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Buying a home is one of the most significant financial decisions you will ever make. Whether you are a first-time buyer or moving further up the property ladder, understanding how financing affects your mortgage options is essential. At Capron & Helliwell, we guide clients through the legal complexities of property transactions, beginning with the financial foundations that underpin the process. Financing simply refers to how you fund the purchase of your property. For most buyers, this means taking out a mortgage, which is a loan secured against the property itself, to cover the major...

What is Probate and When is it Needed? Probate is the legal process that takes place after someone passes away. It is the official way to prove that a Will is valid and provides the executor with the authority to deal with the deceased’s estate – this includes collecting assets, paying debts, and distributing what remains to the beneficiaries. When a person dies, their assets – such as property, money in bank accounts, vehicles and personal belongings – cannot always simply be handed over to the beneficiaries named in the Will. Institutions like banks and insurance...

New Statutory Legacy Rules from July 2023 When someone dies who has not made a valid will their estate is dealt with in accordance with the Law of Intestacy. These rules set out how estates are to be distributed and ranks various parties into an order for inheriting from an estate. The current law sees that spouses and civil partners are the first to inherit from a deceased’s estate, where applicable, followed by any children, parents, siblings, and so on. In July 2023 the Statutory Legacy sum for spouses and civil partners was increased from £270,000 to £322,000. This w...

Since October 2007 Enduring Powers of Attorney have been replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAS).  However, providing you as the Donor (the person making the Enduring Power of Attorney or LPA) has made and signed a valid Enduring Power of Attorney before this date your Enduring Power of Attorney can still be used. It is not possible to amend your Enduring Power of Attorney once it has been executed and therefore if there are changes to be made, you would need to revoke your Enduring Power of Attorney and make a new LPA. I am often asked whether it is necessary to replace an Endu...