Guides
Welton Law deals primarily with conveyancing, wills, administration of estates and, in particular, law relating to the elderly. We hope these guides below give you a better understanding of these areas. If we can be of any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 01482 627711 or e-mail us at info@weltonlaw.co.uk.
Please select from the following guides:
- Guide to Conveyancing
- Guide to Probate
- Introduction
- The Grant of Probate
- Who holds the Grant of Probate?
- The role of the solicitor
- Rough guide to fees
- Inheritance Tax
- What next?
- Guide to Wills
Guide to Conveyancing
- Selling
- Process
- Exchanging Contracts
- Completion
- Buying
- Process
- Exchanging Contracts
- Completion
First, we obtain your title deeds. Then we send all relevant documents to the buyers' solicitor. This package includes: a contract based on the information in your deeds; copies of pertinent parts of your deeds so that the buyer can see what rights or obligations affect the property; a Property Information Form - which you have to complete; a Contents Form which you will complete; and any guarantees or permissions.
The Property Information Form simply outlines any information that should be shared with the buyer. Details about any right-of-way, special access arrangements, information about modifications to the building, details about neighbours... and so on. The Contents Form is just an inventory of the items you are leaving in the property as part of the sale. Curtains, carpets, light fittings, etc. This lists your agreement with the buyer and cannot be altered once agreed.
This is the stage where both buyers and sellers become legally bound. If you are buying and selling, then it is imperative that any binding agreements cover both transactions at the same time, otherwise the whole process can get impossibly complicated and very expensive. Rest assured, Welton Law prevents this potential disaster by always practising good case management.
A contract is your record of the agreement. It only becomes legally binding once these papers have been exchanged. At the exchange of contracts, a completion date will be fixed. You must ensure that the property is vacated by this date. This is what the term "vacant possession" means and the buyers' solicitor will only pay your purchase money once this has been achieved.
The completion date is usually mutually agreed. As the seller, you must remember to organise removals, arrange for all meters to be read, hand in all keys to the estate agent and notify the proper authorities of a change of ownership.
At the point of completion, all the transaction documents will be finalised and signed, and all financial matters will be in place. Cleared funds must be available to pay any outstanding mortgage, estate agent fees and legal fees.
After completion, we organise the payment of stamp duty, registration of ownership and other legal formalities.
Stamp duty is the tax payable against profit made during the sale of a property...
Registration of Ownership - The Land Registry will normally take a couple of weeks to change the registration of ownership into the buyer's name, but once this has been confirmed, the deeds will be sent to the buyer or their mortgage lender.
On your behalf, we ask the seller's solicitor for a contract and all supporting documentation relating to the property. This includes: a contract based on the information in the deeds; copies of pertinent parts of the deeds so that we can see what rights or obligations affect the property; a Property Information Form; a Contents Form; and any guarantees or permissions.
The Property Information Form is completed by the seller and simply outlines any information that should be shared with the buyer. Details about any right-of-way, special access arrangements, information about modifications to the building, details about neighbours... and so on.
The Contents Form is completed by the seller and provides you with an inventory of the items being left in the property as part of the sale. Curtains, carpets, light fittings, etc. This list can be decided between the buyer and seller and forms part of the sale agreement.
We then ask for a search to be carried out on the property. This service incurs an additional fee that is set by the Local Authority and must be paid by the buyer.
We closely examine all of this information for any details that may influence your decision to buy and then report them to you.
If you have applied for a mortgage, you must receive a written offer from the lender before fully committing yourself to buy the property. In most cases the lender will instruct us to deal with their legal requirements. At this time, any conditions on the mortgage offer must be met (or we must be certain that they will be met by the completion date).
The extent of any property survey is up to you. The mortgage lender will insist on their own in order to satisfy them of the value of the house, but you can also ask for an additional, independent survey. After all, this is a serious financial commitment and you want to make sure that the physical condition of the property is sound.
Until these stages have been completed, you are under no legal obligation to go ahead with the purchase.
This is the stage where both buyers and sellers become legally bound. If you are buying and selling, then it is imperative that any binding agreements cover both transactions at the same time, otherwise the whole process can get impossibly complicated and very expensive. Rest assured, Welton Law prevents this potential disaster by practising good case management.
As a buyer you will need up to a 10% deposit in cleared funds at the exchange of contracts. You must also have the property insured from this point and make sure life policies are in force. You should also inform the gas, electricity and telephone suppliers that you are the new owner and make sure billing begins from the date you move in.
A contract is your record of the agreement. It only becomes legally binding once these papers have been exchanged. At the exchange of contracts, a completion date will be fixed.
The completion date is usually mutually agreed. As the buyer, don't forget to collect all keys from the estate agent, tell all relevant people of your change of address - your GP, driving licence, credit cards, store cards, bank, etc.
At the point of completion, all the transaction documents will be finalised and signed, and all financial matters will be in place. Cleared funds must be available to pay any outstanding fees.
After completion, we organise registration of ownership and other legal formalities.
The Land Registry will normally take a couple of weeks to complete registration, but once this has been confirmed, your deeds will either be sent to you or, if you have a mortgage, kept by your lender.)
Guide to Probate
- Introduction
- The Grant of Probate
- Who holds the Grant of Probate?
