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Wetherby 01937 583210
Malton 01653 692247
News

28 July 2023 Firm updates

Ware & Kay and Pearsons & Ward Solicitors is proud to announce that Laura Carter, Solicitor in the Wills & Probate team and accredited SFE (Solicitors for the Elderly) member, has passed the Solicitors for the Elderly Older Client Law in Practice Award.  In order to be a fully accredited SFE member, lawyers must have a minimum of three years' experience advising in areas of older client law and have completed the Older Client Law in Practice Award – a qualification which demonstrates the specialist client care skills that enable lawyers to advise and support older and vulnerable clients. Members are also required to continuously update their knowledge with training and produce an annual statement of competence, which ensures they maintain their expertise. Laura qualified as a Solicitor in 2015 and joined the firm in 2018…
25 July 2023 Firm updates

David Hyams has been shortlisted for 'Managing Partner of the Year' at the Yorkshire Legal Awards. The awards are taking place on 5 October 2023 at New Dock Hall in Leeds. We wish David all the best and good luck to everyone who has been shortlisted.
12 July 2023 Wills and estates

It's difficult enough to deal with a loved one's death. Additionally, organising their funds can be a difficult and drawn-out procedure. The executors designated in the will to carry out the deceased's wishes need legal custody over their assets, which is referred to as probate. In order to acquire access to the bank accounts of a deceased person and organise their property and goods. According to official statistics, approximately 250,000 petitions for probate are filed each year in England and Wales. What is probate? Executors are given access to a decedent's assets and the authority to distribute them through the legal process of probate, also known as estate management. The phrase "estate" refers to all their assets, including real estate, cash, and personal belongings. The personal representative is the individual who has been granted probate. Do…
28 June 2023 Litigation

In the recent case of Hughes v Pritchard and others the court dismissed a claim brought by the estate of one of the Deceased’s sons despite pre-existing findings that the deceased had promised that son the entirety of his farmland and that the son had relied on the promise. The Deceased Evan Richard Hughes died on 7 March 2017 aged 84 years. He was a cattle farmer with 137 acres of farmland and other property including a family building business. He had three children Gareth, Carys and Elfed; Elfed had tragically taken his own life in 2015. The Deceased had made three Wills in 1990, 2005 and 2016. By the 2005 Will he left his shares in the family business to Gareth and Carys and all his farmland to Elfed; the original trial judge found…
26 June 2023 Employment advice

“Retail giants W H Smith, Marks & Spencer and Argos are among firms who have been “named and shamed” by the government for breaking the minimum wage law. Almost £5m was found to be owed to around 63,000 workers following investigations by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs dating back as far as 2017. These named employers have been made to pay back what they owed, and in addition were fined around £7m.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/minimum-wage-wh-smith-lloyds-argos-b2361300.html When my colleague sent me this article I was taken aback. How could some of our largest and best-established retailers fall foul of the most basic employment law? The law on the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is not simply about paying a minimum amount per hour worked. In fact, there are common pitfalls which, if breached, can land a business into seriously hot HMRC water. What are the…
12 June 2023 Family Matters

  Resolving child contact arrangements after divorce is often tricky, but for a farming family where the children may have been actively involved in the business, it can be particularly problematic. When a couple who farm get divorced, one spouse will usually leave the family farm and so it is important to try to reach agreement at the earliest stage about who will get to spend time with any children and when. If the children work on the farm, this may need to be taken into consideration when the child contact arrangements are being negotiated as they may (or may not) want to be involved during busy periods such as lambing or harvest seasons. While agreeing co-parenting arrangements can be challenging for farming families – not least because of the demanding working patterns – there are…
12 June 2023 Residential property

More than 85 per cent of land in England and Wales is now registered with HM Land Registry; however large swathes of rural farmland remain unregistered. Land is often farmed by the same family for years and therefore no ‘trigger event’ arises which would require first registration. Here our solicitors explain when it is compulsory to register unregistered land and outlines the benefits and the pitfalls for those who do not. When you should register All land or property must be registered with HM Land Registry if you have: purchased it; been given land or property as a gift; inherited any land or property; leased it for more than seven years; received it in exchange for other property or land; or had it mortgaged. Farmers should be aware that agricultural land must also be…
08 June 2023 Family Matters

  Domestic abuse can impact men and women, of any age or race and is seen across all parts of society.  Unfortunately, statistics from the Office for National Statistics reveal that domestic abuse is on the increase, with cases having risen by six per cent since 2020, and it now represents an astonishing 18 per cent of all reported crime in England and Wales.  These statistics will bring little comfort to those in the midst of an abusive relationship, but a non-molestation order can provide a great comfort to someone who has bravely taken the step to leave.  What is a non-molestation order? A non-molestation order is a type of injunction.  It is an order from the court that forbids a person you know from threatening or using violence against you.  It bans them from pestering…
06 June 2023 Residential property

If your son or daughter is heading off to university, you may be thinking about their accommodation. With student rents averaging nearly £7,000 a year, you may also want to help financially. For some parents, the solution is to buy a property for their child to live in while studying and possibly to rent spare rooms to fellow students. But is this a good idea?   ‘It really depends on your personal circumstances, and what you want to achieve,’ says Holly Stevens, Director & Head of Residential Property with Ware & Kay in York. ‘Investing in a property in a university town could free your child from any accommodation worries while they are studying. However, you will find there is a lot to consider before you buy, and while you have students as tenants.’ Property…
05 June 2023 Employment advice

‘Using a settlement agreement to bring an employment relationship to an end, and effectively wipe the slate clean, can be very useful. But, to start the conversation, employers need to be able to speak off the record,’ says Kalpesh Nakeshree, Head of Employment Law with Ware & Kay in York, Wetherby & Malton. ‘There are ways that this can be done, but employers need to take care and be aware of a few limitations.’ Kalpesh explains what settlement agreements are; when discussions are ‘off the record’; the benefits of a settlement agreement and off-the-record conversations. He offers a word of caution and tips on strengthening your bargaining position, and takes a quick look at non-disclosure agreements after the #MeToo campaign.   What is a settlement agreement? A settlement agreement is a binding agreement to waive…
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