Norfolk Law 40 Online Edition

Norfolk Law Magazine of the Norfolk & Norwich Law Society - www.nnls.org - Summer 2019

Hunt fills the streets of Norwich On a fine June evening, lawyers from across our fine City were hunting for clues and trying to blow up balloons.... Plus all the pictures from the Law Walk earlier in the month.

Note this is a B***** free edition!

Norfolk Law - Contents - 3

This issue...

Norfolk L

Welcome to the Summer edition of Norfolk Law. Our pages are dominated by the two major events we held in June - The Legal Walk and Treasure Hunt so look out for yourselves! We also have latest details for the Dinner and are seeking Award Nominations. The conservatives have responded to our justice manifesto promises request and we are pleased to say that the only mention of Brexit is in this piece of copy!

President’s Report

2019

Hunt fills th of Nor wic e streets h

On a fine June eve ning, law City were yers from hunting for across balloons. clues and ... Plus all trying to blo our fine the pictur earlier in w up es from the the month .

Law Walk Note this is a B***** free edition !

Contents 4

aw

Magazine of the Norf olk & Norw ich Law Soci ety - www.nnl s.org - Sum mer

18

Navigating the challenges ahead

5 Committee

21

Perfect Portal at the Eclipse Awards

6

Law Walk 2019

22

DNA Testing and the Transgender Community

10

Look Out! Treasure Hunters About!

26

New pricing transparency rules for solicitors

12

Forthcoming Events

28

Entrepreneur’s Relief

13

NNLS Excellence Awards

30

Consumer tracking and gifts in wills

14

The Conservative’s View

34

Social Care and Loneliness

16

NCLS News

34

Fridays at Quill

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4 - Norfolk Law - President’s Report

President’s Report Late summer and it’s another sunny day, the Queen has exercised her prerogative to prorogue Parliament and Brexit never fails to provide twist after unpredictable turn.

Much more predictably, the NNLS annual dinner is on 27th September. As last year, there will be live music after dinner to enjoy in the Open Night Club.

We will also be announcing this year’s NNLS awards winners. If you’re yet to nominate a worthy candidate from your firm, there may well still be time, but don’t delay. I look forward to meeting many of you there.

FINDING YOUR VOICE IN TODAY’S DIGITAL AND PRINT MEDIA

Published by: EAST PARK COMMUNICATIONS Ltd. Unit 27a, Price St. Business Centre, Price St., Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside CH41 4JQ Tel: 0151 651 2776 simon@eastparkcommunications.co.uk www.eastparkcommunications.co.uk

Advertising Simon Castell Managing Editor Sue Bailey Layout Stuart Turner pp. 5-16 David Coffey pp. 18-36

Prior to our next issue of Norfolk Law, I anticipate that our AGM will have taken place and Tom Bailey, our current vice-president, will have taken up the role of president. Tom has been a reassuring and thoroughly dependable vice-president whose help and support I always greatly appreciate. Tom is a popular and much respected practitioner and I wish him all the best for the year ahead.

It has been a fascinating year which I, like all past presidents, have been privileged to enjoy. I’d like to thank our generous sponsors, all bodies associated with the Society and all members and committee members for their support throughout the last year, without which the NNLS would be much the poorer and the President’s position much less enjoyable.

Richard Bailey President Norfolk & Norwich Law Society

Accounts Tony Kay

Legal Notice © East Park Communications Ltd.

Published August 2019

None of the editorial or photographs may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publishers.

East Park Communications Ltd would like to point out that all editorial comment and articles are the responsibility of the originators and may or may not reflect the opinions of East Park Communications Ltd. Correct at time of going to press.

© East Park Communications Ltd.

Norfolk Law - Committee - 5

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6 - Norfolk Law - Event Review

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Norfolk Law - Event Review - 7

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8 - Norfolk Law - Event Review

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10 - Norfolk Law - Event Review

Look out! Treasure

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Norfolk Law - Event Review - 11

Hunters about!

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12 - Norfolk Law - Event Preview

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14 - Norfolk Law - Articles

The Conservative’s View

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Norfolk Law - Articles - 15

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16 - Norfolk Law - News

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18 - Norfolk Law - Advertorial

Navigating the challenges ahead The PII renewal season is now fully underway and the forecasted challenges suggested by many are seemingly coming to fruition. With only three weeks until a number of practices renewal dates will be upon them, I wanted to share with you some of the reasoning why there is a challenging marketplace but most importantly measures that can be implemented to weather the impact of the current market conditions.