- The role of the solicitor
- Obtain application forms
- Choose where you wish to be interviewd
- Complete the application forms
- Submit the properly completed forms to the Probate Registry and pay the filing fee and a personal application fee
- Attend an interview, the purpose of which is to confirm all of the detail and arrange for you to swear an Oath that this information, to the best of your knowledge, is true and correct.
- Rough guide to fees
- Inheritance tax
- What next?
The administration of an Estate after someone has died can be a troublesome time and that is why all the correct legal procedures must be in place. Probate is the issuing of a legal document which authorises the Executor to carry out the instructions contained within the Will. If the Will is handled by an Administrator, then a Grant of Letters of Administration must be sought. The process for this is the same as that for Grant of Probate.
Building societies and banks will not allow the deceased's assets to be handled by anyone unless they can prove that they have the authority to do so. This is called the Grant of Probate and documents the full contents of the Estate. If the assets include ownership of land, then the Land Registry will also need to see the Grant before it will register the beneficiary as the new owner. In some instances - when the amount of money is small and when organisations say they are happy to settle without a Grant - a Grant of Probate is not necessary.
The Grant is given to the Executor of the Will. Sometimes, a Will has more than one Executor and the Grant can be issued to each of these people (up to four). Usually, however, it is easier to nominate one Executor to become the Grant holder (as long as there is no argument between the beneficiaries as to the contents of the Will).
Grant of Probate can usually be given without a solicitor's intervention. You can apply for this yourself at a Probate Registry. However, the "red tape" often means that people still prefer to ask a Solicitor to handle probate on their behalf. The fact that the courts will charge an additional £1 in every £1000 for a personal probate application is further reason for using a solicitor.
The stages you must follow for a personal application to the Probate Registry is as follows:
If we handle your probate you can be sure of a very efficient service. We will keep you informed of progress at all times and ensure that you understand what is happening.
We are happy to quote on the cost of probate, so please feel free to give us a call. On the whole, we have a fee for administration of the Estate, but other fees must also be added to this. These extra charges are beyond our control and comprise the official Probate Registry fee which depends on the value of the Estate AND a nominal fee payable to a local solicitor when you "swear" the Oath.
The Probate Registry fee is exempt from VAT. As part of the fee you receive eight copies of the Grant which you then use as legal proof of your authority to handle the contents of the Estate. These copies will need to be sent to any bank, building society, etc.
No Inheritance Tax is payable on any element of an Estate which passes from a UK domiciled deceased to his or her spouse.
No Inheritance Tax is payable on any Estate whose net value is less than the current threshold unless the deceased made gifts during the seven years prior to their death. If gifts were made, the value of these will be added to the net value of the Estate. If this brings the total to more than the current threshold, then Inheritance Tax becomes payable and we will gladly advise you if this matter arises. The threshold is set by the government and often changes with the budget, so please feel free to ring us so that we may advise you of the current threshold limit.
As an Executor of a Will, please give us a call for an informal and confidential chat about the process of probate. We would be delighted to act on your behalf and can assure you of a highly competent and personal service.
Guide to Wills
- Introduction
- What should your will contain?
- How much will it cost?
- What if circumstances change?
- What if a will is contested?
- Who should you consult?
- What next?
A Will is a legal document detailing how you want your assets to be distributed after you have died. The Will names the people who you wish to receive these assets (your beneficiaries) and also the people who you have nominated to deal with the reading of the Will on your behalf (your Executors). These people will also make sure that any funeral expenses and outstanding debts are paid out of your Estate. Above everything, a Will creates certainty. It can also be useful in avoiding the payment of an unnecessary amount of inheritance tax.
A Will only takes effect on your death so it is important to consider all the problems that may arise when you are no longer around, and then make provision for them. Your Will obviously details who will benefit from your Estate (you can detail financial bequests and make provision for something to be left "for sentimental reasons"). You can also use your Will to appoint guardians for your children, make specific requests regarding your funeral arrangements, organise your tax planning, show who should benefit if your first named Beneficiary dies before you, etc.
You will be pleasantly surprised at how little it costs to produce a Will - particularly when you consider the cost against all the heartache and confusion you will leave behind if you die intestate. Please telephone us on 01482 627711 for an estimate, without obligation.
If your circumstances change, you can alter the content of your Will at any time. This can be done by adding an amendment and this is called a codicil. Sometimes, however, a new Will has to be drawn. This invalidates any previous copies.
If you do not amend a Will to reflect changes in your personal circumstances then this can have an adverse effect on the Will. Changes that must be noted include: getting married or re-married; divorcing or separating; additional children to the family; an increase in your wealth, etc.
We can provide expert advice in respect of a disputed Will. For instance, problems can arise in a number of situations - if someone has been excluded from the Will and they feel they should have been a beneficiary; if someone contests the mental status of the deceased at the time they made the Will; if someone thinks there is another, more up-to-date version of a Will.
A badly or wrongly drawn Will can cause more problems than it solves, so use a solicitor you can trust to do the job properly.
Before making an appointment with us, it would be useful to write a list - in general terms - of all the things you have to leave. Property, car, shares, insurance policies, savings, etc. We normally like to keep these details on file. Please also think in advance about who you would like to benefit from these assets, and in what proportion, and provide us with their full names and addresses.
Once you have done this, just give us a call on 01482 627711 to request an appointment.