Legal Blog

Safeguard your assets There are around 6 million Lasting Powers of Attorney registered with the Office of the Public Guardian in England and Wales. Despite this, the benefits of these important planning measures are not that well known. There will be an...

Statutory Payment Rates for 2025/26 The Government has set out increases to the statutory payment rates for 2025/26 as follows:- the standard weekly rates of Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Shared...

What MUST you do if you collide with an ‘animal’ (as defined) whilst driving? First of all you may be surprised to learn that you won’t find the answer to this question within The Highway Code.! Rather surprisingly the Highway Code is...

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“Without Prejudice”? You have probably heard this phrase quite often but what does it mean?  In broad terms “off the record“  More accurately if a person makes admissions or statements in a genuine attempt to settle a...

The Inheritance Tax ‘burden’ The recent Budget did not contain some of the previously expected Inheritance Tax increases although it seems to have focused quite harshly on the rural community. However, with revenues from Inheritance Tax at...

What is a motorway EA? and why were they introduced? Emergency areas (EAs) were first introduced on so called ‘smart motorways’ following the removal of the hard shoulder on these ‘all-lane-running motorways’, in order to ensure...

INCREASE IN WAGE RATES FROM 1 APRIL 2025 On 1 April 2025  the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates will  be increased by the largest amount since their introduction as follows :- NLW payable to all employees aged...

  Stamp Duty Updates On 30 October 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced an increase in Stamp Duty for second homes. The government has also confirmed the position on first time buyer reliefs due to come to an end in March 2025. The second-home...

Protecting your assets Do you own a property together? Is it your main asset? Do care fees, bankruptcy and/or the re-marriage of your surviving spouse concern you in terms of how this could affect the assets for your children? Property Protection...