A number of factors are influencing the prevailing market conditions, but the two most impactful are: Lloyd’s of London financial performance showed that between 2016 and 2018 60% of syndicates were unprofitable and underperforming. This identified non US PII as the second worst performing class of insurance within Lloyd’s and corrective measures are taking place. Many syndicates have reduced capacity, and have implemented rate increases throughout 2019; when you combine these two factors, it results in many of the syndicates having a limited new business appetite or ability for growth.

Claims An increase in claims severity - with multiple loses breaching the compulsory primary layer of insurance. The most sizeable claims emanating from the following areas of practice: • Commercial Work • Depositor Funded developments • Escalating Ground Rent provisions • Litigation • Wills and Probate • Cyber Crime A number of these practice areas have generated losses that have impacted both primary and the first excess layer insurers which could have a bearing on some insurers’ rates. The claims activity has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of insurers willing to provide coverage for the first excess layer above the compulsory primary layer, premiums for this layer of insurance have increased from what they were last year.

At the start of the article, I had promised guidance on the measures that can be implemented to weather current market conditions. Despite the challenges, I am pleased to advise that practices can still make a difference to the impact upon

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them providing that Insurers are presented with a detailed presentation and crucially they are supported by some expert broking.

Throughout this current renewal period, we continue to witness that those active insurers wish to align themselves with good businesses.

It is therefore important that you take a proactive approach to demonstrate this to insurers.

Whether you have submitted your proposal or are in the midst of doing so, you are still able to make a difference, if you have submitted your forms, there is nothing stopping you adding to what has been provided. You can make a difference by following these steps: Distinguish yourself from the crowd - As a proposal form generally provides the numeric data that an insurer can use to load up their pricing tool. It is the softer facts about your practice along with some expert broking that provide them with the necessary ingredients to deviate away from their technical pricing with this in mind, it would be prudent to provide a foreword about your practice.

This may include, a brief history how you have got to where you are today, the management and structure of the practice, your client base, along with your approach to quality control and risk management it is however important to be proud of the accomplishments of your practice.

It is likely you will be vying for the attention of underwriters with hundreds of your peers in a short space of time. With this in mind, it is important to provide a quality presentation that provides the underwriters with a good insight and understanding of your practice.

Select the right representative for your firm Direct access to leading insurers It is incredibly important to prevent unnecessary links in the chain.

Ignoring the delays that this may create in the event of a claim materialising, the immediate issue could well be in the forthcoming negotiation.

Additional and unnecessary links in the chain distance your practice from the underwriter and insurer.

It can create unnecessary delays in the process and could result in your message to insurers being diluted. The more people in the process can mean increased premiums or that you do not get

appropriate service.

Experience and expertise Work with a broker, who has an understanding of the legal profession and the ability to appropriately articulate your practice to insurers. Choose a broker who can guide your practice and provide appropriate advice to you on policy and issues that may affect you. Furthermore, whilst no practice wishes to experience claims, you may wish to select a representative that has the appropriate resources and expertise to help you, when you will need it most should the need arise.

Completion of your proposal form – do so with utmost care and attention, ensuring that your work split adds up to 100% and that you answer all the applicable questions. If any question specifically requests additional or supporting information, please make sure that you provide this. If a yes or no answer does not quite work for your practice and the way that you do things, please make clear reference and provide further explanation. Wherever possible

complete the proposal form on a computer to ensure that it is legible and easy for an underwriter to understand.

Claims information - Provide updated claim summaries even if you have had no claims as insures will require this information to satisfy their underwriting file. Your representative should be able to obtain these for you with your writing permission.

If you have had claims or there are open reserves then an overview of what happened, and what lessons have been learned to prevent these from occurring in the future. If you have notifications open with no reserves, provide your view on both merit and quantum.

If you want a second opinion, please do not hesitate to contact me or a member of the Lockton Solicitors team who will be very happy to help.

Brian Boehmer, Partner Lockton Companies LLP T: 0207 933 2083/ E: brian. boehmer@uk.lockton.com

Perfect Portal

acclaimed at the 2019 Eclipse Proclaim Modern Law Conveyancing Awards Perfect Portal, a legal software business from Southport proudly went home with two awards after the 2019 Eclipse Proclaim Modern Law Conveyancing Awards in Liverpool.

