Tracy Bonham celebrates 35 years’ service at Adams Harrison

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Tracy joined the practice when it was Adams and Land and shortly after she started Adams and Land merged with Harrison and Co to become Adams Harrison.

Tracy Bonham celebrates 35 years’ service at Adams Harrison

Tracy has worked in a number of roles in the Saffron Walden office during her 35 years, starting as Office Junior / Accounts Assistant. She then moved to Office Junior / Receptionist and then became a full time Receptionist.

Over the years Tracy took on more secretarial duties until she became secretary to Melanie Pratlett in the Private Client Department.

As she acquired more Private Client knowledge and skills her role evolved into more paralegal type work and she then became Probate Assistant to Melanie.

Tracy is not our only long serving employee celebrating a work anniversary this year.

In the past few weeks Michelle Salmon, who is a Residential Conveyancing Personal Assistant in Haverhill office, celebrated 25 years; and Amanda Cox, who is Receptionist / Office Administrator in Haverhill office, celebrated 25 years.

How do I start divorce proceedings?

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Divorce proceedings are now dealt with through an online court portal. Since this procedure came into force, you do not now need to site grounds for divorce i.e. adultery or two years separation, only that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.

You can only now apply for divorce through the court portal by making a sole application yourself or jointly with your spouse should you wish and provided you are both in agreement.

The initial steps consist of completing an online form with basic details of the parties and the marriage. You will also need to upload a full, clear, colour copy of your marriage certificate onto the court portal. If you do not have your original marriage certificate, you can apply for this online. There is usually a small fee for this and it should come through within a few weeks.

When applying for divorce, there is a court fee payable in the sum of £593 however, if you are on low income, you may be able to apply for fee exemption. In order to check if you are eligible for this, you need to complete a further online form called ‘How to apply for help with fees: EX160’. Once completed, if you are eligible for full fee exemption, you will be notified there and then and given a code to use when completing your divorce application. However, depending on your income, you may be required to pay a part payment towards the court fee but again, you will be notified of this.

Once you have uploaded your divorce application, the Court will then review this and provided this is completed correctly, they will then issue your divorce application and provide you with a unique 16 digit case number to use on all correspondence in connection with these proceedings.

We are experts at handling divorces from the simplest to the most complex, so when you are ready to proceed please do call and we will provide you the professional support you need at a difficult time in your life.

Emma Bilsborrow​​​​, Legal Executive, Partner

In celebrating 190 years of service staff donated items to local food banks

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Staff donated items to be delivered to local food banks to celebrate 190 years of service.

Donations from Haverhill staff were delivered to the Haverhill food bank, run by REACH, and donations from Sawston and Saffron Walden staff combined were delivered to Uttlesford food bank.

Louise Taghi, Practice Manager, said “Adams Harrison partners and staff understand the importance of not only serving the local community, but also of supporting the local community.”

Adams Harrison Saffron Walden and Sawston food bank donation

Adams Harrison Haverhill food bank donation

Do I need a solicitor for agreement on dividing up the finances in a divorce?

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You can complete the financial agreement yourself or ask a solicitor to do it for you. Though cheaper to apply for it yourself, for the reason that it requires cooperation from both parties it is better to instruct a solicitor to review the terms of the consent order (the legal document which confirms your agreement) before you file it with the court.

When deciding on a settlement the Court will take into account a list of factors that are contained in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 to include, but not limited to, income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources which each of the parties to the marriage has, or is likely to have in the foreseeable future, including each parties’ earning capacity, and the financial needs, obligations, responsibilities, and resources of the spouses, both during the marriage and after the marriage has ended. A settlement must be both fair and reasonable otherwise it will be rejected by the court.

Unless you have a Financial Remedy Order (the court order which sets out the financial arrangement between divorcing spouses) which is sealed by the Court, then irrespective of the time which has elapsed since your Final Order (previously called Decree Absolute) concluding the Divorce you remain at risk of a financial claim from the other party to include claims against pensions.

