It’s a fact that nearly 90% of couples choose to live together before marriage in 2012, says a Solicitor in Lichfield.
Many may never actually marry, so the rather unromantic issue of how they can safeguard their assets should be a question that 90% of couples ask.
Prenuptial Agreements – also now known as Living Together Agreements – are available at a fixed price from this Lichfield Solicitor.
It seems inevitable that a large number of relationships will unfortunately always break down, but perhaps a pre-nup or living together agreement now might avoid expensive hindsight later.
It could be a small price to pay for your peace of mind and to help ease the transition when a relationship comes to an end... for the benefit of everyone involved.
The subject of impending Gay Marriage in the UK, equally sadly and predictably, has seen a lot of ruffled feathers fly and indiscrete, ugly spats and religious dogma explode into the mass media, print and social, says a Lichfield Solicitor.
Possibly the most outrageous comments came from Cardinal Keith O'Brien – the leading man-in-a-dress... I mean, the most senior Catholic in Britain.
Shamefully, O’Brien dubbed gay marriage as "grotesque”, amongst other vile comments. This from an official of an organisation that has presided over some of the most shocking and truly grotesque myriad abuses of position and trust in times recent or past!
In our firm we are privileged and delighted to act for many same sex couples and this solicitor in Lichfield certainly thinks that those who profess that their religion is all about love should do some long, hard looking at themselves before they lob another rock through what’s left of their glass house!
The justice ministry in China has demanded that lawyers swear an oath of loyalty to the Communist Party, says a Lichfield Solicitor.
The move has drawn swift condemnation. Prominent Human Rights lawyer Mo Shaoping confirmed that lawyers in China were worried by this unprecedented development.
Possibly nearer to home (depending where you happen to be right now, dear reader) these Solicitors in Lichfield make a pledge to give you a 100% Guarantee whenever you use them.
There is a huge problem of far too many UK law students chasing too few jobs, says a Lichfield Solicitor. The current system sees many youngsters encouraged to run up large debts training for jobs they will never realistically get.
The Press this week reported that numbers applying for law degrees had actually increased in the wake of rising university tuition fees!
Perhaps help is at hand, though, as the profession conducts a thorough review – and not before time. The Legal Education and Training Review is due to report by the end of the year.
It should make applying for training contracts with Solicitors in Lichfield and elsewhere a somewhat different kind of experience...
Overlooking Regents Park, the regal new properties of Cornwall Terrace are certainly fit for “the ambassador’s reception” says a Solicitor in Lichfield, should you feel the need to throw that Ferrero Rocher party.
If you’d like to use this Lichfield Solicitor to purchase one of these bijou pied à terre in London, you’ll get a 100% Guarantee from us on the conveyance.
We can also inform you that you’ll need at least £30,000,000 for the house along with £2,100,000 for the chancellor after midnight on 21 March, 2012.
The government have moved to close various tax loopholes, particularly those favoured by the very rich, in the 2012 Budget says a Solicitor in Lichfield.
For example, stamp duty will now be 7% on property over £2m. So when you’re splashing out on that country pad – whether you’re using this Lichfield Solicitor or not – you’ll be paying at least £140,000 to George and his chums at the Treasury. The “zero stamp duty” avoidance schemes that involve a company in a property purchase will now pay 15%! Yikes!
Hey, Ho! Makes our legal bill of about a thousand for such a conveyance seem like even better value, eh?
How Rubbish Are BT? Are They a Christmas Present You Wouldn’t Give To Your Worst Enemy?
Am I the only one who is astounded at the total lack of competence from British Telecom?
Since we moved into our new head office in Lichfield in October, BT have been quite spectacularly, amazingly, bad.
It is almost like they have a flow chart for business that is the satanic mirror image of the one you’d expect.
You know, the one where the company does everything it can to make sure their customer is treated well and gets what they need, when they need it, especially when their client is a business, relying on the service they’re “providing”.
In the BT version, everything possible is done to curtail service, obfusticate, prevaricate and lie. Does this sound familiar?
In due course we will be suing these idiots for a high 5 figure sum as a result of the unbelievable treatment we have received and consequent loss of business and reputation.
(It is like they haven’t noticed they are screwing around with a law firm! I figure if they’re doing this to us, what chance does anyone else have...!)
In the meantime, I wondered if we might be able to spread a little Christmas cheer: along the lines of “You laugh or else you cry” – by sharing stories of BT’s biggest screw ups.
I’ll go first!
After missing their own installation date guarantee (leaving us without phones/internet for 2 days after opening), a really surly engineer turned up and after much persuasion (because the job involved running a little cable) installed broadband at our new office.
The router supplied (which we are stuck with for now – another story again) has had to be replaced 5 times! In less than 2 months! It takes 48 hours to send a replacement. Is this a minor inconvenience in a 21st century law firm...?
Just a little...
(Obviously if you’ve dealt with them you’ll know every time you call it is a lengthy litany of frustration too!)
The router has been almost the least of our frequent (almost daily) problems, so far...
As far as our actual telephones go, it feels like BT think telephony is some new technology of the 21st century – not something for which a patent was awarded in 1876... (That’s just 135 years ago BT!!)
Am I alone in feeling like I am about to “go postal” on this epitome of corporate ineptitude?
How about you??
(Oh, and Merry Christmas to All! Apart from BT, obviously...)
The annual Horn Dance, involving ancient reindeer antlers, is held at Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire and is the oldest English folk dance still performed although its roots are shrouded in the mists of times long past.