Founder and CEO Yvonne Hirons has been hand-selected by a panel of expert judges to receive one of the most prestigious awards of the night: The Outstanding Achievement Award.

Recognised for her preeminent influence in the legal industry over the last 20 years, Yvonne was described as a true inspiration, passionate about her business, her team and her clients.

“We have used Perfect Portal for a long period of time now. We were with another provider prior to using the guys at Perfect Portal but within 2 minutes of speaking with Yvonne, I immediately knew I should have been with her since I started my business. She truly is a fantastic person and it is great to see how far she is pushing the boundaries with what their product can offer and do. Yvonne is always very helpful, very positive and makes it happen. I am absolutely thrilled she has been recognised in this way.” Said Adam Cheal, Managing Director of Fletcher Longstaff Her friends and clients at Shoosmiths were delighted to see her win this award, describing her as a whirlwind of energy and her passion as infectious. Most importantly, for them and their estate agents across the UK love the product, services and support that her business offers them.

A sentiment echoed by Jeremy Stubbings, Head of Business Development at Cunningtons: “From day one, she has always championed continuous improvement and sought feedback from us to ensure that the services are perfect for her clients, to meet their expectations and support them in winning new business.”

Starting the journey in a small town in the North West, Yvonne successfully found and grew Perfect Portal into a global business. During this event, Perfect Portal has also been Highly Commended for the Service Provider of the Year Award. A great honour for all 14 dedicated members of the team, working in Southport.

This reward is focusing on the company’s ability to deliver high standards of client service, to innovate in the development of new services and implement them into the market, and foremost, its client-orientated philosophy, providing them with real benefits and support.

Feeling very grateful about this recognition, Perfect Portal was also pleased to see 6 of its own clients being rewarded that night.

For more information about the company go to www.perfectportal.co.uk

22 - Norfolk Law - Advertorial

Using DNA testing to aid the transgender community The increasing societal commitment to the well being of those wishing to express different gender identity and gender expression together with the legal recognition of same, is important for the protection of individuals, their dignity and their health. Recent instances however, concern the ability of transgender people to amend the birth certificate of a child to reflect their own changed gender, which in one 2015 case was rejected by the Registrar and also by the High Court1. This has obvious implications for DNA testing in terms of checking for Parental Responsibility and in carrying out the work, whereby intimate details may be revealed.

There are two cases (one ongoing) which highlight the need for fresh consideration of how we might integrate transgender rights into legal parlance and process.

In the aforementioned case (the first of its kind) a person male at birth who was undergoing transition to female requested that the Registrar of Births amend her child’s birth certificate to reflect her new name. This was refused and resulted in proceedings under Article 8 (respect for private life) and Article 14 (discrimination on the basis of transgender identity2) of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). This was rejected on the basis that the interference with the Article 8 right was justified but not material, since it would only be under rare situations (we expect paternity testing to be one of them) that the transgender female would be required to produce the child’s full birth certificate. A changed certificate might record the sensitive information or require disclosure, but of course, it would only need to be be revealed to those with an obligation of confidentiality, despite the fact that in this case she had identified herself as transgender on social media.

Furthermore, a birth certificate can only be altered to correct minor errors or when parents marry or enter into a civil partnership following the birth3. The Registrar of Births does not have discretion concerning the categories that are recorded on the birth certificate, which are “child”, “father”, “mother” and “informant”.

Indeed, the Registrar successfully argued that point in terms of the legitimate aims of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953. There was justified interference with the claimants rights under the ECHR because there was a need for; a) an administratively coherent system for the registration of births and b) a need to respect the rights of others such as those of the partner and child of the transgender person and, of particular relevance, the fundamental right of a child to know the identity of his or her biological father.

In a subsequent case4, a person female at birth and living as a male (TT) had a child (YY), biologically theirs, by artificial insemination. At the point at which the child was born, a valid Gender Recognition Certificate was in place, so the biological mother was male. The Registrar has decided that the birth mother must be registered as “mother” on the birth certificate. This is against the wishes of TT who asserts that as a matter of domestic law, he should be regarded as the father or secondarily, in a gender neutral manner as “parent”. Failing that and assuming he has to

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register the birth as “mother”, then he considered that this would be a contravention of Article 8 of the ECHR. If upheld on the other hand, YY will be the first person born in the UK without a mother on their birth certificate, since other transgender males have accepted the “mother” annotation.

