When property is registered at the Land Registry (which most property in the UK is) the boundary line is usually a ‘general boundary’ which is not the exact line of the legal boundary. Therefore, registration with a general boundary does not determine ownership and importantly, the maintenance obligations of physical boundary features.

When disputes between neighbours arise, and the parties want to establish the legal boundary the first place to look may be the old pre-Land Registry title deeds. The property description clause in an old conveyance or transfer may describe the property precisely enough to determine the legal boundary and may make reference to a plan. Inverted ‘T’s’ marked on plans are now accepted as persuasive evidence of ownership of a boundary feature.

Often title deeds are unavailable or unclear; therefore several legal presumptions have emerged and are applied by the courts when trying to resolve disputes;

1. Hedge and Ditch;
When properties are separated by a hedge and an adjoining single ditch there is a presumption that the land owner on the hedge side owns both the hedge and the ditch.

2. Roads;
Where a property adjoins a road, and the road falls outside the red edging on the title plan, the owner is presumed to own up to the middle of that road. Where the road is classed as a public highway this presumption is subject to various rights of the Highways Authority.

3. Non-tidal rivers and streams;
The owner of a property that abuts a natural non-tidal river or stream also owns the bed of the river up to the centre line and if the course of the river or stream changes naturally, the boundary is presumed to change with it.

4. Sea-shore;
Where a property adjoins the sea, there is a presumption that the boundary of the property extends to the top of the foreshore, this is the land that lies between the high and low water marks of an ordinary tide.

5. Fences;
It is a common belief that the posts of a fence are on the owner’s side. This is not a legal presumption; however, the position of the posts may be taken into account by a court in helping to determine the ownership of the fence.

Legal boundaries can also be established by an application to the Land Registry. The application must be accompanied by sufficient evidence in support of the boundary line claimed. A notice will then be served on the adjoining neighbours and if any of them object to the application the dispute may need to be resolved by the court. This is an expensive and time consuming route to take.

Finally, boundary disputes can be resolved by agreement between the parties. There are two types of boundary agreement; first those that constitute an exchange of land and second, those where the parties merely intend to determine an unclear boundary. There is a presumption that an informal boundary agreement falls into the latter category. It is perhaps a little ironic that, though this is the cheapest and simplest way to resolve disputes, the likelihood of such an agreement in the context of a dispute is very slim indeed.

To find out more about property boundaries and how you can resolve any disputes, please contact Zoe Colling on 01723 352125 at Scarborough, Helen Jackson on 01262 673445 at Bridlington Noel Barrett on 01947 601122 for Whitby.  

The above is for general information only, please contact us for further information

If you have not made a Will during your lifetime, you will die ‘intestate’.  This means that the people who benefit from your estate are family members dictated by law rather than family or friends of your own choosing.  This intestacy law also dictates who should deal with the administration of your estate for you. 

It is obviously far preferable to make a Will, in order that you can choose exactly who you would wish to benefit from your estate and in what shares.  You can also indicate who you would wish to act as your executor and, if you have children under the age of 18, you can appoint guardians to care for your children in the event that you pass away.  Finally, you can also give instructions as to what you would wish to happen to your body after you die, whether you would prefer to be buried or cremated and details of any wishes you may have regarding your funeral. 

Is there anything I cannot do in a Will? 

Your Will cannot deal with any property which you own as ‘joint tenants’ with another person.  On your death, any property which you hold in this way will pass automatically (by what is called the law of survivorship) to the surviving co-owner or co-owners.  If you do not wish this to happen, then you need to plan for this during your lifetime and execute documentation to enable you to change from holding property as ‘joint tenants’ to holding the property as ‘tenants in common’.  This will mean that you will be able to leave your share of the property in accordance with the terms of your Will. 

Can my Will be disputed after my death? 

You are free to leave your estate to whoever you wish.  However, it is possible that your Will may be challenged on your death. 

