Broadly speaking, it covers the legal processes by which a person’s property and possessions are protected as far as possible during their life, and then distributed after their death –...
Financial security in retirement’s rarely something you can leave to chance – and many of our clients find it reassuring to use us as a ‘family solicitor’. That role extends...
Consumers can currently make a claim of £5,000 or less under the less arduous small claims court system, though the Ministry of Justice wants this threshold increased to £15,000 (see...
Last year HM Revenue & Customs raised an additional £70 million pounds by successfully challenging nearly ten thousand probate valuations of land. Care should be taken by personal representatives when...
Have you seen the latest advertising from The Law Society at your local bus or train station? The Law Society are currently running a major advertising campaign for September and...
Recent article on BBC News about Legal Aid cuts. The government’s plans to cut legal aid in England and Wales return to Parliament later, amid opposition from lawyers and campaigners....
News story on the BBC News site: children’s guide to family justice published Children in England and Wales are being asked for their views on how to improve the family...
Michele Rowe, Partner and Head of Residential Conveyancing Department retired last Friday 30th September. Michele joined Crane & Staples as an Assistant Solicitor in the Residential Conveyancing Dept in January 1992 and...
As from 1st October 2011 employers will no longer be able to force employees to retire at 65. For more details as to this change please see the ACAS guide “Working...
The Agency Worker Regulations came in to force on the 1st October 2011. They are supplemented by the BIS Guidance (BIS/11/905; May 2011) which should be considered alongside the Regulations themselves....
November is Make a Will month. Less than a third of the UK population have a will. Last year the Government took over £50m from the estates of people who...
It appears that the Government’s aim to reduce employment regulations red tape will see the qualifying period for presenting unfair dismissal claims increase to two years. Claimants will also have...
The Court of Protection is on the move. This Court is the main Court which can decide cases on behalf of incapacitated people, whether suffering from, for example, dementia or...
In a recent High Court case it was held that an administrator of an insolvent tenant company was obliged to pay rent to the landlord under the lease for a...
The government is launching a secure online way of applying for a Lasting Power of Attorney. At Crane & Staples we are finding Lasting Powers of Attorney are becoming increasingly...
Nationwide announced this week that house prices are still falling. They say house prices have fallen for the fourth time in five months. The fall of 0.7% in July means...
Crane & Staples are delighted to welcome the newest member of their team, Graham Davies. Graham has started his training contract in the Commercial Department in August 2012, after successfully completing...
Bernard Matthews who died in 2010 amassed an estate of some £50m thanks to his turkey empire. He died leaving his wife, with whom he had not lived for 35...
The team had a great day at the b2b Expo at Knebworth Barns today. Some great new contacts made and plenty of networking, especially over lunchtime which was buzzing! Richard...
The Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, has recently asserted that there is ‘no question’ of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights and he may, in fact, block a conservative plan...
It is business as usual for Partner, Bonnie Twiggs, as she returns from maternity leave. I’m sure you will join us in congratulating Bonnie on the birth of her beautiful...
In recent years we have increasingly seen more and more clients coming into our offices for advice on care home fees. An article in the Daily Telegraph has compared the...
The Telegraph has reported that most people they surveyed were completely unaware of the different financial products available to help them with long-term care costs. In July this year the...
The team had a great day yesterday at the Herts SME Expo at Tewin Bury Farm. We decided we’d take a different approach to our stand and as you’ll see...
What a day yesterday – we entered our first ever business awards – the East of England Business Champions at Tewin Bury Farm. We had entered just one category...
On 28th November 2012 the Information Commissioner’s Office fined two owners of a marketing company £440,000 after they plagued the public with millions of spam texts. The ICO used its power...
Many of you will be aware of the recent case concerning the wrongful accusations made against Conservative peer Lord McAlpine on the Internet. This case has shone a whole new...
The government has reached an agreement with all other Commonwealth countries to change the laws which put men ahead of women in the line of royal succession. This means Will...
The deputy prime minister has praised Welwyn Garden City and said there should be more towns like it. The Liberal Democrat leader said in a speech to the National House...
We were thrilled to reach the finals of three categories of the Hertfordshire Business Awards – for Medium Business of the Year, Best Training and Development and for Helping Young...
To celebrate the 12 days of Christmas we have twelve interesting legal facts! Do you know when the 12 days of Christmas actually starts? First Did you know that your...
It has recently been announced that Newham Council is to become the first local authority in the country to introduce a compulsory registration system for residential landlords, with criminal sanctions...
Welwyn Hatfield Council has reached agreement to grant planning permission for 196 new homes to be built on the brownfield ‘Frythe’ site in Welwyn, Hertfordshire. The large scale project on...
The Government has announced that from June 2013, Free Schools will be able to move into almost any empty building and operate for up to a year without planning approval...
On Friday 1 March I will be arrested and thrown in jail, in the Howard Centre, Welwyn Garden City at 11 a.m. Visiting is optional, anyone wishing to throw stuff...
The Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 has made squatting in residential premises a criminal offence. Police now have the power to remove squatters from residential properties...
Chris and some of his fellow inmates had to do an extra 30 minutes porridge! Chris Lane has just been released from the Howard Centre jail after raising nearly £1300...
The Private Client department are very pleased to welcome a new member to their team, Erica Pearce-Howard. Erica has great experience in all areas of our work including Wills, powers...
Crane & Staples are happy to be supporting the Isabel Hospice again this year in their Make a Will Week campaign, 4th-8th March. Appointments are now limited, as we are pleased...
We use essential cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set analytics cookies that help us make improvements by measuring how you use the site. Clicking Reject All only enables essential cookies. For more detailed information about the cookies we use, see our Cookies page. For further control over which cookies are set, please click here.
Our use of cookies.
You can learn more detailed information in our Privacy Policy
Some cookies are essential, whilst others help us improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. The technology to maintain this privacy management relies on cookie identifiers. Removing or resetting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.
Essential Cookies
These cookies enable core website functionality, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Google Analytics Cookies
Google Analytics cookies help us to understand your experience of the website and do not store any personal data. Click here for a full list of Google Analytics cookies used on this site.
Third-Party Cookies
Third-Party cookies are set by our partners and help us to improve your experience of the website. Click here for a full list of third-party plugins used on this site.