Those acting for YY have issued an application for TT to be declared YY’s father under the Family Law Act 1986, s55A. We await the final judgement on this case, but in any event the outcome will have profound implications.

Society is in the process of normalising its institutions to accept the status of transgender persons but of course in this case must also take into account the separate needs of the child; their Article 8 rights should not be compromised by the decisions of a parent. If the status quo is not upheld, then as a DNA testing company we will inevitably at some point detect a biological female registered as the father, maybe with another registered father or father unknown or a biological male registered as the mother. The biological facts of course, cannot be denied5.

In 1953 social motherhood and fatherhood were presumed to reflect biological motherhood and biological fatherhood. The increasing complexity of social relationships since that time have been recognised by the law and provide interesting points regarding the registration of the birth of a child in situations of surrogacy, adoption and assisted reproduction, which may provide precedent and guidance as to how the parentage may be best recorded when one of the parents is transgender. In any event, in all three cases, once the child has attained the age of 18, the respective legislation allows for the child to obtain information on their biological parentage. We will discuss these points in the next article and by then, we will hopefully have the judgement on TT vs YY.

psychological characteristics; it may take many forms6. Sex and gender may overlap, but should never be confused. Biologically, humans are most often classified as binary, i.e. either male or female.

Transgender7 Transgender (often applied to non-binary gender identities) is an umbrella term that describes a diverse group of people whose internal sense of gender is different than that which they were assigned at birth. It refers to a gender identity which does not align with the gender assigned at birth. Gender dysphoria applies when the individual has a sense of dissatisfaction with their gender. To attain transgender status in the law, an individual must be diagnosed with gender dysphoria by a professional and then apply for a gender recognition certificate8 under the Gender Recognition Act, 2004. Whilst this piece of legislation allows transgender persons to obtain a new birth certificate for themselves, it expressly precludes the fact of gender reassignment as a means to alter the status of the transgender person as the mother or father of the child and thus ensures the continuity of parental rights and responsibilities9.

Intersex It has long been recognised (since ancient times) and in different cultures that some people are neither male nor female (in whole or in part) or, are a combination of male and female. This is driven by genetic, hormonal or physical features, that is, by their intrinsic biology. For example, some intersex people may have XXY as their chromosome set.

Presently in the UK, intersex people may not change their sex classification unless they declare that they are transgender - then they would have to seek a professional diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Equating intersex with transgender is not appropriate.

About the author: Neil Sullivan, BSc, MBA (DIC), LLM, PhD is General Manager, of Complement Genomics Ltd (trading as dadcheck®gold).

The latter is a company accredited by the Ministry of Justice as a body that may carry out parentage tests directed by the civil courts in England and Wales under section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969”.

Please see: http://www.dadcheckgold.com.

Tel: 0191 543 6334, e-mail: sales@dadcheckgold.com

Sex and gender - some definitions There has been a neo-logistic expansion of terminology concerning sex and gender…here are explanations for a few of them!

The difference between Sex and Gender “Sex” relates purely to biology and refers to the genetic make up, which is either male (an X and a Y chromosome), female (two X chromosomes) or intersex. Gender on the other hand, is largely a social construct relating to behavioural, social and

Notes 1 JK, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department & Anor [2015] EWHC 990 (Admin) (20 April 2015) 2 Goodwin v United Kingdom (2002) 35 EHRR 18 and PV v Spain (11 April 2011) (Application No 35159/09) 3 Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, sections 29,14 and 14A 4 Administrative Court and Family Division in the Matter of TT and YY [2019] EWHC 1823 (Fam) 5 As Lord Simon noted in the Ampthill Peerage Case [1977] AC 547, page 577: “Motherhood, although also a legal relationship, is based on a fact, being proved demonstrably by parturition”.

6 https://genderfluidsupport.tumblr.com/gender 7 Trans - Exploring gender identity and gender dysphoria - by Dr Az Hakeem, 2018, Trigger Press ISBN 978-1-911246-49-7 8 https://www.gov.uk/apply-gender-recognitioncertificate.

9 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/7/ notes/division/4/12

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26 - Norfolk Law - Advertorial

New pricing transparency rules for solicitors – are you complying?