There are several grounds on which a Will can be challenged.  These include the fact that the person making the Will did not have the necessary mental capacity (or sufficient understanding) to do so; that the person making the Will was ‘unduly influenced’ by another person when making the Will; or that a relative or other person who expected to be provided for was not provided for. 

Should you be concerned that your Will may be challenged when you die or that a claim may be made against your estate, it is even more important that you see a Solicitor for full advice as to how best to proceed.  This can reduce the likelihood of a successful claim being made against your estate after you die and increase the likelihood of your estate passing to your chosen beneficiaries without problems. 

How do I obtain further information about any of the issues raised here? 

By contacting a member of the Private Client Team at Pinkney Grunwells Lawyers on 01262 673445 or 01723 352125 or email solicitor@pinkneygrunwells.co.uk

Here at Pinkney Grunwells we will make sure the right documents are received for work done before you buy.  You may then have work done to the property once you move in, which by law, requires certain certificates to be obtained from the tradesman.  If you have not kept or obtained these documents this could result in delays and  additional costs for you to pay when you come to sell as duplicates will have to be obtained or insurance taken out if certificates are not available.

These are some examples of documents which you must ensure you have/obtain:-

FENSA or buildings regulations certificate for new windows and doors

Building compliance certificate for boiler and central heating works installations.

Compliance Certificate for electrical works.

In many cases the contractors have to pay their professional body to enable them to issue the certificates so unless you request them at the time of doing the work you may not receive them.

Following your purchase we can store your documents free of charge and they will be quickly and easily available when/if you decide to sell.  This means there are no delays in getting your sale underway when a buyer is found.  If you have work done during your ownership of the property you can bring the additional documents into us and we will put them with any others we hold, again free of charge.

If you want us to store your deeds and documents or are unsure as to what certificates you should obtain when having work done please do not hesitate to contact any of our offices on:-

Whitby  01947 601122

Bridlington  01262 673445

Scarborough 01723 352125

Hunmanby/Filey  01723 890634

Or at solicitor@pinkneygrunwells.co.uk

Often, clients are lured into these “cheap” wills, and it can be an unpleasant surprise when the final bill comes to find out the true cost of the added extras. One example is secure storage charges.  Many solicitors firms, like ourselves, do not charge for this service, but this is often an “add on” charge for Will Writing firms.

This firm has experienced several problems with wills prepared by Will writing companies.  These include a Will being witnessed but not signed by the person making it, (when the company was challenged about this following the death of the Testator, they said that they did not understand what was wrong and believed that the Will should stand!), to the Will being sent to the Testator for signing, and clearly giving details of how to sign and Witness the Will, but not mentioning that it needed to be dated.  As the person had made a previous Will, this cost the estate hundreds of pounds to prove the new Will (the one prepared by the Will writer).

As Solicitors, we can draw up Wills – for which we need to be properly qualified and regulated by the Law Society. However, you don’t need to be a solicitor to be a Will writer. You don’t need any qualifications, and there is no unified regulation of the Will Writing industry and many of the Will Writing forms are not subject to the obligations to take out indemnity insurance to cover claims if things go wrong. Solicitors have to take out this insurance, and therefore clients are fully protected.

There has been a lot of publicity surrounding Will Writing Companies and the problems and expense they are costing their Clients (or their families).  There has been much press and television coverage, which has highlighted the difficulties that have been encountered.  A BBC Panorama investigation, last year, uncovered cases where initial will-writing fees of £75-£100 escalated to thousands of pounds, with clients and families of the deceased then being charged fee percentages for handling estates after death, which they were never told about.

 Another temptation is make your Will at home.  The danger is that if such Wills are not drafted correctly, although saving money initially, they can cost your estate a lot of money following your death as the difficulties then need to be sorted out.

