Should Pre-nups be Legal in the UK?

wedding
Originally uploaded by Jakeymeyers

A prenuptial is a contract between two people about to marry that spells out how assets will be distributed in the event of divorce or death. It usually lists the assets and debts of both parties, and also states what each person's property rights will be after the marriage ends, either through divorce or death.

If a couple divorces, a prenup helps a lot in dividing the assets smoothly between the two. A pre-nup allows the couple to spell out what they expect from each other financially, and creates a more harmonious union with fewer conflicts, now and in the future.

Pre-nups are not binding in the UK although judges can take them into account during divorce proceedings - as seen here Should you Bother with a Pre-nup?

BUT... The Law Commission is to consider plans to bring the legal system in England and Wales in line with other countries. It will look at whether pre-nups should be upheld by the courts and under what circumstances.

Judith Middleton, partner at Latimer Hinks welcomes the plans and look sforward to less acrimonious divorces in the future - Darlington Lawyer Welcomes Move to Make Pre-nups Legal

Rosie Gets Around - Agricultural Committee Member to Diabetes Fundraiser

Rosanne Green, a solicitor here at Latimer Hinks has been selected as a committee member for the Agricultural Law Association:The Next Generation (ALATNG) regional committee.

The Next Generation caters for younger professionals by arranging mixed technical and social events which allow members of all professions to meet each other - an ideal platform for networking and sharing knowledge.

See our press story Darlington Solicitor Joins RuralProfessionals Committee

Rosie is very busy at the moment, committee member for ALA: The Next Generation AND she is also training to run the New York marathon for Diabetes UK

Latimer Hinks has a great reputation for raising money (Record Amount Raised at the Charity Ball) and Rosie is running in the 2008 New York Marathon to raise money for Diabetes UK.

Rosie has Type I Diabetes which means she is insulin dependent – which makes training for a marathon quite a challenge!

If you'd like to sponsor Rosie or find out more about her training challenges please visit Just Giving.

Click if you would like to find out more about Diabetes UK

72 Years Working - Fred Burton Finally Retires from Latimer Hinks

Monday night we had a retirement "send off" for an extremely long-standing employee.

Latimer Hinks Solicitors has been around since 1872. Fred Burton started work with J F Latimer & Hinks (as it was previously known) in 1936!

Fred finally retired last night in 2008 aged 88! 72 years of employment - what an achievement!

Many of Fred's past colleagues came along to join the present Latimer Hinks team in saying goodbye. As you can imagine, it was quite a lengthy list!

Our local newspaper, the Northern Echo came along and wrote:

Fred Stepping Down after 72 Years Working for Legal Firm.

Since the publication of the article Tyne Tees TV have arranged to interview Fred here at Priestgate (Latimer Hinks) and the Daily Mirror are contacting Fred for a telephone interview.

Fred Puts His Feet Up After 72 Years

Daily Mirror article

It's been a long time in coming but Fred is certainly having his "Andy Warhol"15 minutes of fame!

Photo: Tim Haggie, Managing Partner of Latimer Hinks with Fred Burton

Durham & Tees Valley Charity Awards - call for sponsors!

If you have been reading this blog you will know that Latimer Hinks and Horwath Clark Whitehill are jointly sponsoring the Durham & Tees Valley Charity Awards.

Blog entry here

The awards celebrate the acheivements of the "unsung heroes" of the charity sector - we give them a well deserved "pat on the back!"

We're looking for sponsors of certain categories - cost of sponsorship is £1000 and includes a table of ten (for the dinner), press publicity, opportunity to present an award and of course to choose the winner of your sponsored category - i'm sure you will agree that for £1000 + VAt that the sponsorship opportunity is very reasonable (remember it does include a table for 10).

The remaining categories are:

• Children's Charity of the Year (ideal for businesses such as Mothercare, Toys r Us etc)
• Animal Charity of the Year (any vets or feed suppliers out there?)
• Disability Charity of the Year (perhaps car sales, disability cars/vehicles etc)
• National Charity - Local Branch
• Fundraiser of the Year (any business organisation could support this and perhaps even nominate)
• Business Supporter of the Year (perfect for a bank!)

If you would be interested in sponsoring, or know of any business/organisation that may be interested, please contact me by my blog or by calling 01325 341507 and asking for Andrea

It's our chance to say "thanks" - you never know when you will need help from charities/hospices etc.

Bloggers Code of Conduct Required?

charleyBook
Originally uploaded by Hackintosh

Blogging is becoming more and more popular. There are now over 94 million blogs worldwide (according to Technorati) and according to recent research (conducted by YouGov) bloggers are unaware of their legal position when posting online.

Only 5% of users are clear of their legal rights and responsibilities when posting comments.

77% are uncertain or unaware of where the law stands

33% have read the legal terms and conditions for posting comments

42% think bloggers should be held to the same standards as journalists when publishing information. But of those who blog 27% belive they should be subjected to the same rules.

34% of bloggers would be opposed to a bloggers code of conduct - 32% would support it

Here is a suggested bloggers code of conduct from Tim O Reilly.

We bloggers should be aware of the need for care when using the internet at work and the importance of individual responsibility in posting messages online.

A blogger who posted offensive messages about a police officer's newborn baby and wrote about his perceived mistreatment at the hands of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service was prosecuted under the Telecommunications Act relating to the sending of an electronic message.

Employers are also unaware of their legal rights as to what they can object to in an employee's blog. Employers warned to be wary of blogs

Social Networking Guineapig has tackled this previously Blogging - the risks.

Consider carefully what you want to say in your blog, and as mentioned in the Code of Conduct, don't say anything online that you wouldn't say in person! Blogging can be fun, addicitve and educational - let's try to keep it that way.