Compliance tips Below are some pointers on how to comply with the areas where firms are commonly struggling. The SRA have also issued some guidance notes about the transparency rules which may be useful and can be found here: https:// www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/ethics-guidance/price-transparency.page • You must include information about your firm’s complaints procedure.

• As well as publishing the typical cost of the service, you must include the basis on how you charge (e.g. hourly rate).

• Remember to include the costs of disbursements, if it is likely they will be incurred.

• You must state which costs and disbursements attract VAT and the applicable rate of VAT. • You must include details of the experience and qualifications of the people conducting the work. You are not required to name individual staff members.

• Pricing information must be readily located on your website.

Ellis Lake If you are worried that your firm is not complying and need guidance to meet the requirements of the transparency rules, we can help.

Contact our Legal team on: 0330 024 0888 or email enquires@larking-gowen.co.uk

New rules on pricing transparency for solicitors came into force on 6 December 2018. The rules require solicitors to publish their pricing and service information on their websites about certain legal services. For an introduction, see Richard Bett’s blog at https://www.larking-gowen.co.uk/insights/blog-new-pricingtransparency-rules-for-solicitors-are-you-ready/ The rules also require that all solicitor firms (who have a website) publish details of their complaints procedure.

Compliance results In April 2019, the SRA undertook random website checks to see if solicitor firms were complying.

Of the 447 sites reviewed, it was found that overall: • 25% were fully complying • 58% were partially complying • 17% were not complying at all The main areas of non-compliance were for not including: • The complaints procedure • A description of the costs and disbursements • •Details regarding the VAT on costs and disbursements • Information about the key stages of the service

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28 - Norfolk Law - Advertorial

Entrepreneurs’ Relief - update on recent changes Beware the pitfalls for the unwary adviser

Up to Budget Day 2018 (29 October) the legislation for Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER) had been largely unchanged for years and many corporate advisers would understandably have felt competent to determine the eligibility of client shareholdings to ER “from a brief glance”. Nonetheless as forensic accountants we have, over recent years, seen a steady stream of professional negligence claims arising in relation to entrepreneurs’ relief.

for distribution to equity shareholders, and 5% of assets available for distribution. The second requirement in italics caused huge consternation as this would catch “alphabet shares” and potentially venture capital structures and management buy outs. These shareholdings are used for commercial reasons but do not necessarily give an entitlement to a pro rata dividend. The dividends on such shares are normally allotted to share holdings at the discretion of the Board.

However, the legislation changed substantially in the 2018 Budget and we now anticipate there will be significantly more potential claims arising as a result of advisers and clients failing to grasp the complexities of the new legislation.

In summary, prior to the 2018 Budget, ER relief gave a favourable rate of capital gains tax at 10% on gains up to £10 million where shares are sold in a trading company or the holding company of a trading company.

This is all providing, for a period of one year prior to the sale, the shares were held in the individual’s personal company and the individual held 5% of the ordinary share capital, giving 5% of the voting rights.

After much excitement, and just as we headed out for the Christmas break, the Government announced that two further options would be added which allowed ER if either the individual was entitled to 5% of profits available for distribution to the company’s equity holders and assets available on winding up or in the event of a disposal of the whole of the ordinary share capital would be entitled to 5% of the disposal proceeds based on asset valuations. This last test (in italics) should enable ER to be claimed on alphabet shares and possibly growth and ratchet shares. However, advisers need to take care in the calculations and particularly where there is sweet equity, non-commercial loans, non-cumulative preference shares and rounding differences.

2018 Budget Day Changes The first change in the 2018 Budget was to extend the qualifying period from one year to two years. This change is straightforward and, whilst not anticipated, was uncontroversial.

Top Tip: take great care in checking and double checking the rights attached to every category of shares and options as well as the balance sheet values of assets and liabilities.

The second change caused considerable controversy. This change was to require the 5% holding in ordinary shares to entitle the shareholder to 5% voting rights plus 5% of profits available

Other areas in the legislation which might catch out advisers are outlined below.

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Norfolk Law - Advertorial - 29 Personal company The individual must have been an officer or employee of the company throughout the previous 24 months. This can include Non-Executive Directors, shadow directors and part time employees. An employment contract is not essential, but it is advisable.

