Angela Brown
Daniels LLP Solicitors THERE appears to be much confusion over the question of nursing home fees and how to avoid them. Should elderly people consider giving their house to their children with this in mind, and how long would it be before they were ‘in the clear’? ELDERLY people should definitely not consider doing this without taking specialist legal advice! If the local authority can show that you’ve given away your property with the sole intention of avoiding the fees then there is no time limit after which the gift will be ‘safe’. The local authority also have strong enforcement powers at their disposal and could pursue the recovery of any debt through the courts. Giving your property away is a very serious step, and if your children already have homes of their own you may just be giving them a capital gains tax problem. Discuss your options with your solicitor. MY wife and I are renting out our house in Crewe. The tenant has only paid rent on two occasions, and we have served a section 21 notice to evict him at the end of the month. Can we get legal aid? Can we claim back all costs? Do we take him to our nearest court, or the one in Crewe? How do we take him to the High Court? YOU probably won’t be entitled to legal aid – especially if you have two houses as assets. The court fee and some legal costs will be added to the debt, but your chances of seeing this money are slim. The main thing is to get your house back. Whilst it’s not necessary, you may want to issue proceedings in the court near the property; if the matter is defended it is likely to be transferred there anyway. The High Court would not be appropriate for this case.
DOWN THE MIDDLE
WE put up a decorative fence to replace the previous one which had become rotten and dilapidated. But last summer our neighbours took it over, fastening trellises with loops through the holes and growing ivy and other shrubs over it. I don’t want to fall out with them, but is there anything we can do? TECHNICALLY your neighbours aren’t supposed to fasten anything to your property, so you’re entitled to ask them to remove the fastenings and cut away
ON THE CARPET
I HAVE paid a deposit to buy a carpet from a large firm, but they now say they won’t fit it until the balance is paid in full. Can’t I insist on paying them when the work is completed? IT’S obviously safer from your point of view to pay only when the carpet has been fitted to your satisfaction, but it really depends on what you agreed in the first place and what the firm’s standard terms and conditions of business are. Without seeing those it’s difficult to comment on what was agreed, but the firm probably didn’t agree to fit the carpet without being paid in full. If there is anything wrong with the carpet or you are dissatisfied in some way once it has been delivered you can of course seek compensation in the normal way.
Call SAS Daniels LLP Solicitors on 0161 475 7676 or 01625 442 100. Visit www.sasdaniels. co.uk If you have any legal questions, write to Weekly Law and You, MEN Media, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton OL9 8EF, or email mail@lawQs.co.uk