We only work on fixed fees and do not charge extra for home visits.

If you lose mental capacity and haven’t appointed a Power of Attorney, either someone will have to apply to be a deputy or the Court of Protection will appoint one to make decisions on your behalf. It may not be the person that you want. Also, the powers given to the deputy are much more limited, meaning that choices that would normally be relatively simple for an Attorney to make would require authorisation from the Court of Protection, which could take months each time.

There are two types of Power of Attorney – Ordinary/General Power of Attorney and Lasting Power of Attorney. Lasting Powers of Attorney can be for either Health and Welfare or Property and Affairs. The former makes decisions that include where you will live, your diet and dress. The latter will decide how to manage your estate. If you do not appoint either of these, family members and loved ones will not have an automatic right to make any decisions for you

Whoever you appoint needs to be trustworthy, have a good understanding of your needs and have your best interests at heart. You might like to consider your assets and liabilities and think about what decisions your attorneys may have to make on your behalf. You will need the names, addresses and dates of birth of anyone you would like to appoint as Power of Attorney. We can act as your Professional Attorneys if you wish to take this pressure away from loved ones.

Yes you can. If you want to appoint more than one, you need to decide if they would need to act jointly, or if they can act independently. If they need to act jointly, this can become difficult if they don’t all agree or if one is absent. If they can act independently this can cause a problem if someone wants to make a bad decision. You can also appoint them to act jointly and severally which means they will have to make some decisions together and others on their own.

We offer free initial consultations – however long – with no obligation, usually on a same day basis (as far as possible). From the initial meeting we then agree a timetable with you for getting things done and will work with you with the aim of keeping costs to a minimum. We also work generally on fixed fees so you know exactly how much it will cost from the beginning. We also advise on ways of saving tax or varying the will or intestacy (where there is no will) through Deeds of Variation.

To ensure that Probate or Trusts are carried out correctly and in accordance with the often complex rules and regulations, you can appoint a professional firm alongside a Personal Executor or alone. As a Personal Executor it is also advised to get a solicitor to help you administer the estate. We ensure that probate is granted efficiently, assets are distributed quickly and trusts are handled effectively. We will relieve you of the stress involved and manage the complex work of administration on your behalf, as well as releasing you from your personal liability as an Executor. We specialise in Probate, so you benefit from our expert knowledge and experience.

Acorn Solicitors provide a specialist Probate and Trusts service for Executors and Trustees, for those who die intestate (where there is no will). This can make the process more complicated and stressful and it is advised to use a solicitor to help distribute the deceased’s estate.

As a buyer or seller it’s important to have a solicitor lined up before you start the process of buying or selling a property. If you haven’t done so, don’t worry – you can get in touch with us and we will put it in place. A good solicitor is a wise investment to ensure the move goes smoothly and efficiently.

Once an offer has been accepted, the solicitor draws up a contract that will eventually be signed by both parties; however, before the contract can be signed, the buyer’s solicitor must make sure that there are no problems with the property. This is called ‘making enquiries and searches’, which includes local searches, enquiries made to the seller and from the Land Registry. The solicitors will also manage the transfer of deposits and the final sum of money.

Local searches are looking for any matters that affect the property which concern the local authority. This could include whether it’s in a conservation area, whether there are any planned changes to infrastructure around the house or whether there is a compulsory purchase order on the property.

There is a standard set of questions about the property, boundaries, neighbour disputes and fixtures and fittings that will remain in the property. Depending on the property, there may be additional questions that the solicitor wishes to ask.

This ensures that the sale isn’t fraudulent and both parties provide identity and register the purchase with the Land Registry. It will also confirm if the property is leasehold, freehold or common hold.

The buyer may get a survey carried out by a chartered surveyor, their mortgage providers may arrange a valuer or they may get both. This should point out any problems with the building that will need work on. As a general rule, the valuer can be liable if faults occur after you buy the property. This is because the valuer owes a duty of care to the person applying for the mortgage. If the surveyor did not see existing problems with your property when they did their survey, you may be able to claim that they didn’t carry out their work with reasonable care and skill. This would mean you might be owed compensation. We would recommend getting legal advice for anyone who has had problems with their surveyor or valuer.

The responsibility of insuring the building lies with the legal owner. You must ensure you have insurance in place before contracts are exchanged.

Before the contract is exchanged no agreements are legally binding, which means less money can be offered from the buyer, the seller can remove the house from the market and the price can be renegotiated. If either party pulls out they do not have to pay for any of the costs that you as the other party may have incurred.

The final contract between both parties is prepared when the solicitor and buyer are satisfied with the final outcome of all the enquiries, any surveyor’s report has been received with any necessary action taken, the formal mortgage offer has been received, arrangements about the payment of the 10% deposit have been made and the date of completion has been agreed. You and the seller each have a copy of the final contract, which you must sign. These signed contracts are then exchanged. At exchange of contracts both you and the seller are legally bound by the contract and the sale of the house has to go ahead. If either drops out, they are likely to be liable for costs.

There are two ways to buy a property with someone else. The first is as a tenant in common, which means that you each own a specific share of the property’s value and you can give away, sell or mortgage your share separately. The second is as a beneficial joint tenant, this means that it belongs to you and the other owners jointly and you can’t re-mortgage or sell the property without the agreement of all the other owners. If you die, your interest in the property passes automatically to the other owners.

A Power of Attorney allows you to give authority to another person (the attorney) to handle your finances and/or make health and welfare decisions on your behalf. You must have mental capacity to give the power. It is important that you instruct a Solicitor to draw up this document for you. If you do not appoint a solicitor you face a higher risk of an ineffective document. You could even face additional fees or become a victim of fraud or coercion.

The Court of Protection supervises and makes orders for the management of property and financial affairs of people who are mentally incapacitated. This will only be when they have not made an Enduring or Lasting Power of Attorney. The court can also make welfare and medical decisions, where necessary. We, as your solicitors, can assist in the application to appoint a deputy. We also help you to get appropriate orders from the court to deal with assets as well as making a will or gift for the person who lacks mental incapacity. We can also act as a Professional Deputy if required.

A Living Will can be drawn up by a solicitor to make an advance directive of what medical treatment you want or do not want in the event you are later unable to communicate your wishes.