 With prices starting at only £100 plus VAT, why not book an appointment today. Contact us on solicitor@pinkneygrunwells.co.uk or call 01723 352125 / 01262 673445 / 01947 601122 or 01723 890634

What is mediation? Parties meet with a mediator who is specifically trained to help separating couples resolve a dispute. The mediator will work with the couple to identify issues that can’t be agreed upon to help them try to reach an agreement without the need for attending court. The mediator will not give advice on the parties individual position and the parties will still need/be recommended to seek their own independent legal advice either throughout the mediation process or upon the terms of agreement reached. The mediation process is confidential and any discussion which takes place in mediation is not binding on either party. Once an agreement is reached the parties will be advised to enter into a legally binding agreement which is usually done through the parties’ respective solicitors.

Do Parties have to attend mediation before going to court? No:  You must consider mediation however if following a referral the other party is unwilling to attend or it is considered that mediation is not suitable then mediation will go no further. This can often be determined at the initial assessment meeting which can be a single or joint meeting with the other side.

Are there any exemptions ? Yes: It will not be necessary to make  a referral to mediation before going to court in certain circumstances e.g if there have been allegations of domestic abuse.

How has this changed ? Previously any party who wished to apply for public funding to be represented at court had to first make a referral to mediation. Now all parties who wish to apply to court whether they are entitled to public funding or not must first of all consider mediation.

The thinking behind these new initiatives is to encourage mediation as an alternative to litigation with a view that this is quicker, cheaper and less contentious. A referral to mediation is not to force parties to enter into mediation but to consider whether it is suitable and can often lead to negotiated agreement, thus achieving these objectives. However it must be approached with caution. In many cases mediation is not going to be suitable. If e.g there is a dominant person within the relationship. Or it may be mediation alone will not suffice and the individual parties require advice and need to be aware of their rights and how to assert those rights within the legal process.

Mediation is by no means a quick fix and the process itself can often be lengthy with periods of several weeks in between each session. This may mean it is not appropriate in cases which require immediate action e.g Interim financial support, or cases in respect of children where the non-resident parent has refused to return a child after contact where clearly delay is unacceptable.

How do I make a referral to mediation ? We can  make the referral for you or you can make a referral direct to your local mediator. We can advise upon the suitability of mediation and whether exemptions will apply in your particular case. We can also ensure that you receive competent no nonsense legal advice throughout the mediation process.

Please contact Teresa Bennion on 01723 356313 or teresa.bennion@pinkneygrunwells.co.uk for further information

The Act works on the basis of protecting you against discrimination on the grounds of: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Although, depending on the area applied, there are exclusions for specific characteristics.

These changes are not only relevant to employment legislation, but they affect landlords and tenants, premises where services are provided to the public and the users of those services.  It protects not only those fitting in with the criteria of suffering a disability, but also the young and old in employment; services /functions, premises and facilities used by the public.

The major parts of the Act were implemented in October 2010, there are however continuing consultations on specific areas still to be implemented.

What it means for you as an individual is that, if you are suffering from a disability which makes it difficult for you to carry out day to day activities, reasonable adjustments are required in terms of service providers and your employment rights.  An example of the improvements with the implementation of the Act are that prior to October 2010, anyone suffering with depression would not have fallen within the disability discrimination protection.  This has changed with the criterion to be applied.

How is it relevant to you?

If you provide services and functions for example, a restaurant or hotel, you must not discriminate against a person requiring the service by not providing the person with that service.  This means that you are under a duty to your service users to provide reasonable adjustments.  There are, as with most legislation, exceptions, however you would need to check these out if they apply to your organisation.

If you rent out premises which are subject to a tenancy, not only should you be ensuring that your agreements and leases are non discriminatory, but you are also required to make reasonable adjustments in relation to premises.

If you are an employer the Equality Act covers all areas of employment, from job adverts, through the employment relationship and the end by providing references.  Specific areas highlighted are: pre-employment health questions, secrecy clauses within contracts of employment and harassment at work.

If you are an employee, service user or tenant you are protected by the law by the prohibited conduct of direct/indirect discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, dual characteristic discrimination, gender re-assignment discrimination in absence from work cases and pregnancy and maternity discrimination.

