The Importance Of Making A Will

Making a Will is very important if you care what happens to your money and your belongings after you die, and most of us do.  Most of us have younger relatives who we want to benefit from our estate, or we have charities maybe that we want to support. If you do not make a Will, the law decides who gets what, and what the law decides may well not be what you want. Everything does not always go to your spouse, for example. If you're not married everything certainly does not go to your partner; it will go to blood relatives. Although many people make a Will to ensure their affairs are taken care of after they die, there are many others who make no such provision believing that, even without a Will, their…

Can Your Business Survive A Partnership Dispute

Being in partnership can be a great way to do business: the pooling of capital, talent, skill and common purpose to drive a business to success. However, as with the best of relationships, things can go wrong. Trust can evaporate as differences in personalities emerge. Ethics, business direction, control issues, underperformance and money woes can dominate partnership meetings, instead of the wellbeing and growth of the business. Firm foundations Before setting up or entering into a partnership, take advice from a specialist solicitor. Their role is to protect your interests and ensure you have a clear picture of your responsibilities, management, expectation and risk. Establishing your legal status can help avoid pitfalls later.  Factors such as capital input, profit share and management powers are all relevant in determining whether you are a true partner or…

Inheritance Tax Do I Need Some Advice

Although often in the news, inheritance tax is still not widely understood. That's worrying, because it affects thousands of families every year. If you thought inheritance tax was just for extremely wealthy people to worry about, think again. Rising property prices and increasing stock market values have meant more estates than ever are likely to face an inheritance tax bill. In fact according to the Office for National Statistics, the amount of inheritance tax collected has doubled over the last five years, and the number of estates paying inheritance tax has nearly tripled over the same period. Acknowledging the inheritance tax problem faced by large numbers of homeowners, the Government has introduced an additional inheritance tax allowance of up to £175,000 in April 2017 to apply to the family home in certain circumstances. However, even with…

How Well Do You Know Your Customer

Knowledge is power and detailed knowledge of customers will greatly improve your chances of obtaining payment if they should later become debtors. For the small but problematic proportion of outstanding debts that are likely to lead to court action, it is vitally important to ensure that you have enough information to enforce a judgment successfully should the need arise. In this article Ware & Kay Solicitors, advise business owners to handle all new enquiries with extra care. "In the excitement of taking on a new customer or contract, before you begin your first transaction, take care to obtain as much information as possible to ensure that you can pursue them effectively in the event of non-payment," says Jethro. New consumer customers If your customers are consumers, obtain personal information, carry out credit checks and validate telephone…