Reserves Day

Wednesday 24th June was Reserves Day, part of the build up to Armed Forces Day this weekend, and an opportunity to recognise the contribution members of the Reserves make to the country.

Reservists are encouraged to wear their uniforms  to work on Reserves Day, and Keynsham Solicitor Gwyn Pritchard, of FDC Law Keynsham, did just that. 


Gwyn joined FDC Law earlier this year, he is an expert in matters relating to Wills, Probate, Estate and Tax Planning, Trusts and Powers of Attorney; however, he is in in addition undergoing Naval training having recently completed his initial officer’s course at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. 

Gwyn said: “It’s been a very busy year since joining and am learning so much, my employers have been brilliant and very supportive … they will gain in the long term though”

Gwyn currently holds the rank of Midshipman in the Royal Navy Reserves, and is attached to HMS Flying Fox in Bristol. FDC Law recently sponsored training kits for HMS Flying Fox's football team, and fully support his role in the reserves.

If you need advice about making a will, inheritance tax planning, trusts or powers of attorney, contact Gwyn on 0117 9461 205, email gpritchard@fdc-law.co.uk or call into  the office at 64 High Street Keynsham.

Leasehold Extensions - Jan Woodland Explains how FDC Law can help

If you own a flat, you almost certainly own a lease rather than owning the property outright. Such leases are often for very lengthy terms,  when the flat is first sold, but of course, as time passes, the remaining term is reduced. It’s important to check how long your lease has left to run, and to consider whether it would be wise to extend it. If you are thinking about selling a flat, this may be something which needs to be done before you go ahead.

Jan Woodland, FDC Law’s expert of leasehold properties, explains why:

The shorter your lease, the harder it will  be to sell or mortgage your property.  The Council of Mortgage Lenders (the body which governs all residential lenders) handbook specifies that lenders will not freely lend on leases shorter than 80 years, so if your lease is close to that length, a buyer may be unable to get a mortgage.

If you do find that your lease is getting short, it is possible to extend the term. If you have owned your property for over 2 years, you have a legal right to extend the lease (this is known as a Statutory Extension). If you have owned for a short period, the lease can be extended by agreement with your landlord.

If you have owned the property long enough to have a statutory right to extend your lease, there is a specific process to follow. This involves getting a formal valuation (specifically for the purpose of lease extension) from a specialist surveyor, to determine how much it would be reasonable to pay the landlord for the extension of the lease (this is normally known as the Premium) .

Working out the right Premium is complex – it involves calculating the loss to the landlord of any ground rent he would otherwise have been entitled to, and the loss of value in the property because it will be longer before the property reverts to him (or his heirs) at the end of the lease.  Because if this, it’s very important that the valuation is done by a surveyor with experience in this specialised type of valuation.

The next step is to serve a formal Claim Notice on your landlord. This is a technical document and it is important to get it right, as if it contains any errors your claim will fail, and you must then wait another year before you can restart the process, so it is  very important to get expert legal advice to make sure that every step is completed correctly.

Although it’s not uncommon for leaseholders to want to extend their leases, many conveyancers and property lawyers are unfamiliar with the process, and don’t offer this service. At FDC Law we are familiar with the process and are confident in managing it for you, to ensure that all of the appropriate steps are taken to get the outcome you want. 

Once you have served your landlord with the Statutory Claim Notice, they have 2 months to respond. It’s common for them to serve a counter notice, and for there to be negotiation about the level of Premium to be paid. If no agreement can be reached, then an application can be made to the Property Tribunal, which can determine the appropriate Premium.

Once agreement is reached, the Premium is paid, an extra 90 years is added to the lease (so if the lease had 83 years to run when you applied, the new term would be 173 years) and the new term is registered at the Land Registry.

As well as the Statutory right to extend, it is also possible to form a contract with your landlord to extend the lease. Obviously this needs both parties to agree, but if your landlord is willing, the lease could be extended without having to wait until you have owned the  property for 2 years. Landlords may try to negotiate a higher premium in these circumstances, and it is always sensible to get advice from an expert surveyor to ensure that you don’t pay more than is reasonable.

If you  are interested in extending your lease,  please contact Jan Woodland on 01373 463311 or email jwoodland@fdc-law.co.uk for more information.

Is Your Pension Order Secure?

Changes to Pension Law may put some divorced people at risk of losing out
The rules relating to pensions have recently changed, allowing people greater ‘ Pension Freedom’ to withdraw funds rather than buying an annuity, on retirement.

However, this could cause problems for divorced spouses who obtained a Pension Earmarking Order  in their divorce.  Earmarking orders provide for a percentage of any  lump sum , and /or a percentage of the income from the pension, to be paid to the pension-holders spouse  at the time the pension holder retires. Because the pension is still in the name of the original holder, the spouse receiving the payment had no control over when, or how,  the benefits are taken. 

Family Partner Marjorie Taylor explains, “This kind of order  was introduced in 1996, and was common before 2000, when the law changed to allow pensions to be shared at the time of the divorce, creating separate funds for each spouse. At the time that Earmarking Orders were made, most pensions provided for a cash lump sum to be taken on retirement,  and for the rest of the fund to be used to buy  an annuity. But the new rules mean people  can now withdraw the whole fund (although they will normally pay significant tax on the money)”

She continues, “This could mean that an ex-spouse could seek to deprive their former partner of retirement income by withdrawing the whole fund as capital, so that nothing is left to buy an annuity or create an income stream.”   While there would be tax consequences,  a bitter ex-spouse wanting to deprive their ex of retirement income, or someone who has not realised the tax implications or who feels the benefit of the cash sum outweighs the tax ‘hit’, may chose to draw down their pension in this way, significantly affecting their ex.

Earmarking became uncommon from 2000 onwards when Pension Sharing Orders were introduced and became the more common way to deal with pensions. Obviously, the current changes in the rules were not something which lawyers,  or courts making such orders 20 years ago, could have foreseen. Depending on how the order is worded, you could be vulnerable.

If you divorced (or obtained a financial order) between July 1996 and December 2000, which included provision for payment from your ex’s pension,  it would be sensible to take advice to check whether your Order may be affected by the changes, and to discuss options. 

If you are worried,  make an appointment to see Marjorie Taylor or Marion Fisher, bringing a copy of your Order with you, and we can advise you as to whether you could face problems.

Biking round Britain

Our Head Cashier let us know about Andrew Dent's project to motorcycle around the coat of Britain to raise money for the Royal Artillery Charitable Fund, The Scars of War Foundation, which researches PTSD at Oxford University and The Bike Experience, which gives disabled people with previous biking experience the chance to ride motorbikes.

We like Andrew's idea, so we have made a donation, and wish Andrew all the best in his trip.

Andrew is blogging his experience here and links to his fundraising pages for each of the three organisations he is raiding money for can be found on the blog too. 

We're looking forward to reading more about his trip - We understand he has reached Fishguard...

Race for Life!

Gwyn Pritchard is not FDC Law's only athletic staff-member; Norton Receptionist, Tess Harvey, was one of the 33,000 women who joined  Cancer Research UK's  'Race for Life', successfully completing the Bath 5K on Sunday.

Tess and friends

Tess raised over £100 from sponsors within the office, and is threatening suggesting that we field and entire FDC Law team next year!

We'd like to congratulate Tess, and all the other participants in  the event.