We are pleased to welcome Whitney Jacque as a new member of our conveyancing team.
Whitney earned her Juris Doctorate and qualified as an attorney in the United States in 2008. Since that time she has enjoyed a diverse career in the legal field, has qualified as an English solicitor, and is now specialising in residential property law. Whitney is based at our Sawston office.
Congratulations are due for Denise Whitehead who took part in the Cambridge half marathon on Sunday 28th February.
Denise successfully covered the 13 miles in a personal best time and we are all very proud of her – she has raised so far the total of just over £600.00 for Cancer Research. She had set a target of £350 and smashed it….
She is now looking to enter again next year!
Denise with her personal trainer at the end of the half marathon
Tracy Spilsbury Partner At Adams Harrison
Adams Harrison with offices in Saffron Walden, Haverhill and Sawston, are pleased to announce that Tracy Spilsbury, Solicitor, has joined the partnership.
Tracy qualified as a solicitor in 1988 and has worked in Haverhill, Cambridge and Ely specialising in Residential Conveyancing since that time. Tracy joined the practice in 2014, based at the Haverhill office, to complement the busy Residential Department there. Tracy heads the Residential Conveyancing department for the firm, with her extensive experience she brings a friendly yet professional approach to the role. She is also the firm’s Money Laundering Reporting Officer.
Adams Harrison can be contacted at any of their three offices for assistance in your house sale or purchase.
Does a Lasting Power of Attorney or a Deputyship Order provide an attorney or deputy with the authority to give away surplus assets of the donor in the hope of achieving an Inheritance Tax saving? In short, the answer is ‘no’.
A recent case in the Court of Protection has highlighted the issue of gifts made by a deputy acting under a Deputyship Order. The case concerned a widow of 92 years, (‘P’), who lived in a care home. Her only daughter had predeceased her and P had inherited the whole of her daughter’s estate. Two relatives were appointed as deputies to manage P’s property and financial affairs.
The deputies applied to the Court of Protection for retrospective authority for various gifts the deputies had made to themselves, their family, and friends. It was found that over £230,000 had been given away (which amounted to 44% of the widow’s estate.)
The Court refused to grant authority for the majority of gifts and the deputies were held to be personally liable to P’s estate for the unauthorised gifts. The deputies’ appointments were also revoked.
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 sets out the powers of an attorney acting under a Lasting Power in relation to gifts. The attorney can only make gifts:
‘Customary occasion’ is defined as:-
(a) the occasion or anniversary of a birth, a marriage or the formation of a civil partnership, or
(b) any other occasion on which presents are customarily given within families or among friends or associates.
Deputies and attorneys should therefore understand that they only have very limited authority to make gifts.An attorney who wants to make gifts for purposes not authorised in the circumstances outlined above must apply to the court for permission.
For further information about Lasting Powers of Attorney please contact us on for expert and professional advice.
Instead of sending Christmas Cards Adams Harrison chose to donate the money to local charities.
We were delighted to support Cambridge Women’s Aid with a donation of £350.
Please click on the image below to view their letter of thanks.
Be aware that a new National Living Wage will come into force on 1st April this year. Make sure that your staff that are eligible are being paid appropriately.
For workers aged 25 years and over (and not in the first year of an apprenticeship) the National Living Wage this year will be £7.20 per hour, higher than the current minimum wage.
There will be penalties for employers that do not comply.
For advice on this and other employment law related matters please contact us
Making a Will is commonly seen as something to do later in life. People in their 20s often think they do not need to make one but below are 5 good reasons to make a Will, whatever your age.
1. To make sure your boyfriend or girlfriend inherits
If you live with your partner but are not married, then your partner will not benefit under the intestacy rules. If you want your partner to benefit on your death, you will need to make a Will.
2. To provide for your pets
Household pets, such as cats and dogs, are covered by the legal definition of chattels (personal possessions) and so can be left in your Will in the same way as your other possessions. You can therefore include a legacy in your Will to leave your pet to a friend or family member.
3. To give your friends something to remember you by
Many people in their 20s have more student debt than assets but even if you do not own a house or have much money, you will no doubt own items that are important to you. Items such as jewellery, musical instruments and books can be left to your loved ones in a Will.
4. To deal with a jointly owned property
If you own a property with someone else, it could be sensible that you make a Will. This is particularly important if you own the property as ‘tenants in common’, which means that your share of the property does not pass automatically to your co-owner on your death (this would only happen if you own your property as ‘joint tenants’) . Under the rules of intestacy, your closest relatives will inherit your share (probably your parents.) Therefore, if you would like your co-owner to inherit then you must either make a Will or make sure that you own your property as ‘joint tenants.’
5. To leave money to charity
Many people choose to leave money to a charity in their Will. Even if you are strapped for cash, your modest donation might make a big difference to a charity.
For further information about making a Will, please contact a member of our Private Client department for expert and professional advice.
Christmas is seen as a time for giving so if you are thinking of making or updating an existing Will, have you considered leaving money to charity?
The Charity Commission has revealed that 35,000 people in England, Scotland and Wales who died in 2014 made donations in their Wills, benefiting more than 2,200 charities. Whilst this may seem like a large amount, more than 550,000 deaths were registered in England, Wales and Scotland in 2014. Working on these figures, it would therefore appear that roughly fewer than one in ten people leave money to charity when they die.
If you leave something to charity in your will, then it will not count towards the value of your estate. Furthermore, if you leave at least 10% of your net estate after any exemptions have been taken into account to charity, this cuts the rate of any Inheritance Tax you pay from 40% to 36%.
For more information, please contact our Private Client department for expert and friendly advice.
Shoshana Goldhill Presents Cheque To Addenbrookes Charitable Trust
Shoshana Goldhill, partner and head of the family department this week attended Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge and donated a cheque to Addenbrookes Charitable Trust (Breast Cancer) on behalf of all the partners.
Each year the firm chooses to donate to local charities in lieu of sending corporate Christmas cards. The donation was very well
received.
Our other selected charities for Christmas 2015 are St Nicholas Hospice, Suffolk and Women’s Refuge, Cambridge.
Jenny Carpenter was delighted to present the Adams Harrison Solicitors English Literature award on the evening of Tuesday 15thDecember at Samuel Ward School, Haverhill. An evening packed full of talented students.
