What rights do step-parents have after divorce?

As a step-parent who is getting divorced or separating, you may feel confused over what rights you will have in relation to your step-children especially if you have spent many years living as a family and have grown to love them as your own.  You know how important your bond is and may be worried that your former spouse may try to damage this relationship.  It can be an anxious time, but we can help you understand what rights you have and what options are available to you. In legal terms, to be a step-parent you must have married or entered a civil partnership with one of the child’s biological parents.  If you did not marry the biological parent but lived together with them, then your rights will be slightly different and it is important that…

Access to seasonal agricultural workers in the UK after Brexit: the Seasonal Worker Immigration Scheme and COVID-19 restrictions

Freedom of movement from the European mainland came to an end on 1 January 2021. In December 2020 the UK government announced that the number of seasonal agricultural workers permitted to travel to the UK to help pick and package fruit and vegetables in 2021 would be increased. Now 30,000 seasonal worker visas will be made available for 2021, enabling EU and non-EU workers to enter Britain to assist with the harvest. This will treble the number of seasonal worker visas made available in 2020.  Gillian Reid, Head of Employment at Ware & Kay Solicitors in York, Wetherby and Malton (Pearsons & Ward) explains.   The UK seasonal worker visa program was initially launched as a pilot in 2019 and has now been extended by a further 12 months. The extension applies to EU and non-EU workers…

Saint Catherine's Hospice Make a Will Week 29 March to 02 April, 2021

Pearsons & Ward Solicitors in Malton (part of Ware & Kay Solicitors based in York & Wetherby) is delighted to support the Saint Catherine’s Hospice Make a Will Week. We have agreed to give our time and expertise for free to support Saint Catherine’s Hospice Make a Will Week. We will happily speak with you to take your instructions for a simple Will during this week and draft a professional Will in accordance with those instructions. We will also arrange with you for your Will to be signed by the end of May 2021. In return, you will make a donation to Saint Catherine’s. Our suggested minimum is £125* per single Will and £200* per matching pair. This is payable at the time you sign your Will with us and we will forward the donation…

Brexit and the impact on farmers

Farmers across the country breathed a huge sigh of relief on Christmas Eve when the UK and European Union reached a last-gasp post-Brexit trade deal after nine torturous months of negotiations. The long-awaited trade deal, which came into force when the Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020, averted a no-deal Brexit – which most agreed would have been a catastrophic development for the agricultural sector. Although the tariffs are no longer a threat, trade will still not be completely frictionless and farmers who deal with the EU or traditionally used EU workers still have much to consider. Jacqueline Barr, agricultural law specialist at Pearsons & Ward Solicitors in Malton (part of Ware & Kay Solicitors) explains. Movement of labour Free movement of labour ended on 31 December 2020, leaving food and farming sectors exposed…