Angela Brown

Daniels LLP Solicitors I am in my second marriage and my husband gave up his home to live in my house. I would like my daughters from my first marriage to inherit the house when we are both gone. Is there anything I can do to ensure that this happens if I die first? My husband has no children. If the house is in your sole name you can make a will leaving the property to your daughters in trust, allowing your husband to live there during his lifetime. It’s more complicated if you have put the house in joint names with your husband; in that case he owns half the property and will have to agree to your proposals. I suggest you discuss this with him and see a solicitor who will explain your options. I HAVE been crossing a piece of waste ground to reach my house on a regular basis for the last seven or eight years. The land was owned by the council, but has now been passed on to a housing association. I understand that it’s possible to claim a right of way under certain circumstances. Is there a recognised period which must elapse before you can make such a claim? You’ve a fair way to go yet: 20 years is generally reckoned as the starting point in order to claim a right of way. Anyone making such a claim must have used the path in question as though they had every right to do so: the legal phrase is ‘without permission, force or secrecy.’ But the law in this area is complicated and you would need detailed advice from a solicitor. There are a number of guides on the internet showing you how to go about selling your house. Is it necessary to use a solicitor these days? It’s true that there’s less work involved in selling a house than in buying one, and it is possible to do your own conveyancing. But I would strongly advise against it, since a simple mistake could cost you thousands. It will probably be time consuming and you’re unlikely to save yourself much money: if you have a mortgage the lender will insist that solicitors are instructed in relation to the redemption of the mortgage, and you will be responsible for these fees. Most people reckon solicitors these days are good value in this field. I think you’d be better off contacting a suitably experienced property solicitor that may be recommended to you. I WAS awarded more than £1,500 against some former tenants at a court hearing which they failed to attend. Six weeks later they wrote in and managed to have the judgment set aside: they claimed that the hearing was meant to be a pre-trial review and the case itself wasn’t due to have been heard on that day. Do I really have to go back to court? Defendants can ask for judgments against them to be set aside for a number of reasons, for example because they failed to receive a summons. Normally there should be a hearing which you can attend before any judgment is set aside. If the judgment has been set aside without a hearing it must be because the original judgment should not have been given. You will have to re-attend if you wish to pursue this. Hopefully you will get the same result when the case is re-heard.

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