PEOPLE SERVICES SOLICITORS
We have a wealth of knowledge in a wide range of areas of law.
CONVEYANCING
Conveyancing is the legal process for the sale, purchase or re-mortgage of your property.
Eddowes Perry and Osbourne conveyancing team have a wealth of experience and knowledge that can take care of the whole process for you whether you’re a first-time buyer, seller, re-mortgaging, buying to let or need a transfer of equity after a divorce or separation.
We have been buying and selling properties since 1650 and have an excellent relationship with local estate agents to ensure that your move proceeds smoothly and efficiently.
We are members of the Law Society conveyancing quality scheme. The scheme requires practices to undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self-reporting, random audits and annual reviews in order to maintain CQS status. It is open only to members of the Law Society who meet the demanding standers set by the scheme and has the support of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the building Societies Association, Legal Ombudsman and the Association of British Insurers.
Eddowes Perry and Osbourne conveyancing team will advise and handle the whole process on your behalf.
Our residential property specialists provide expert advice on:
- Freehold sale and purchase
- Leasehold sale and purchase
- Re-mortgages
- Buy – to -let
- Equity Transfers
- Equity Release
- Probate sales
- Lease extensions and Purchase of Freeholds
Quality and Personal Advice you can trust.
If you would prefer to speak to one of our conveyancing team members direct, please contact us on: 0121 686 9444.
FAMILY LAW
If your family relationship has broken down or you are facing some difficulties and do not know which way to turn, Eddowes Perry and Osbourne Solicitors can assist you and provide you with expert legal advice on separation, whether you are married or unmarried, divorce, issues surrounding your assets and finances and arrangements for your children.
We will also look at the wider issues, such as whether you need a new will, Power of Attorney or if there is to be a property transfer, and advise you accordingly.
Our family solicitors, based right in the heart of Sutton Coldfield, will work with you to reach the best outcome for you and look at all of the issues arising out of your family breakdown.
We aim to resolve your dispute amicably without escalating the already difficult situation that you are experiencing. We are committed to working towards a constructive resolution to family disputes. Members follow a Code of Practice that promotes a non-confrontational approach to family law and all of our family team aims to work in this manner. We will also consider whether mediation would be a good option for you.
Where it is not possible to reach an agreement, whether regarding finances or children, our family solicitors are experienced at representing clients in court. We also have connections with experienced barristers in the region, should the need for additional advice arise.
We will look after you and your interests every step of the way. We understand that a relationship breakdown, and all that flows from this, will be a very trying, upsetting and stressful time and we try to take that stress off your plate and onto ours. We also understand that each client’s circumstances are different and we approach every case on its own facts and we deal with each client as an individual.
We can assist you with:
- Divorce, whether defended or undefended;
- Civil partnership dissolution, again whether defended or undefended;
- Cohabitation Agreement;
- Separation from an unmarried/cohabiting partner, including Separation Agreements;
- Arrangements for children, we have acted for parents, grandparents and extended family in child arrangements issues;
- Financial arrangements;
- Change of name.
We look forward to hearing from you, and assisting in any way possible.
EMPLOYMENT LAW
Employment matters can range from Legal issues, with businesses both small and large, Settlement agreements, equal pay claims, unfair dismissal, redundancy.
Eddowes Perry and Osbourne have extensive experience of handling all matters on behalf of both employers and employees in all areas of employment law. Our extensive knowledge encompasses a wide range of employment linked issues, such as:
- Redundancy
- Unfair, constructive, and wrongful dismissal
- Disability discrimination
- Sex discrimination
- Age discrimination
- Maternity, paternity and parental issues
- Employment contract matters
- Settlement agreements
- Restrictive covenants and restraint clauses
- Tribunal representation
- Transfer of undertaking (TUPE)
Services for Employers
Whether you are a company, partnership, charity or sole trader, for every business its employees are its most valuable asset. We understand that you will want to attract and retain talented staff whilst at the same time meeting your legal responsibilities in a practical and commercial manner. Our breadth of knowledge ensures we can cater for all types of employers with affordable, fast and effective solutions. We will ensure you have the correct policies and procedures in place to deal with all your legal responsibilities quickly and effectively. Should difficulties arise, our team can respond swiftly to help bring about a satisfactory and cost-effective resolution.
- Policy and procedure drafting and implementation
- Advice about full and part-time personnel, agency and casual workers
- Director and senior management matters
- All types of employment termination and dismissal
- Disability, sex, age, and race discrimination compliance
- Contract drafting and negotiation
- Transfer of undertakings (TUPE)
- Grievance
Should a grievance matter arise in the workplace fast resolution is needed to manage what can sometimes be disruptive situations. We can offer support to guide you through fact-finding investigations and interviews. We will always keep a close eye on the commercial and financial implications for you and your business.
If you are having or have had problems with an employer/employee, or just need some simple advice, please do not hesitate to contact our Employment Law Director, David Byrne or call us on 0121 686 9444 and ask to speak to a member of our Employment department.
WILLS & PROBATE LAW
Whatever your age, if you’ve assets, for example a house, savings or a business, our private client team can help you and our advice can be invaluable in providing peace of mind, and financial security to you and the ones you love.
Eddowes Perry and Osbourne have been providing professional advice for many years. We look at the opportunities for making tax savings and safeguard your financial welfare.
Miles Astbury-Crimes is a Director of the firm and qualified in 1994. He has always specialised in wills and probate matters so has a wealth of knowledge in this area of law. He oversees our other experienced team members who also specialise in this area of law.
Our specialist team of solicitors can provide you with help in planning for the future, in dealing with difficulties that may arise from time to time in your life. We are here to ease any concerns you may have about protecting assets from inheritance tax, family disputes and local authority care costs.