Top Tip: take care if contemplating share transfers to spouses as a gain in the addition of their annual capital gains allowance might cost a lot if ER is lost because they do not qualify for ER due to not having been an employee.

What is a trading company?

In brief a trading company is one that trades and does not, to a substantial extent, carry on non-trading activities. Substantial is assumed to be over 20% and HMRC will consider a number of factors including the level of non-trading income, non-business assets held (e.g. surplus cash) and the time spent on non-trading activity. There is a 3-year window post cessation of trade when disposals can still qualify for ER.

So, in conclusion, ER relief is far more complex than before, and advisers will no longer be able to “tell at a glance” if ER is available.

Mistakes will take far longer (2 years) to correct.

Recent cases undertaken by Fiona & the Forensics team at Ensors • Professional Negligence claim against advisers on Employee Benefit Trust • National Minimum Wage assessments • Shareholder dispute on Joint Venture enterprise in energy sector • Numerous business valuations for matrimonial matters as SJE or party adviser • Employee fraud investigation • Tax advice on family disputes and matrimonial matters including regarding property portfolios • Share valuations for tax purposes For further information please contact Fiona Hotston Moore E: fiona.hotstonmoore@ensors.co.uk T: 01473 220034 W: www.ensors.co.uk/for-law-soc/

Top Tip: consider and document regular reviews of the company activity and balance sheet values etc to ensure relief is not jeopardised.

Options and EMI share schemes EMI share options have beneficial ER status without the 5% test. However other options do not qualify and can dilute other shareholdings.

By Fiona Hotston Moore Forensic accounting partner, Ensors

Earnouts Any element of the consideration which is received as an earnout could be treated as part of the purchase price or salary. If it is deemed part of the purchase price it can qualify as part of the capital gain for ER. If it is treated as part of the individual’s salary it will be taxable as income.

Advisers may also need to consider the impact of share for share exchanges or bond exchanges. Earn downs may also be considered to maximise ER but care is needed re stamp duty.

Top Tip: seek advice from tax specialists on how any earn out or share/bond exchange is structured early in any sale negotiation.

Capital distributions including Members Voluntary Liquidations (MVL) ER continues to be available on an MVL subject, as before, to the Phoenix rules which can catch a company or business rising from the ashes.

Top Tip: advice from both an Insolvency Practioner and tax adviser is essential if the directors are planning to buy the assets and start up trading again.

And finally... ...some good news From 6 April 2019, shareholders can elect: 1) to lock in their eligible gains before a diluting act; and 2) can potentially make a further election to defer the ER taxed gain.

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30 - Norfolk Law - Charity

Consumer tracking indicates shift in attitudes to gifts in wills • 40% of over 40s say they are happy to leave a gift to charity in their Will • 65% say it’s acceptable to leave all your estate to charity • 70% think that people should tell their children if they intend to leave a ‘reasonable’ gift to charity Friday 24 May 2019 LONDON, UK – Public attitudes towards gifts in Wills have become more positive over the past decade, according to the latest UK consumer tracking poll commissioned by Remember A Charity.

The OnePoll survey (March-April 2019) found that 40% of people aged 40+ would be happy to give a small percentage of their estate to charity, up from 35% in 2008. Almost two thirds (65%) said that it was acceptable to leave your entire estate to charity if you wish.

The large majority (70%) of respondents felt that people should tell their children if they intended to leave a ‘reasonable sum of money’ to charity in their Will. Only one in four (26%) thought their family would object to them making such a gift, down from 31% in 2008.

Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, says: “We’ve seen a real shift in attitudes in recent years with the public indicating that they are more open to the concept of legacy giving and this is a positive sign for the years ahead.

“While legacy income will inevitably fluctuate to reflect wider economic

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trends, the public’s propensity to give is the key driving factor for market growth. This poll suggests not only that the public is more willing to leave a gift, but that they have a clearer understanding of legacy giving and think people should be free to do what they want with their estates.

“People still do worry about how their family might feel if they leave a charitable gift in their Will and this underlines the importance of encouraging potential legators to discuss their wishes with their family, reducing the risk of dispute.”

In 2008, the majority of respondents said that it was better to give money when you are alive than through a legacy (63%) and that close relatives have a right to the majority of an estate (72%). Today, according to the latest survey findings, those views are held by a minority, at 47% and 41% respectively.

