Tassells Solicitors

susan — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 08:09:16 +0000

Thinking of writing a will? – Beware the voice on the phone!!!

You will have heard this before, don’t believe everything you read in the papers, and by extension, don’t believe everything you hear over the telephone. Check what you have been told with other, reliable, sources.
I have heard reports of people being telephoned and given inaccurate “advice” about Wills, for example, that if your Will is over three (or any number of) years old, that it is invalid and will not be effective. That is not correct. Age does not invalidate a Will, it may be out of date, but that is a different thing.
If someone calls you to offer to write your Will, please ask for their name and their company, and make a note of it. If you do not hear the name properly, ask for the spelling. A genuine caller will give you time to write it down, and will be pleased to advertise their credentials.
Will writing in itself, is not yet a regulated activity, and that is why will writers can “cold call” you. Anybody can earn money by writing Wills for clients. Anybody can telephone you and suggest to you that your Will is somehow defective or out of date. Anybody can take payment from you and frighten you into seeking their services rather than those of a qualified professional. And they do not have to know anything about the law.
Many Wills are simple, they are all unique. Wills are all best written with knowledge of the background and an understanding of the problems which can lie in the family dynamics or in the finances. Good legal advice will help.
It should be well known that solicitors write Wills as part of their legal services. Some are specialists in this field, some have informal contacts with accountants and with Independent Financial Advisers, whom they trust, who can assist with the wider issues.
Remember, solicitors have passed exams and keep up their training each year. We take out insurance in order to be able to pay for mistakes that we (being human) might make. We are supervised by bodies that can take action if the service is bad, can award compensation if the service causes loss and can prevent us from operating if we are not up to the mark.
So, if you are at all concerned about the advice someone has given you on the telephone about Wills, telephone, or visit, a solicitor. Don’t be afraid to do so, we cannot charge you without your agreement. Take comfort that many solicitors shop locally and none that I know has ever bitten anyone.
I have given you some free advice already. Here is more: if you marry without referring to your intended marriage in your Will (or later codicil), then your Will is automatically revoked. But, don’t believe me – check!

Ann Astbury
August 2011

susan — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:56:34 +0000

Fixed Fees for Probate

Tassells are pleased to now offer fixed fees for probate matters . Please see our probate pages for more information

Ann to cycle through India

susan — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 13:03:54 +0000

3rd – 12th November 2011
Just hours to go (and counting) before a gruelling, 250 mile cycle ride over six days, through rural Rajasthan, north-west India. 250 miles that is, as the crow flies; thus avoiding dust, dips, hills, traffic and mosquitoes.
Vaccinations needed, including Rabies – not that it will prevent Rabies, but it will give you longer in the window of opportunity for the local medics to get the proper stuff in you. Don’t get scratched, let alone bitten by an animal. And avoid the insects. Some hope!
So what brings on this musing? A challenge issued by the chairman of a local “self-help” group running a therapy centre for sufferers of multiple sclerosis. This is a disease that can reduce the powerful and independent to helpless and utterly dependent individuals. No cure as yet, but the team and support at the centre in Canterbury provide a lively atmosphere of hope and of help. The mixture is of physiotherapy and medication that may not always be available on the NHS.
There is also social interaction. The society of sufferers can be a powerful tonic, it can inspire newly diagnosed sufferers to see veterans still mobile or in remission, and still positive about life. There is nothing quite like being part of a group, even if it is not normally your thing.
Which brings me back to the 250 miles, I shall not be doing this alone, nor even just with family (my elder son is cycling with me) but with about 20 others, some of whom did a similarly mad trip in the Jordanian desert two years ago.
The chairman of the “self-help” group (sorry Tony) will be leading us from the rear again, camera in hand no doubt, brushing up on his after-dinner speech sound-bites to go with the truly fantastic, and I mean just amazing, just incredibly how-can-it-be-that-I-am-here, on tarmac, alone on the desert road in Jordan! Except for that speck over there in front, and the one over there behind – both of which I know are cyclists whom I will catch, or will catch me, before the evening and comatose rest overnight in the tent (lean-to – good job it was dry) scenes (sorry, but the scenery was just – well, go and see).
Meanwhile I was cycling. Suffering. Woken early. Striving. Hills and Heat. Ah, I remember that now. And I realise that I am in no way prepared for this next Challenge. 3 days and counting down. I need to believe that tomorrow I will be at least as strong as I am today, and that there is a chance I will be stronger the next day, so that I can get through the crisis that will be coming. The group will help me through. Is this how it is with MS?
Please support the group. www.kentmstc.co.uk Please sponsor me through Virgin Money Giving, Cycle Challenge for Kent MS Therapy Centre.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AnnMatthews

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PhilipMatthews

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