How can we help:
- Prepare your will;
- Update your will;
- Plan for inheritance tax and care fees;
- Set up lasting powers of attorney for property and finance, and for health and welfare issues;
- Advise you how best to proceed following the death of a loved one;
- Act as executor, obtain probate and / or deal with estate administration;
- Apply to the court of protection to enable you to manage the affairs of a loved one who is no longer able to do this for themselves;
If you have any enquires please feel free to contact us for quality advice you can trust.
Wills FAQs
A Will is a legal document that helps with the distribution of your assets after your death and can appoint guardians for minor children. A will is important to have, as it allows you to communicate your wishes clearly and precisely.
A will is important because it ensures that the right people inherit what you leave behind, your loved ones are looked after and that your wishes are fulfilled when you die.
If you die without a valid Will in place this dictates how your money, property and possessions can be distributed. This may result in your loved ones not inheriting from you your estate as you may have originally intended.
We recommend that you review your will every few years or if your personal and/or financial circumstances change (such as marriage, divorce, children etc).
Yes, you can choose to not make provision for a person/people in your will at any time by changing your will (as long as you have the mental capacity to do so).
We would also advise that you prepare a side letter detailing your reasons for doing and that they have already been considered, so as to better evidence your intention should a claim be made against your estate in future.
A Will does not have an expiry date, however, you should be very mindful that if you have made a Will and your circumstances change, and current Will will stand unless your will is updated accordingly.
For a Will to be valid you must have it signed in the presence of two people, You must have the mental capacity to make the will and understand the effect it will have. You must also have made the will voluntarily and without pressure from anyone else.
You can prepare a Will yourself, or have a solicitor prepare it for you, however, if you prepare it yourself, you will need to ensure that you sign it in the presence of two independent witnesses.
Homemade wills may be prepared in such a way that the language used prevents your will from dealing with your estate. This means you could unintentionally die intestate, partially meaning some of your assets may pass to people not of your choosing.
Homemade wills are much more susceptible to being challenged because there is no independent evidence available to support their validity. In contrast, a solicitor is expected to keep a detailed file and make a contemporaneous note of all meetings and telephone conversations where instructions and advice were given.
These can be made available in the event of a challenge to the will to explain the decisions. This will make the challenge to the will more difficult and either then deter the claim or make it less likely to be successful.
The solicitor will ensure the will is properly executed in accordance with the legal formalities required.
The person dealing with the estate of a person who has died is called the executor of a will or an administrator. An executor is named in the Will as being responsible for dealing with the estate.
An administrator may have to apply to the probate registry, the court that deals with any probate applications before they can deal with the estate.
An executor has a legal responsibility to carry out the provisions of the Will whose duties include the original Will, sorting out finances and applying for probate.
You can use your will to appoint guardians for your children to determine who will look after your child/children if they are under the age of 18 when you die.
The courts will be left to decide who takes care of your children. This will usually be a close relative, but it may not necessarily be the person you would choose.
When one parent dies, the surviving biological parent can look to obtain custody of the child.
It is important to note that the law is not biased towards certain genders. Therefore, if a mother of a child dies the biological father of a child can obtain custody.
A living Will is used when you can’t communicate or are unable to make your own decisions. It allows you to refuse treatment, even if this leads to your death.
The people that are caring for you will need to carry out any wishes and must follow your instructions.
If a beneficiary dies before you, and someone else is not named to inherit the gift in their place their gift lapses as if it never existed.
Conveyancing FAQs
Conveyancing is the legal name used for selling and buying a property.
Solicitors, Licensed Conveyancers and Legal Executives specialise in the legal process of selling and buying a property. A conveyancer will go through the legal process to transfer property ownership from one person to another.
The freeholder of a property owns it outright, including the land it's built on. If you buy a freehold, you're responsible for maintaining your property and land, so you'll need to budget for these costs. Most houses are freehold but some might be leasehold – usually through shared-ownership schemes.
You only own a leasehold property for a fixed period of time. You'll have a legal agreement with the landlord (sometimes known as the 'freeholder') called a 'lease'. This tells you how many years you'll own the property. Ownership of the property returns to the landlord when the lease comes to an end.
This will depend on if it’s leasehold or freehold property, along with many other variables i.e. mortgage offers and searches etc.
If you would like more information about your individual conveyancing process, then please don't hesitate to contact our offices today.
Searches' or 'property searches' are completed by your solicitor. They work with the local authority (and other organisations) as part of the home-buying process. They use these to find out any information about the property. As well as any local development plans that may affect the home you plan to purchase.
As soon as a sale or purchase has been agreed on a property you will need to instruct a conveyancer to initiate the process. The Estate Agent will then prepare a Memorandum of Sale which will contain all the relevant details and contacts of all parties involved in the matter and will distribute amongst them.
If you have sold through an Estate Agent, they may recommend a solicitor to you however it’s always best to ring around for quotes and conduct your own research to find a firm that is suitable for your needs.
It’s not always best to go with the cheapest quote, you may find it beneficial to look at Google reviews before deciding.
In recent years there has been an increase in ‘factory conveyancing’ firms which are volume based and lack the personal service that a smaller firm may provide.
The exchange of contracts is when both parties swap and sign the contracts. This is the point where you as the buyer will be asked to put down your deposit. This is a crucial stage of buying a home and is legally binding. If you pull out after exchanging, you will lose your deposit and legal proceeding could be issued.
Completion is when both parties hand over the keys to the property and you can move into the property.
For more information on purchasing and selling a property please contact one of our conveyancing experts on 0121 686 9444 or 01543 386 982.