We are experts at handling divorces from the simplest to the most complex, so when you are ready to proceed please do call and we will provide you the professional support you need at a difficult time in your life.

Emma Bilsborrow​​​​, Legal Executive, Partner

Our Lexcel accreditation – what’s it all about?

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Adams Harrison are extremely proud to have held the Lexcel accreditation for 25 years.

The Law Society of England and Wales’ Lexcel quality mark is designed for legal practices that want to implement an effective practice management system.

First launched in 1998, Lexcel accreditation is a sign of quality, showcasing our firm’s commitment to sound practice management, and designed to give reassurance to our current and future clients that we are a firm built on trust and integrity.

According the Solicitors’ Regulatory Authority (SRA) as at the end of June 2024 there were a total of 9,958 law firms in England & Wales, ranging from sole practitioners to international firms. All may apply to hold the Lexcel accreditation.

Of those only 1,596 organisations hold the Lexcel accreditation.

We are in a group of only 14 law firms* who have held the Lexcel accreditation since 25th May 1999 or earlier.

You can find out more about the Lexcel quality standard here: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/firm-accreditations/lexcel

*These are law firms who still exist as they did when they were first awarded the Lexcel accreditation. Some law firms who were awarded the accreditation on 25th May 1999 or earlier may have merged or been acquired by other firms.

How long does a divorce take?

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A no fault Divorce allows for someone to make a sole application, which is then served on your former partner, or a joint application which a couple submits together.

An application for a no fault Divorce can be made online. All that is required are the names and addresses of both parties and the original or a certified copy of the marriage certificate.

If a sole application is made, the Court will send a copy of the Divorce Application (previously known as the Divorce Petition) to the other spouse. They are then required to confirm receipt of the Application and send an Acknowledgement of Service Form back to the Court within 14 days. The timescales relating to the no fault Divorce process are relatively straightforward. It is estimated that no fault Divorce takes a minimum of 26 weeks.

There are now two separate waiting periods. There is a 20 week waiting period for the Conditional Order to be issued (this was formerly known as the Decree Nisi), and a further 6 week waiting period for the Final Order (this was formerly known as the Decree Absolute).

The time it takes to finalise the Divorce will also depend on other factors, including the division of finances.

A no fault Divorce cannot be contested, except in limited circumstances where the Court feels empowered to investigate further, this might include where a Court does not have jurisdiction to deal with the Divorce, or the marriage is not valid.

We are experts at handling divorces from the simplest to the most complex, so when you are ready to proceed please do call and we will provide you the professional support you need at a difficult time in your life.

Emma Bilsborrow​​​​, Legal Executive, Partner

How much does a divorce cost?

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Divorce on its own is seldom expensive. The bulk of costs are usually accumulated resolving the matrimonial finances. How much it will cost to resolve financial issues typically depends on how complicated the finances are and how cooperative the other person is. Divorce costs in England and Wales can start from £500 to £650 plus 20% VAT and disbursements of £593 (no VAT).

Divorce costs in England and Wales will differ depending on the level of knowledge of the family lawyer. The applicant in the divorce proceedings should budget somewhere in the region of £500 – £650 plus 20% VAT for divorce costs. If you are the respondent in the proceedings, then the fees you pay are likely to be much lower and are unlikely to exceed a few hundred pounds.

Disbursements are expenses incurred by a solicitor whilst carrying out work on behalf of a client. In relation to divorce proceedings (for most people) this will simply be the divorce application fee (or disbursement) of £593 (no VAT). Other disbursements that could be incurred are paying out for a certified copy of your marriage certificate if you have lost your original marriage certificate or organising for a translation of the marriage certificate if the certificate is in a language other than English.

We are experts at handling divorces from the simplest to the most complex, so when you are ready to proceed please do call and we will provide you the professional support you need at a difficult time in your life.

