Timperley Solicitors

How long does a divorce take?
The no fault divorce procedure introduced on 6 April 2022 means that the divorce process itself will take 6 months at least. If your financial claims have not been resolved in this time then you may be advised to wait until they have been finalised before applying for your final divorce order.

What are the costs involved?
There is a court issue fee of £593 to issue the divorce. Legal costs are usually £450 plus VAT for divorce. The cost of the finances depends on the nature of the assets and issues – please contact us for a bespoke cost estimate

What are the first steps?
We advise that you book in to see us for a free initial meeting. We will usually need your original marriage certificate in order to issue the divorce proceedings and will need identification documents to set up a file.

Can I stay in the marital home?
The court will be concerned to make sure that you and any children of the family can be suitably housed whether this is appropriate to be in the family home or in another property will depend on your unique situation.

Will my spouse get half of everything?
The starting point for the court is equal division of all marital assets but there are a number of factors that the courts then look at to decide if the assets should be divided differently, this includes for example housing needs, the length of the marriage, the needs of any children and financial contributions. Each case is unique.

I’m worried about the children in the middle of a divorce
Our family team are hugely experienced in dealing with issues concerning arrangements for children.  The ideal outcome is to reach an amicable resolution but where that is not happy our many years of experience can assist you in reaching a conclusion through the courts.

What is Civil Litigation?
Litigation covers a range of disputes between parties and these claims often involve the return of money or goods, a claim for damages or for the recovery of property or land. We have specialist knowledge and expertise in the Lands Tribunal and are often instructed on boundary and other property and land disputes. We are also regularly instructed in relation to company disputes concerning shareholders and partnerships.

What is Alternative Dispute Resolution?
Whenever a dispute arises the parties are encouraged to try to resolve their dispute by alternative means such as negotiations through solicitors, mediation or round table discussions. Only if these options are not feasible should you resort to issuing court proceedings.

What is a small claim?
Any claim which has a value of less than £10,000 would be classed as a small claim. This means that you would not usually recover more than court fees and a very small amount of fixed costs from the other side even if you won the case. It is therefore important to be particularly mindful of costs in small claims court matters.

How do I get in touch?
Get in touch by calling our office on 0161 980 6099 or head over to our contact page and fill in the contact form and we’ll get in touch as soon as we can.

Domestic Conveyancing

How long does the conveyancing process take?
From an offer being accepted to completion, this usually takes between 12-16
Weeks. This depends on a range of factors however as there are various elements to the transaction and the timescales will depend on how many buyers and sellers are involved, how straightforward the title is, how quickly searches and mortgage offers are received.

Do I need to carry out any searches?
We always advise that you undertake searches and a full survey before purchasing any property. The standard search pack usually includes a local search, water and drainage search and environmental search. Depending on the type and location of your property, we may recommend additional searches and if you are getting a mortgage there may be certain searches which the mortgage company requires.

What does the Exchange of Contracts mean?
This is a key part of the process where the transaction becomes legally binding, and you are committed to sell to the purchasers and the purchasers are committed to buy, for the agreed price. Both parties are also legally obliged to complete on the agreed completion date and the deposit (usually 10% as standard) becomes due.

When should you instruct a Solicitor?
This should usually be done as soon as you have accepted an offer on your property or as soon as your offer has been accepted on a property to purchase. If you are selling your property you may wish to start looking into options and considering quotes soon after putting your property on the market so that you are ready to move quickly.

Commercial Conveyancing

What is a commercial lease?
This is a formal agreement between landlord and tenant. The lease will set out the terms on which the tenant is permitted to occupy the business premises, including the term, the rent payable and all other rights and obligations. It is very important to have independent legal advice on the terms of a lease.

Does a commercial lease need to be registered?
Leases over 7 years are subject to compulsory registration at the Land Registry and you would usually need a Solicitor to assist with this registration process. Shorter leases do not usually need to be registered. However we still very strongly advise that you have legal advice on any commercial lease.

What is an assignment of a lease?
This is the transfer of all rights to occupy the premises for the rest of the term from the current tenant to a third party. The consent from the landlord is usually required and there are various formalities to be completed.

What information do you need when making a Will?
We appreciate that you may want advice on how best to approach your estate planning but at the outset it is helpful to have an idea of the approximate value of your Estate (including assets and debts), the details of who you wish for your Estate to be divided between (the beneficiaries), who you would want to administer your estate (the ‘executors’).

If I haven’t made a Will what would happen to my estate?
The law would decide how the Estate of the deceased is divided, meaning who you intended to receive certain assets may not. This is called ‘intestacy’ and your estate would be divided in accordance with the laws on intestacy.

What if I have lost my Will?
It is important to keep a record of where your original will is held as this is usually required to obtain any grant of probate in the future. At Nicholls solicitors, we are members of the National Will Register and advise that all our client’s register their wills on here to avoid any future problems. We can also assist you in making a search via The National Will register to see if your will is registered. If it is not then it may be sensible to prepare a new will, which would revoke and replace any previous wills made.

What would make a Will invalid?
There are a number of ways in which a will could be deemed invalid. If it is not witnessed correctly, if the testator was thought to not have capacity or was put under pressure or even if the will itself is confusing and unclear. This is why we always recommend that you instruct a solicitor to prepare a will and we ask that you execute it at our office wherever possible.

How long does probate take?
This is dependent on each matter, although usually it takes between 6 and 12 months.

What is the typical cost for taking out a grant of probate?
In respect of the grant only, where there is no inheritance tax to pay the cost will be in the region of £450-£900 plus VAT.

What is an LPA?
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that lets you (the donor) appoint one or more individuals (known as attorneys) to help make decisions on your behalf. Such as decisions on your ‘Health and Welfare’ and your ‘Property and Financial affairs.’

Can lasting power of attorney be revoked?
You can end your Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) yourself – if you have mental capacity to make that decision.

What can an attorney do once an LPA is done?
Depending on the content of your LPA, the attorneys can make decisions on the donor’s behalf providing the attorney is acting in the best interests of the donor and taking reasonable care when making decisions. It is possible to place conditions on the decisions that can be made or require two attorneys to always act in agreement for example.

Does an LPA have to be registered?
Your LPA needs to be registered- this can be done by yourself or your attorneys. It can take up to 20 weeks to register an LPA so it is advisable to do this as soon as possible.