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We continue to be available to support you during these challenging times. Please find below our latest posts and articles relating to the Coronavirus and business and personal issues. Resources for Individuals Family Courts and Covid-19 Separated Parents and Covid-19 Writing a Will During the Coronavirus Outbreak Moving House During COVID-19 Outbreak – Government Guidance How Could Covid-19 Affect my Sale and Purchase? Covid-19 and Litigation Covid-19 Mediation as an Alternative to Court Proceedings Resources for Businesses The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Furlough: An Update Working with Coronavirus – Update for Employers What to do if you are Experiencing Business Interruption due to the Coronavirus Personal Guarantee Advice Do I need to Close My Business or Premises? COVID-19 – Company Accounts Filing Extension Covid-19 and Contractual Obligations Changes to Insolvency Law due to the Coronavirus Crisis Covid-19 – Issues for Landlords and Tenants of Commercial Property Covid-19 and Litigation Covid-19 Mediation as an Alternative to Court Proceedings Covid-19 A Guide for Dental Practices Covid-19 Suspension of voluntary strike-off process by Companies Proceed with caution: some issues for businesses returning to work The Continuing Impact of Covid-19 on Possession Proceedings Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have
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As the country remains in its third National Lockdown you may wonder how you can fulfil your duties as an attorney whilst following the government guidelines on social distancing and staying at home. The Role of an Attorney Your role as an attorney does not change and you must continue to act in the best interests of the person who lacks capacity at all times. An attorney cannot delegate their authority to make decisions, to anyone else. But, if an attorney is self-isolating or shielding they could ask another to go shopping or pay in cash at the bank on their behalf. It is not possible for an attorney to temporarily give up their role. If they have accepted the role, they must act in the donor’s best interests. If the attorney feels that they are unable to fulfil their duty they must revoke their position as an attorney. If the attorney is considering the latter please seek legal advice before doing so. Decision Making If an attorney needs to make a decision but wishes to discuss it with the donor first, if the donor still has sufficient mental capacity, they should consider how urgent the decision is and whether
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In December 2020 the Law Society revealed they conducted a survey during the first National Lockdown of which over 1,000 members of the public took part. 7% of the respondents confirmed that they either made a Will or updated it during the first National Lockdown and 6% of them identified themselves as Key Workers. However approximately 60% of the respondents confirmed that they did not have a Will. Are you part of that 60%? Benefits of having a Will Some of the benefits of having a Will or updating your Will are:- Providing financial security to your loved ones Appointing guardians for minor children Avoiding disputes Potentially pay less Inheritance Tax (IHT) Choosing your Executors A Will lets you decide what happens to your assets after your death. If you do not have a Will you will die intestate. Intestate If you die intestate this means that you have died without leaving a Will and the intestacy rules set out by the government will be applied. This may result in family members, who you do not particularly get along with, inheriting your assets. It is therefore important to have a Will in place setting out your wishes. You can find
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In March 2020 the country went into a National Lockdown and working remotely for most people became the new norm. As the world moved to working online The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) realised how important it is for registered Lasting Powers of Attorney to be accessed online and introduced ‘Use a lasting power of attorney’ service. The new service allows donors and attorneys to give third party institutions access to view an online summary of both Lasting Powers of Attorney. The idea is that it is a quick and simple process and will avoid postal delays. How will it work? When a Lasting Power of Attorney is registered both the donor and attorney(s) will be sent an activation key. They can use the activation key to create an online account and provide them with an access code which they can give to third party institutions. The access code only lasts for a period of 30 days. When will it be rolled out? Lasting Powers of Attorney issued after the 17th July 2020 will be able to use the online service. The OPG are also planning to roll this out to Lasting Powers of Attorney registered in early 2020
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A Disrupter is a new product, person or service that changes everything. Arguably, due to the disruption caused by Covid-19, the environment is perfect for Disrupters to change the face of our local economies and the traditional way of doing things. Who amongst us has not had more video conference calls in one week in 2020 than they had for the whole of 2019? Of course, ever changing rules about social interaction require us to meet our colleagues, business contacts and even family and friends virtually using the power of modern technology, but even when those restrictions have been lifted, it is likely that the way we work will have changed for good. Many meetings that would otherwise require an investment of time and cost travelling will be carried out on a video platform. For better or for worse, court hearings, board meetings, personnel appraisals and even, perhaps, first dates might just as likely be held in the cloud than on the ground. Perhaps a newspeak will evolve which includes acronyms such as ‘Chyom’, ‘Can’t hear, you’re on mute’, and the slang abbreviation ‘Z’later’, the current ‘see you later’ being replace by a lazy version of ‘Zoom you later’? The
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Director and Head of the Employment Law team Jolyon Berry discusses what 2020 has presented for employment law. Director and Lockdown 1 seems like a lifetime ago to me; while once inundated with calls and questions about furlough and then the inevitable management of redundancies, since the start of Autumn, its all been about employee litigation. Perhaps potential litigants are feeling more uncertain about their future and therefore more prepared to bring a claim against their employer, or perhaps employers are being a bit more jumpy, or perhaps both is true, but there is a perfect storm of increased litigation and decreased Tribunal capacity at the moment. Frustratingly, some Tribunal regions are requiring all case preparation to be completed relatively quickly, but listing hearings months into the future, reducing the advantage that a slow process hands to a Respondent during the settlement negotiation stages that almost all cases go through. In the last 6 months, we have become very familiar with Tribunal hearings being conducted online and lessons have been learnt quickly. The big takeaway point is that for the cases that do go to trial, more time must be set aside at the closing stages to ensure that the
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