansion and development Gail Donaldson has been promoted to the position of Head of the Private Client Department. Gail will move from the Milton Keynes office to be primarily based at our Harpenden office. Gail is a highly experienced Private Client solicitor who assists clients with wills, lasting powers of attorney, probate and trusts. As a chartered tax adviser, Gail is also able to offer clients tax planning advice. As if all this is not enough, Gail is also dual qualified in Scots law and can therefore assist in estates that include assets north of the border!
Vivienne Hamilton, who has worked with our Private Client department in Harpenden as a locum solicitor for over 3 years has decided to wind down her locum role with Neves allowing her to concentrate on other things one of which being a volunteer at the 2012 Olympics. Whilst Viv will remain with us for a little longer we take this opportunity to thank Viv for her commitment and hard work over the last few years and we wish her the very best of luck for the future.
July also saw a change in seats for the firm's trainee solicitors. Trainees must spend two years in obtaining "hand's on" experience in a number of areas of law and therefore rotate around our different departments. From 1st July Jennifer Duckett and Joanne Norris are swapping roles between the Family and Residential Property teams.
Below is a rundown of breaking news in the legal world. For advice on any issue, contact us. | 
Creating a will is an extremely important task, which is why the Law Society is calling on the Government to introduce a formal qualification for will writers. Unqualified will writers notoriously cause huge problems for testators and their beneficiaries, which is why using a qualified solicitor to draft this highly important document is crucial. Solicitors are professionally qualified, trained across a range of disciplines such as tax mitigation and trust drafting, and protected by high level liability insurance. The full story is on our website. Talk to us about drafting a will, or updating yours if you haven’t reviewed it recently. Things change, and so should your will.
A mother has failed in her claim that the local authority’s decision to obtain a separation order against her and her baby breached her human rights. It was judged that everybody involved in the case acted in good faith after the baby - who was born in prison - was placed in care after the behavior of the mother was believed to have put the child’s life in danger. Local authorities will be supported by the courts if their decision is judged to have been made in good faith. You can read this case in full on our website.
Expert legal advice relating to divorce is of paramount importance, especially now that a recent ruling has judged that there are limits on the extent to which future earning capacity should be taken into consideration in divorce cases. The Court of Appeal has ruled in a recent case that while earning capacity is relevant to the division of assets on divorce, it is not an asset in itself. The ruling is explained in full on our website. Our lawyers provide confidential advice on all types of relationship issues and the financial connotations of a relationship breakdown.
