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Bereaved families will face soaring probate fees from April 2019 under new plans revealed by the Ministry of Justice. Reforms to probate fees have been the subject of consultation since 2016 and a year later the first proposals, which included a charge of £20,000 for estates worth £2 million or more, were met with outcry. […]

This week is Dementia Action Week, an event organised by the Alzheimer’s Society as a call to action to help those affected by dementia. Around 850,000 people in the UK have the condition and a new diagnosis is made every 3 minutes, according to the Charity. An easy step that people can take to help […]

8-May-2018 The Times recently reported on the story of Zara Pawley who was left £40,000 short after her solicitors were tricked into sending the balance from a house sale to fraudsters. According to Zara, although she had previously provided her bank details in person to the solicitor, the firm was later fooled by a message […]

7-May-2018 The complexities of Inheritance tax: and where to get help Last week the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) launched a review of inheritance tax, asking both professionals and taxpayers themselves to submit views by June 8th. The Scoping Document can be found here. A record £5.2 billion of inheritance tax was paid to the […]

1-May-2018 With a myriad of conveyancing services to choose from, it can be confusing to know which to choose and whether there is really much difference between them all. With cheap deals and incentives to lure them in, too many people are tempted by bargain basement prices rather than choosing an experienced, trusted advisor for […]

24-April-2018 From last week, The Mortgage Works, Nationwide’s specialist buy-to-let lender, removed its age limit for loans to experienced landlords. In the past, the lender applied a maximum application age of 70 for all buy-to-let loans – but since 18th April, there has been no maximum age for those landlords who have owned or let […]

20-April-2018 Breens Solicitors Ltd in Southport, and Waterloo has secured the Law Society’s legal practice quality mark for practice management and client care, Lexcel, for the 20th consecutive year. The Law Society developed the Lexcel standard to award those firms which demonstrate high client care and business management standards an additional accreditation. To gain and […]

11-April-2018 From 1st April, Landlords renting energy inefficient properties have been liable for large fines, thanks to new legislation. In addition, they may have to pay thousands towards the cost of implementing energy saving measures. Rented property that cannot meet a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E or higher will need to be […]

9-April-2018 Author: Carol Bragg HMRC’s inaccurate Stamp Duty calculator may have resulted in up to £2 billion in stamp duty being overpaid: because the tool did not take into account discounts due on certain transactions. Tax advisors report dealing with a 400% increase in refund claims because even solicitors were relying on the tool to […]

2-April-2018 Author: Carol Bragg If you’re looking for your first home and have your sights set on a new build, there’s good news: lenders are targeting the new-build market and the number of deals available is rapidly increasing. With the low interest rates, banks and building societies have had to improve their offers in order […]

2-March-2018 We are having work done in our Southport Office. As a result, the Southport Office will be open between 10am and 4pm only on the following days. Tuesday 6th March Wednesday 7th March. We will be back to our normal opening hours of 9am to 5pm from Thursday 8th March. Thank you for your […]

27-February-2018 Breens Solicitors is once again supporting the Queenscourt Hospice Make a Will month. For the month of April, Breens Solicitors will write your Will in exchange for a donation to Queenscourt Hospice. Simple Single Will donation of £90 Simple Mirror Wills donation of £135 You may also want to leave a legacy to Queenscourt […]

14-February-2018 If you’re under 39 and you’ve got a Help to Buy ISA, you could claim up to £1,100 extra in Government bonuses towards your house deposit, thanks to a quirk in the LISA rules. The rules allow you to transfer your Help to Buy ISA savings to a LISA this 2017-2018 tax year, without […]

14-February-2018 If you made a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) or an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) application in the last five years, you may be due a partial refund. Why am I due a refund? The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) charged £110 for making a LPA. The Ministry of Justice – which […]

1-December-2017 ITV’s Tonight special ‘Elderly Theft: Robbing the Relatives’ (first broadcast 30 November 2017) highlighted how Powers of Attorney can be abused and how legal professionals can help prevent abuse. Unfourtunately, the link is no longer available to watch. Powers of Attorney are a useful tool to help those who for reasons of mental or […]

29-November-2017 This year’s budget speech saw no mention of any changes to inheritance tax which surprised some. But in amongst the budget papers, a 32-page document reveals that proposals to raise IHT could be on the horizon. Both agricultural and business property relief could be the target of future cuts. Currently, farm houses, farmland, buildings […]

24-November-2017 Airlines are refusing to pay passengers the flight compensation that they are entitled to for delayed flights. EU rules dictate that passengers whose flight has been delayed by more than three hours should receive between €250 and €600 regardless of the price paid for the plane ticket. However, when a recent long-haul flight from […]

22-November-2017 The Chancellor, Philip Hammond has abolished Stamp duty for first-time buyers in today’s budget. First-time buyers purchasing a property up to £300k will no Stamp Duty. Those buying properties worth up to £500k will only pay duty on the amount above £300k. It is a move estimated to take 80% of first-time buyers out […]