The dance takes place on Wakes Monday every year. This is the first Monday after the first Sunday after the 4th September.
According to the abbotsbromley.com website, the ritual has taken place every year since 1226, and the Fair that also takes place on the village green on Wakes Monday began in 1221. Despite some debate about precise dates, there are written references confirmed from 1532, and the antlers used in the ritual which give it such a distinctive name have been carbon dated to around 1065.
Strong speculation suggests that the dance has a pagan origin and is closely connected to the ancient Mercian kingdom, with the magic ritual performed to give thanks for harvest time and to ensure a plentiful harvest the following year.
The day begins at 8.00 am at St. Nicholas Church in the centre of Abbots Bromley, with a service of blessing, and the horns are removed from their display in the church as the dancers then start to make their way around the parish. They will cover many miles before they return to the village in mid afternoon, and proceed beyond it again, finally returning at around 8.00pm.
With all that in mind, Harvey McKibbin solicitors set out to watch the 12 dancers on 12th September, 2011 as they made their way through the village around 3.30pm.
Hundreds of people from far and wide watched with us as the 6 principal dancers carrying the antlers (or horns) were accompanied by an accordion player, a Maid Marion, a Hobby Horse, a Jester, and two youngsters, one with a bow and arrow and one with a musical triangle.
In the village itself the procession stops at each of the 5 pubs along the main street (The Bagot Arms, The Royal Oak, The Crown, The Goat’s Head and the Coach and Horses) and performs the dance before being rewarded with well-earned liquid refreshments at each stop! However, the dancers cover around 20 miles during the 12 hour ritual and also take in a number of local farms as well as the stately home at Blithfield Hall, where they perform a semi-private dance for Lady Bagot.
At the centre of the village the Butter Cross on the green stood host to a variety of stalls selling everything from cakes and jewellery to watercolours and Morris dancing memorabilia. The Goat’s Head pub even had two resident reindeer on hand which happily posed for photos with excited onlookers – bringing out the kid in people of all ages.
It really made for a charming scene and we felt truly privileged to be a part of it as we shot some video – which we’ll be uploading to youtube soon. In the meantime, however, there’s a good flavour of events to be had in the embedded video above.
After dancing from dawn until dusk, the weary procession returns to St. Nicholas Church behind the village green, where the antlers are returned to be displayed, safe and sound, for the remaining 364 days until it is time to start the dance again.
Video For The Concept Prelude The New Small Jag Coupe
This isn’t one of my usual posts – but I saw this earlier and thought “Wow!”
I must say that after we finish our office move to Market Street in Lichfield next month I must start saving my pennies to see if I can put one of these beauties on the drive next year!
Enjoy! (And if you need any legal advice you can help to contribute to my New Jag Fund! I promise to take you for a spin when I take delivery - now there’s a win-win, eh? Don’t be shy – just visit Harvey McKibbin Solicitors in Sutton Coldfield or call 0121 240 9115 (24/7) and we’ll be glad to help!)
Answer-4u is one of our Harvey McKibbin clients and we thought you’d like to know about a really superb effort they’re making for charity this weekend.
Answer-4u: Brand On The Run To Fight Prostate Cancer
In 2010, approximately 37,000 men in the UK were diagnosed with prostate cancer. This year another 37,000 will find their world shattered, and changed forever in a similar way.
Approximately half of all men in their fifties have some cancer cells within their prostate and 8 out of 10 men (that’s right - 80%) over the age of 80 have a small area of prostate cancer (albeit that the majority of cancers in the elderly grow extremely slowly and will probably not cause significant problems).
In fact, around 250,000 of your countrymen are currently living with the disease, and sadly more than 10,000 men die every year from it in the UK.
So, for men it is a very serious subject affecting most of them at some level at some time in their lives.
That’s why Nottingham’s Answer-4u have chosen the Nottingham University Hospitals Prostate Cancer appeal as one the main recipients of their fundraising efforts this year, and the good news is that 13 staff have signed up to make a big fundraising effort at the Experian Robin Hood Marathon in the city on Sunday, 11th September.
Glenn Harrison, one of Answer-4u’s directors, said: “Research, carried out at places like Nottingham University Hospitals, has resulted in better detection and treatments so that more and more people are able to live long and happy lives after diagnosis. So it’s crucial we do all we can to support the work!”
Prostate cancer can be very effectively treated in the early stages – but it’s vital that diagnosis happens at an early stage. Although advances in diagnosis and treatments have already improved survival rates and quality of life, there’s still much more to be done.
For example, more needs to be known about why men of African origin are nearly three times more susceptible to the disease than white men or why men of Asian descent are less likely to be affected. More also needs to be known about dietary issues and why, for instance, high levels of a substance called lycopene in tomatoes and tomato products (such as ketchup) may help to protect against the cancer.
At the Nottingham University Hospitals the search for answers to these and many other questions continues – and your efforts are crucial to help that work continue.
An NUH spokesperson said: “We’ve already raised £350,000, enabling us to purchase several pieces of the very latest high-tech equipment. But we need to raise £37,000 every year to continue to employ a full-time senior scientist.”
So if you’d like to help in this noble endeavour you can get more info on the charity work at NUH by contacting them on 0115 962 7905 or emailing charity@nuh.nhs.uk.
Better yet, if you’d like to support the Answer-4u effort to help sustain the great work at NUH then visithttp://www.justgiving.com/Answer-4u NOW and please do be as generous as you can because your money will be going to such a great cause.
