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Colin Duncan of J A Hughes answers
some of the questions he has been asked
most recently which may be of interest
to readers of Vale Life.
SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE LAW
If I am married and my spouse
runs up a credit card bill am I
liable for their debt?
If the parties are married and there
is a debt in the name of the spouse,
then the other party is not normally
liable for that debt e.g. a credit card
bill. However, if the other party
received a benefit from the debt (e.g.
a holiday) then it can be argued by
the other party that it is a ‘debt of the
marriage’, and it can be taken into
account in any financial settlement.
It is for the spouse with the debt to
prove that their partner received a
benefit.If, on the other hand, the
parties are not married the situation
is different in that the debt remains
with the party in whose name it is
regardless of any benefit received
by the other party.
I have just re-married and put
my home in joint ownership
with my new wife. How do I
ensure that the children from
my first marriage receive their
fair share on my death?
Firstly you need to make sure that
you both own the house as tenants
in common and not joint tenants.
Then you need to make a new Will
allowing your surviving spouse to
remain in the property so long as she
wishes, or until she either cohabits,
remarries or dies. Only then will half
of the value of the property pass
on to your children from your first
marriage.
Am I liable if someone hurts
themselves accidentally on
my property and if so is there
anything I can do to protect
myself?
Yes and you can even be held liable if
someone is a trespasser on your land
or premises. There are some bizarre
cases such as people jumping from
roofs and hurting themselves where
landowners have been held
responsible. However, house
insurance will normally cover this
type of claim but the home owner
should always check if in doubt. Most
reported cases relate to falls on
business premises and in this type of
case public liability insurance
normally covers this situation unless
you fall into their exclusions i.e. if
you failed to fence in your boundary.
If a PC asks me to identify
myself in the street am I obliged
to do so?
Under the new ‘Stop and Search’
powers the police can basically stop
you anywhere, at any time, and
search you for anything as long as
they have a reasonable suspicion.
Their powers must however be used
fairly, responsibly and with respect
for the people being searched and
without unlawful discrimination.
The Officer has to provide the
person stopped with a record of the
search indicating why it was carried
out, the details of what they were
searching for and the outcome.
What happens if you die and
there is no Will in place?
If the deceased left a spouse (or civil
partner) and children then the
position would be as follows: The
spouse (or civil partner) would
receive everything if the estate of the
deceased (including the deceased’s
share of joint property
and assets) did not exceed £125,000.
If the estate did exceed £125,000
then the surviving spouse (or civil
partner) would receive the
deceased’s personal chattels,
£125,000 worth of assets and a life
interest in half of the remainder. The
other half would go equally between
the children on them becoming 18.
If the deceased left a spouse (or civil
partner) but no children, although
the parents and/or brothers and
sisters of the deceased survived then
the position would be as follows:
The spouse (or civil partner) would
receive everything if the estate of the
deceased (including the deceased’s
share of joint property and assets) did
not exceed £200,000. If the estate did
exceed £200,000 then the surviving
spouse (or civil partner) would
receive the deceased’s personal
chattels, £200,000 worth of assets
and half of the remainder. The other
half would go equally between the
deceased’s parents or, if both parents
had predeceased, to the deceased’s
brothers and sisters in equal shares
(or to the children of any brother or
sister who died before the deceased).
If the deceased left a spouse (or civil
partner) but no children or parents or
brothers and sisters (or children of
any brother or sister who died before
the deceased) then the surviving
spouse (or civil partner) would
receive everything.
As you can gather this is very
complicated, so to avoid doubt, you
should most certainly make a Will to
ensure that your wishes are followed.
Under the new ‘Stop and Search’ powers the police can basically stop you
anywhere, at any time, and search you
for anything as long as they have a
reasonable suspicion.
COLIN DUNCAN
I came down to Barry from the north
of England in 1979. I knew one of the
partners in the firm, who contacted
me to ask if I was interested in
relocating to South Wales.
The Firm at that point in time dealt
with mainly non-contentious work.
We saw the opportunity to develop
the crime and litigation in particular.
And thus began my journey.
My role within the practice for the past
four or five years has been largely
diverted from the Criminal Department
towards administration as the practice
has grown, and also marketing and
development although I do still attend
Court as Duty Solicitor and undertake
the 24 hour Duty Solicitor Scheme
within the Vale of Glamorgan.
Over the past 25 years most solicitors
now tend to specialise in a particular
area of law, which is what I have done
largely. |
J A Hughes is both the largest and
also the oldest Solicitors’ practice
in the Vale of Glamorgan.
The firm was founded by John Arthur
Hughes in 1888 and has grown hugely
so that it now has two separate offices
in Barry and one in Penarth.
The firm has Solicitors, a Licensed
Conveyancer, Paralegals and
Executives who are attached to the
various departments within the
Practice, as well as an equally large
number of support staff.
J A Hughes prides itself on being
sufficiently large to be able to
undertake virtually all types of legal
work but is still small enough to
provide a personal and efficient
service at a most competitive price.
If you have a legal problem or require any legal advice please contact:
Centenary House
King Square
Barry
01446 411000
7 Bradenham Place
Penarth 029 2070 2449
solicitors@jahughes.com
www.jahughes.com
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