Cope adds: “This new level of understanding of legacies undoubtedly reflects how hard charities and the legal sector have been working to communicate positively and collaboratively about the impact of gifts in Wills, handling the topic with sensitivity. The challenge now for Remember A Charity – and a key pillar of our new three-year strategy – is to review what can be done to shift the emphasis on from building awareness to inspiring supporters into taking action and writing charitable gifts into their Wills.”

For more information, see: www.rememberacharity.org.uk

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Options To Tax on commercial property - where it can go wrong An ‘option to tax’ is a formal declaration made by a VAT registered entity with a freehold or leasehold interest in a commercial property or land.

was empty, rather than keep making nil VAT returns, he deregistered for VAT, thinking he could reregister if he got a new tenant or decided to convert the property.

The advantage in declaring an option to tax is the business can reclaim VAT incurred on expenditure for the property, eg repairs and maintenance. However, it also means the business has to charge and account for VAT to HMRC on the rent or sale of the property. After a six month cooling off period the option is in effect for a minimum of 20 years.

In this situation, HMRC automatically run checks and contacted the owner to explain that deregistration meant the business had effectively made a ‘deemed supply’ to itself of the property and owed VAT on the current market value (now £425,000) of £85,000 and at that point he approached us for help.

When declaring an option to tax, a business needs understand how long it will be in effect, as it will impact on future decisions and administration.

The owner had clearly made a mistake in applying for deregistration which Lovewell Blake explained to HMRC. HMRC accepted the request to reinstate the registration and the client submitted nil returns until he let part of the property to a new tenant (to whom he charges VAT at 20%).

Case study: Empty rental property A buyer purchased a commercial property for £300,000 and as the seller had declared an option to tax, paid out £60,000 of VAT on purchase of the empty building.

He intended to rent the property to a tenant and undertake some repairs.

The cost of the repairs included over £5,000 of VAT, so he declared his own option to tax in order to reclaim this VAT. After five years the tenant went into liquidation. Unable to find another tenant, the owner considered converting it into flats. Whilst the property

The issue here is knowing the effect of deregistration (or ceasing to trade) when you own a property subject to an option to tax and understanding the benefits of the option in the first place.

Clients contemplating commercial property transactions should consider obtaining specialist VAT advice at the earliest opportunity.

Liz Hill VAT Consultant

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32 - Norfolk Law - Advertorial

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Norfolk Law - Advertorial - 33

An X-Press service for solicitors and conveyancing professionals X-Press Legal Services was established over 20 years ago, with the aim of streamlining the property-buying process by providing specialist searches and reports combined with a personal service.

The company has been so successful that it now provides over 400,000 conveyancing searches and reports to some 500 legal practices every year across England and Wales.

Ashley Peters

Whether you are dealing with a property being built, bought, sold, repossessed, remortgaged or re-developed, X-Press Legal have the knowledge and experience to provide only the best data and reports.

A key reason for the company’s success is that its offices are owned by local experts, who are supported by a dedicated national office. Ashley Peters has owned X-Press Legal Services Norfolk & Suffolk for over 7 years; they are based in Norwich covering areas and 14 councils across both counties. Ashley explains: “We are proud to have lived and worked in this area for many years and we know it well, we have many loyal clients and we totally understand their needs.

He continued, “We are ‘real’ people, and we make it our business to provide our clients with a highly professional, fast

and friendly service that’s tailored to their needs, nothing is too much trouble. As you would expect we use the latest technology to deliver our high-quality, data-rich reports which comply with all the industry regulations. ” To ensure that they can always provide a reliable and accurate service, the people at X-Press Legal have forged close relationships with industry specialists such as Ordnance Survey, Groundsure, Landmark and the Coal Authority. The company is also an Executive Member of the Council of Property Search Organisations (COPSO).

For more information about our services please call 0330 159 5358 or visit xpresslegal.co.uk/norfolk-suffolk

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34 - Norfolk Law - Advertorial

Fridays at Quill

By Julian Bryan, Managing Director, Quill Nothing slows down on Fridays at Quill – or indeed in many places within the legal profession. We all know that Friday busyness is typified in the conveyancing sector when exchanges take place, dictated by most house buyers’ preference to move home at the end of the week And in other areas of law, legal cases don’t stop, court hearings or trials aren’t cancelled, and contracts don’t change their completion date just because it’s Friday. For anyone operating in law, Friday is as hectic as any other week day.