If you require any further information or advice please contact Patricia White on 01723 352125 or patricia.white@pinkneygrunwells.co.uk

The above is for general advice only, please contact us for further information

Did you know that the law changed for all new residential assured shorthold tenancies created after 6th April 2007. If you take a bond or deposit against rent arrears or damage to your property from your Tenant, that you must then make sure that the money is lodged in a Government approved Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

Failure to do so can result in severe sanctions, not only can your Tenant take you to court to claim repayment of their bond/deposit plus three times the amount of their bond/deposit, (as a penalty), but you may also lose the right to recover possession of your property under the Assured Shorthold ground for possession.

There are essentially two types of scheme; the custodial scheme run by the Deposit Protection Service, (DPS), which is open to all Landlords; and the insurance backed scheme which is run by either MyDeposits or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, (TDS). The TDS scheme is only, however, open to members of certain professional organisations.

Certain prescribed information, as to with whom the bond has been lodged must be provided by the Landlord to the Tenant within 14 days of the Landlord receiving the bond from the Tenant.

Disputes about the condition of the property at the end of the tenancy are frequent and from a practical point of view, to try to avoid such disputes, Landlords and Tenants should ensure that an agreed photographic record of the condition of the property is annexed to the tenancy agreement together with an agreed full inventory of the contents of the property. Such documents help to “evidence” the condition of the property and the contents at the commencement of the tenancy.

Pinkney Grunwells Lawyers can provide expert detailed advice at reasonable cost on Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements and the requirements of the Deposit Schemes.

If you require any further information or advice please contact any of our offices on:-

Whitby (Noel Barrett) 01947 601122,

Bridlington (Helen Jackson) 01262 673445

Scarborough (Zoe Colling) 01723 352125

Hunmanby/Filey (Debbie Moore) 01723 890634

The above is for general advice only, please contact us for further information

We can not however disregard factors which the courts viewed would negate the agreement or limit the contractual force of the agreement highlighting the importance of obtaining proper legal advice and ensuring any documents are properly drafted to ensure the parties intentions are accurately recorded. Such factors might include; duress, fraud, misrepresentation, undue pressure such as exploitation of a dominant position. The parties circumstances at the time of entering into the agreement will also be relevant such as age, maturity and whether the terms of the agreement were fair at the time of entering into the contract.

What has been learnt from the recent case?

Pre-nuptial agreements are enforceable so long as they are put together correctly. To ensure this to be the case the following is strongly recommended to alleviate the risk of doubt:

-          Correct and proper drafting of the contract.

-          Both parties obtain separate and independent legal advice

-          Evidence that both parties are aware of the others assets

-          Evidence that both parties intended that the agreement should be effective

-          To add additional force to the contractual terms a post-nuptial agreement may also be entered into.

Can we help?

Pinkney Grunwells have expert lawyers specialising in the drafting of Pre-nuptial and Post nuptial agreements. Offering a fixed fee, quotes start from £350.00 plus V.AT .

Even if parties do not intend to marry, to avoid any risk of uncertainty or dispute in the future, Pinkney Grunwells Lawyers also specialise in the drafting of Cohabitation Agreements which likewise can specifically provide the intentions of the parties upon cohabitation should the parties wish to regulate the terms of the relationship. To obtain a quote please contact Pinkney Grunwells and provide a brief breakdown of the assets involved. Our experts will then provide you with a quote for preparing and executing the contract.

Their job is to establish the assets and liabilities of the estate as at the date of death, prepare a return to HM Revenue & Customs and make an application to the Probate Registry to obtain a Grant of Representation.  Once they have obtained the Grant, they draw in the monies and administer the estate in accordance with the terms of the Will or the laws of intestacy.

In simple cases, an executor can apply for a Grant of Representation themselves.  However, even seemingly straightforward estates can prove surprisingly complex and time consuming and executors are legally liable for any mistakes.  As a result, the great majority of people seek expert advice from a fully insured Probate Solicitor.

What are the average fees involved?

Of the various types of institutions that provide probate services, Banks and Will Writers often charge consistently higher fees than Solicitors.  Most charge a percentage of an estate’s value as well as for time spent on the estate.  Bank and Will Writers fees for estate administration can generally work out at between 4% and 5% of the value of the estate, so are generally not good value.

