Legal Updates

On 1 April 2013, the provisions of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act came into effect to cut the legal aid bill. Legal aid has been withdrawn for clients who are involved in family disputes such as child residency disputes. Prior to the changes in April, the Legal Services Commission enabled Family Law clients access to legal aid for all services. 

How the Changes Affect Family Law 

Perhaps the biggest lie on the Internet is saying, “Yes, I have read and agree to the above statement.” But if you want to obtain any service, you will have no choice but to agree with a company’s terms. This month we will be looking at the implications in contract law of clicking the ‘I agree’ box. 

Are these terms legally binding?

We recently saw massive changes in the way legal aid works in England and Wales. In a bid to cut legal aid budgets by over £350 million pounds a year, the Government have made several changes to the system and cut the availability of legal aid to a variety of civil as well as criminal law cases. The changes came into force in April 2013 and are, as predicted, resulting in changes in the way people deal with legal matters and, more specifically, a rapid rise in the number of people having to represent themselves in court. 

Legal aid is a way to offer legal advice and support to people who cannot afford to pay for it themselves. It has been one of the basic pillars of the welfare state since it came into being. But new changes that came into effect in early April in England and Wales have removed legal aid funding from various areas of civil law, including family disputes and social welfare benefits advice as well as housing and debt problems. The Government claims that resources are extremely tight and that spending on legal aid the way we have is no longer an option. According to official sources, the new cuts will save £350 million from a £2.1 billion budget.

In October 2012, David Cameron made a statement about the prison system and that prisons should be made to work for the offenders. He also said that punishment and rehabilitation should in fact take equal precedence in preventing crime. The Prime Minister said that the debate on punishment had become too ‘black or white’, and that the prison system should be one that has a positive and rehabilitative impact on an inmate’s life, rather than merely a punitive one. 

This month we will consider a recent Court of Appeal decision which should remind those practicing in Wills and Probate of the importance of following best practices when preparing wills for clients. 

The case, Hawes v Burgess [2013] EWCA Civ 74, involved a 2007 will which cut out the testatrix’s son, Peter, and left the estate equally to her two daughters, Libby and Julia. 

Consider the following background facts to the case:

1. The deceased, Daphne Burgess, died in 2009, aged 80, having suffered from failing health since 2006.

2. Under an earlier will, her estate (total less than £200,000) had been left equally to her son and two daughters.

The experience of seeing one’s parents split up, however amicably, can be difficult for a child to cope with.  But divorces are not always amicable.  The fact is that many split-ups are bitter and frequently involve protracted legal battles, including child custody cases.  In the bitter battle between warring parents, children often end up becoming the prisoners of war.  Parents often use children as weapons in their personal fights with each other, and according to legal experts specialising in family and divorce law, this behaviour is escalating. 

If you have studied ILSPA’s Legal Secretaries Diploma course, you will already know that a leasehold estate is one of the two ways under the Law of Property Act 1925 that you can own land in the UK.  Leasehold is a form of ownership that allows you a temporary right to hold land or property.  The length of this temporary right is often measured in decades, usually 99 or 125 years. What you have not bought when you obtain a leasehold title is the land a property stands on.  The land is owned by a freeholder or landlord, who will charge a ground rent.

The President of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger, recently expressed grave concerns about the imminent cuts in legal aid for civil cases.  These cuts are expected to save over £350 million after they come into effect this month.  But the statement by Lord Neuberger was closely followed by yet another announcement by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling, detailing further cuts in legal aid spending, this time for criminal cases. 

ILSPA’s Legal Secretaries Diploma unit relating to Wills, Administration and Procedure sets out why it is important to make a will, and the assessments for the course require Students to type a will.

It is possible to make a will without professional assistance; in fact, it is possible to pick up a draft will with basic instructions on how to complete the same from a high street stationery retailer.  Whilst this can produce a valid will, it is also very easy to make a mistake when writing the will or signing it, which can render it invalid or ambiguous.