Martin House Make a Will during the month of May 2021

Leave your legacy to help us continue ours. If, like many other people you have been putting off writing your Will, this is your chance to put that right. Ware & Kay Solicitors has teamed up with Martin House to give you the opportunity to have your basic Will written for free Legacies are vitally important to Martin House. In fact, they make up more than a quarter of our entire voluntary income, meaning the cost of caring for one in four of our children is covered by gifts left in Wills. Over half of UK adults have not made a Will. It's not always easy to think about what might happen when we die. But making a Will is an important step to ensuring the people and things you care about are taken care of after you're gone. Your…

David Hyams features in the Yorkshire Post (Property People)

David Hyams is director of commercial property at Ware & Kay Solicitors, based in the York office. What are the prospects for the property sector in Yorkshire and Humber? In the mid to long term, I am positive about the prospects for the property sector as the region has so much to offer.  We are obviously facing challenging times at the moment, particularly in the hospitality sector, but once we have got through to the other side, I am confident that there will be a release of pent-up demand and we shall soon be back on our feet again. What is the best project you have been involved in? In recent times it was acting for a landlord on the grant of a lease of 15,000 sq ft office unit to a large regional accountancy practice.  It was a…

Andrew Little features in the Yorkshire Post (Property People)

Andrew Little, Commercial Property Solicitor at Pearsons & Ward in Malton features in the Yorkshire Post (Property People). What are the prospects for the property sector in Yorkshire and Humber? Transactions involving light industrial units continue to go from strength to strength. Difficulties remain for those who own or let high street premises, but there are signs of this sector improving and the recent rollout of the government’s new Use Classes should allow more freedom for high street premises to adapt to changing consumer habits, without requirement planning permission. What is the best project you have been involved in? I acted on the granting of approximately 200 mineral leases to the owners of the York Potash Mine, based near my hometown of Whitby. The mine has recently received the funding necessary to become a major long-term employer…

Commercial Property Team at Ware & Kay strengthened with new appointment

Yorkshire Law firm Ware & Kay has appointed Gemma Foster, an experienced Commercial Property Solicitor to its rapidly expanding Commercial Department.  Her appointment is a further addition to the firm’s expertise in this sector. Gemma will specialise in all aspects of commercial property matters.  This will include acting for clients who wish to buy and sell commercial properties and businesses, the preparation and negotiation of commercial leases and the sale and acquisition of unincorporated businesses. Originally from Driffield, Gemma arrives at Ware & Kay with over 10 years’ experience in Commercial Property Law.  She studied at the York College of Law before qualifying as a Solicitor in 2010 and starting her career in Hull. Gemma is a strong legal professional with a Law Degree from Lancaster University.  With a breadth of experience across the full…

Coronavirus: time to check your Will?

The horrendous death rates of the coronavirus pandemic have brought one’s own mortality into sharp relief, leading many of us to consider getting our affairs in order in case the worst should happen. The first step in this regard is to make a Will to ensure your property and belongings are distributed according to your wishes when you pass away. If you die without leaving a valid Will it means you have died ‘intestate’ and the law decides who gets what, regardless of need and your relationship. Leaving a Will is particularly important if you are from a farming family as you may also want to ensure the continued success of your business. For example, you may want to pass the farm to a specific child who has continued working on the farm while their siblings have moved…

Where will our children live if we separate?

Following separation parents usually want to minimise any disruption to their children, ensuring that they soon settle into a new routine - whether that is in the existing family home, or following a move to a new home.  Where your children will live may be an obvious or straightforward decision, for example if one parent works abroad or has a job which makes it difficult to accommodate childcare.  For other families, the decision can be complex especially if parents feel strongly that the children should continue to reside with them. If you find yourself in this scenario and fear that an agreement will never be reached, then it is wise to obtain early expert legal advice on the best way forward.  our family law team at Ware & Kay in York & Wetherby has a wealth…

Arrangements for children after a same sex divorce or separation

Following the introduction of civil partnerships in 2005 and same sex marriages in 2014, there has been an increase in families and then relationship breakdown between same sex parents.  Finding agreement over issues relating to children can be tricky in any relationship breakdown. When a same sex couple separate it can raise several unique additional questions regarding arrangements for children and each person’s legal rights when children may be adopted, the parents may benefit from surrogacy or sperm donation, or one partner may have children from a previous relationship. Our family law team Solicitor with Ware & Kay in York & Wetherby looks at some of the steps and considerations same sex couples need to bear in mind in relation to agreeing future arrangements for children.  Reaching agreement together In any family breakup, if an amicable…

Buying your first home with a small deposit

According to the Bank of England, the biggest issue for most first-time buyers is insufficient savings.  Last year saw a sharp jump in the average amount of a deposit required to get a mortgage, with some people having to provide a deposit equivalent to a full year’s salary. To help tackle this problem, the Government is introducing a new mortgage guarantee scheme until December 2022. Here we look at the latest proposal and other ways to help you buy your first home even if you only have a small deposit. The 95 per cent mortgage guarantee scheme During the pandemic, lenders have tended to ask for large deposits and 95 per cent mortgages have virtually disappeared. The new mortgage guarantee scheme, announced in the Spring Budget, is designed to encourage lenders to start offering higher loan-to-value…

Who has parental responsibility and what does it mean?

Families now come in all shapes and sizes, and children may live with parents who are cohabiting, married, separated or divorced. They may be part of a step-family, live with adoptive parents, grandparents, other relatives or a special guardian. If you have spent many years living with and developing a close bond with a child, you may be concerned that your ‘parental’ status is not formally recognised and you may worry that you could be excluded from key decisions in the future. Our family law team expert at Ware & Kay Solicitors in York & Wetherby explains that parental responsibility is a legal concept defined by the Children Act.  ‘It determines all the rights, duties, powers and responsibilities and authority that a parent of a child has in relation to the child and their property.’ Whoever…

Divorce: am I entitled to share my spouse’s pension?

As part of any discussion regarding family finances following divorce, it is important to consider pensions.  As our family law team expert with Ware & Kay in York & Wetherby explains, this is particularly so if compared to your former spouse you only have a very modest pension of your own or perhaps no pension at all. ‘In many cases, it may be possible to obtain a share of your former spouse’s pension pot in order to address any inequality in entitlement’, explains our family law team expert, ‘but it is important to seek legal advice early to determine whether an application to the court is appropriate and, if it is, to ensure that any order made is fair’. When can a pension be shared? The court can make a pension sharing order where legal proceedings…