Emma Bilsborrow​​​​; Legal Executive, Partner Family Department

Fantastic achievements by Adams Harrison staff in Edinburgh Marathon and Race 4 Life

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Congratulations to Alison Helbert, Caitlin Longland, Tina Smith and Jessica Curtis who ran the Cambridge 5K Race 4 Life on 30th June.

All successfully completed the course.

Team Adams Harrison Race For Life

Alison Helbert Race For Life

 

Alison has raised so far £393.75 and Caitlin, Tina and Jessica under the team name of Adams Harrison have so far raised £538.75. Funds raised go to Cancer Research UK.

Fundraising channels are still open if you would like to donate.

  • To donate to Alison’s fundraising page please click here 
  • To donate to Team Adams Harrison fundraising page please click here 

If that wasn’t enough Caitlin also committed to run 190km as part of our 190th anniversary activities, including running the Edinburgh Marathon on 26th May!

Caitlin Longland Edinburgh Marathon

Caitlin raised money for the Brain Tumour Charity and has so far raised £615.

  • To donate to Caitlin’s fundraising page click here 

Witchford Village College Careers Fair

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Adams Harrison were delighted to be invited to attend Witchford Village College’s careers fair earlier this week.

Jack Stewart met with some bright and enthusiastic students interested in taking up a career in law and is confident the future looks bright for the next generation of budding lawyers.

Lexcel and Customer Service Reacceditation

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What better way to celebrate 190 years of the firm’s existence with recent reaccreditations for Lexcel and Customer Service Excellence.
The firm was subject to assessments for the reaccreditation of The Law Society Lexcel Standard and the Customer Service Excellence Award recently.
Adams Harrison Solicitors have now held the Lexcel accreditation for 25 years.  Lexcel is not an obligatory accreditation for firms of solicitors to hold.   It is a  mark of excellence if obtained.   It is a legal practice quality mark for client care, compliance and practice management.  In particular the following areas are assessed:
  • Client care
  • Risk management
  • People management
  • Structure and strategy
  • Financial management
  • Information management
  • File and case management
Adams Harrison Solicitors were one of the first firms to receive the Lexcel standard.   In this year’s reaccreditation our assessor made the following comments and observations:-
“…..the Practice should again be very highly commended for sustaining a very high level of compliance against the Lexcel standard”.   
“…..it remains very clear that compliance remains deeply embedded within the ethos and culture of the Practice”.
“….the firm remains an extremely well run, and extremely well managed Practice”.
The assessor commented that Adams Harrison should be highly commended for the on-going and very comprehensive staff training and communication that it has in place for cyber security, as well as the accreditation against the Cyber Essential Standard.
The assessor stated that the Practice showed significant emphasis and resources devoted to ensuring the wellbeing and mental health of its employees, including the availability of mental health first aiders.
The assessor stated that the firm continued to have very high standard in terms of training and development of its staff as well as on-going coaching, mentoring and support offered to all staff.
The assessor stated that there remained a very clear understanding from fee earners on all aspects of risk and that operational risk management was dealt with comprehensively and effectively.   He also stated that supervision was comprehensive and well embedded.
The assessor stated that it remained very clear that:
 “the Practice continues to place very significant emphasis on the levels of on-going client care which it provides and in the very great majority of instances it clearly does so…”    He commented on the low level of complaints and claims.   
Customer Service Excellence is not unique to the legal sector.   It is a National Quality Mark that seeks to recognise organisations that have a truly customer focused culture.   This was our 3 year assessment.   We obtained full compliance in all areas and “compliance plus” in a number of areas, also.
It was determined that Adams Harrison:
 “comfortably achieved the high standards necessary to continue to be accredited against the Customer Service Excellence Standard”.
The assessor stated that there was very clear evidence from the staff members that were interviewed that there was a desire to want to provide excellent customer service/client care.  The assessor stated that it was very clear that our staff were adept at effectively communicating with clients and managing their increased expectations.
The assessor stated that Adams Harrison puts Customer Service Excellence “at the heart of everything that they do”.