For Quill, the last day every week has an even greater focus on compliance. Of course, our Interactive legal accounts software warns users of potential breaches at any time with exclamation marks denoting missing e-chit information, confirmation notifications for tasks that cannot be later undone and other system prompts for incorrect entries.

However, on Fridays, our Pinpoint outsourced legal accounting service cashiers ensure any compliance issues are highlighted, reported and resolved.

When you consider the plethora of problems that fall into the noncompliance category – from data loss and delayed payment processing to incorrect allocation of client monies into the wrong account and missed deadlines, plus everything in between – and bear in mind the volume of clients we currently service – 8,000 users altogether – you could be forgiven for thinking this an impossible task.

In actual fact, by having robust systems in place and applying a disciplined approach, we’re able to address our clients’ compliance obligations successfully every Friday, without fail.

As already intimated, for clients using Interactive, there are all manner of easy-to-use features to support fee earners progressing matters, for cashiers to efficiently manage finances according to the stringent demands of the SRA’s legal accounts rules and HMRC’s Making Tax Digital legislation, and for compliance officers to generate compliance exception reports for rectification or reporting to the relevant regulatory body.

Interactive is subject to an extensive software development roadmap with a strong focus on legal accounting enhancements. We notify clients of these new and improved tools via our monthly e-newsletters and ‘What’s new’ button located in our software’s top toolbar. In the past few months alone, we’ve upgraded functionality for associated ledgers for cases, e-chit/bank integration, MTD input and output screens, batch accounts postings, ‘keep’ options to avoid data input repetition, authorise and maintain screen additions, and multiple developments to both detail and summary accounts-specific reports.

All of these software improvements are designed to simplify and strengthen your compliance procedures thereby making your Friday tasks that much more manageable.

For clients using Pinpoint, we send a weekly batch of reports showing ledger balances for client and office accounts, unpaid bills and breaches. These reports act as a prompt for clients to tie up any loose

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ends by authorising payments and correcting breaches which are still outstanding. Our reports also streamline the process of recording failures and preparing reports on material breaches in the right format for the SRA, CLC or Law Society of Scotland.

These important checks are actioned by our Pinpoint cashiers each Friday. As our cashiers work in teams of six, headed up by a supervisor, it’s then our supervisors’ role to oversee the accurate production and prompt delivery of these reports, and act as an escalation point for any ensuing queries. We take our responsibilities very seriously because it’s all part-and-parcel of providing a regulatory-compliance-guaranteed service.

Aside from these typically Friday reporting jobs, a normal day for our cashiers comprises liaising with clients, completing bank reconciliations, processing day-to-day transactions, gathering information for month end and subsequently completing month end closures as well as posting legal aid submissions and sending VAT returns at quarter end to HMRC via MTD. By acting in the cashier role on behalf of our clients, the only requirement for Pinpoint users is to log daily e-chits of inbound and outbound monies, and record fee earning activity and disbursements. We do all the rest.

By lessening your workload, your Fridays are certain to be stress-free, at least from an accounting and compliance perspective anyway.

Because of our unique provision of both Interactive and Pinpoint in tandem, our portfolio is superior quality in relation to other legal accounts software and cashiering service suppliers. That’s because it’s a common platform used by our cashiers and there’s a plethora of management information intelligence drawn from this one central software platform by our supervisors. And, as noted earlier, we’re also constantly researching new ways to improve our products further still. It’s these ongoing software enhancements, defined in our aforementioned roadmap, which go a long way to streamlining clients’ and Quill’s processes.

Late Friday afternoon, to salute another successful week fulfilling our compliance requirements, the beer fridge is opened so everyone can have a quick drink before heading home for the weekend. This is one of the many employment perks at Quill. It’s a nice way to mingle with our colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere, celebrate a job well done with some paid-for-by-Quill refreshments, and look forward to two days of rest and recuperation by starting the weekend an hour early. After a typical Friday, it’s well deserved.

To discover more about Quill, please visit www.quill.co.uk, email info@ quill.co.uk or call 0161 236 2910.

Julian Bryan joined Quill as Managing Director in 2012 and is also the Chair of the Legal Software Suppliers Association. Quill has been a leading provider of legal accounting and case management software, and the UK’s largest supplier of outsourced legal cashiering services, to the legal professional for over 40 years.