Solicitor’s fees are ultimately regulated by the Law Society.  Generally, they charge for the work that they actually carry out, adding a modest percentage fee, which is a maximum of 1.5% of the value of the estate (and only 0.75% of the value of any property).  Solicitors’ fees would still not usually exceed 2% of the value of most estates.

How do you make savings?

Prepare well for any face to face meetings and have as much information to hand as possible.  Remember that letters take time, so ensure that correspondence is kept only to that which is essential.  If you want, you can do some of the work yourself rather than leaving everything to the Solicitor.

Lastly, there are steps that you can take to make savings even at the stage of preparing your Will.  For example, there is often no need to appoint professional executors in your Will as this can increase the cost to your estate.  In addition, when you are having your Will drawn up, there is no need to pre-pay for probate services at that point.  Some will-writing companies have been criticised for charging large sums of money in advance for services that may not be necessary and may end up costing your loved ones in terms of money and stress.

Our advice is to make a local Solicitor your first point of contact when it comes to both making your Will and in the unfortunate event that you are required to deal with an estate.

Co-owners can own a property in one of two ways:

• As joint tenants.
• As tenants in common.

It is important to specify how you want to own the property when you are buying it, to avoid any uncertainty in the future.

Joint tenants

If you own a property as a joint tenant, you and your fellow joint tenant(s) own the whole of the property together. You will not have a quantifiable share in the property and you will not be able to leave a share of the property in your will. If you sell the property, or if you separate from your fellow joint tenant(s), it will be presumed that you own the property equally, regardless of the respective contributions to the purchase price.

Survivorship

The right of survivorship means that if one of your co-owners dies, their share in the property will automatically pass to the remaining co-owners without any further action being required. The surviving co-owner(s) would then own all of the property. When the last co-owner dies, the property will form part of their estate. Married couples or civil partners often own a property as joint tenants because the right of survivorship makes it straightforward to inherit each other’s shares in the property.

Severance

If you own a property as a joint tenant, but decide that you want to split your interest in the property, the joint tenancy can be “severed” and turned into a tenancy in common at any time.

Reasons not to become joint tenants

• If one joint tenant has made a larger contribution to the purchase price of the property, you may want this to be recognised if the property is sold or if you separate.
• A joint tenancy is unsuitable if you have a family from an earlier marriage and want to leave your share in the property to them, instead of passing it to your fellow co-owner.

Tenants in common

If co-owners own a property as tenants in common, they each have a distinct share in the property. The shares can be equal, but they do not have to be. It is advisable for co-owners to state the proportions that the property is owned in, rather than leaving it to be implied from the circumstances and the financial contributions made by each co-owner.

Your share of the property can be passed on to another person, either during your lifetime or under your will. If you do not have a will at the time of your death then your share will pass in accordance with the rules of intestacy.

Declaration of trust

A declaration of trust is the document that formally records that you and your co-owner(s) own the property as tenants in common and sets out your respective shares in the property. If you sell the property, or if you

separate from your fellow tenant in common, the declaration of trust will be referred to in order to work out your entitlement to the sale proceeds from the property.

Holding property as tenants in common may be appropriate if you have children from a previous relationship and you want them to inherit your share when you die, rather than your co-owner. It may also be appropriate if you have made unequal contributions to the purchase price of the property.

Mortgaged Property

Please note that if you have a mortgage both owners will be individually responsible for payment of the mortgage. This is the case, whether the property is held as tenants in common or joint tenants. There are cases where one person may provide the capital while the other takes on the responsibility of paying the mortgage but this does not alter the fact that legally both owners are jointly and individually responsible for payment of the Mortgage.

More information

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate in contacting the property teams on Bridlington 01262 673445, Hunmanby 01723 890634 Scarborough 01723 352125 or Whitby 01947 601122 or alternatively e-mail alison.harvey@pinkneygrunwells.co.uk.