News

By Laura Ousby Solicitor Couples face several new challenges when getting divorced but one of the most important is deciding what will happen to the children. Will they live with mum or dad…or both at different times? How much contact should each parent have? How much will each parent pay towards their children’s upkeep? These can be complicated issues but it’s crucial that couples make the right decisions if they’re…

A law firm has joined the country’s elite – by appointing a rising star as its first solicitor apprentice. The traineeships are usually the reserve of big city firms, but Cartmell Shepherd has stepped up and made history in Cumbria. The move to offer what is thought to be the county’s first solicitor apprenticeship was made by managing director, Peter Stafford, who told Holly Moxon “You’re hired.” Holly, 20, of…

By Claire Wilson Associate Solicitor Two sisters have been allowed to correct an error in a family trust that would have prevented them from benefiting in the way intended when the document was drawn up. The sisters were aged 58 and 56. When their mother died in 2005, they had inherited equally her 50% share of the house that she and their father owned. For tax reasons, they created a…

A LEGAL business has been named in an influential top 100 list for the fifth consecutive year. Cartmell Shepherd is the only law firm in Cumbria to make the national Lex 100, which is based on reviews submitted by trainees. The business is ‘friendly, outgoing and goes out of its way to help people,’ according to the list publishers. The Lex verdict read: “Based in Cumbria and Northumberland, Cartmell Shepherd…

By Carol Fish Head of Personal Injury As it stands there is no specific requirement under UK law for compulsory motor insurance on private land and indeed many private land owners do not insure vehicles that they do not use on a road or public place for example, a quad bike on a farm. In a recent case an individual was rendered tetraplegic when he was struck by a vehicle…

By Laura Bright Solicitor If you own a leasehold property and want to extend the length of the lease, or buy the property, the procedure (known as ‘enfranchisement’) is currently a complicated, costly and time consuming one.  Radical reforms to provide a better deal for leaseholders who want to purchase the freehold or to extend the lease of their home have been put forward by the Law Commission. The proposals…

By Carol Fish Head of Personal Injury Working parents who lose a child will soon be entitled to claim parental leave. The new Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act will give all employed parents the right to two weeks’ leave if they lose a child under the age of 18 or suffer a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy. Employed parents will also be able to claim pay for this period, subject to meeting…

By Laura Ousby Solicitor Living together as “husband and wife” without marrying does not present the same legal rights as marriage, particularly on separation. When couples move in together they think that it will be forever and they will never separate.  After all, it isn’t very romantic to think that one day it may end. The reality is, however, that many cohabiting couples do separate and what they think will…

Building an engaged and loyal team is one of the best ways to project a business as a fantastic place to work, a conference heard. And having a plan to actively market a company to potential employees ‘who may not even know they want to work there’ will give bosses a head start in the increasingly tough battle for talent. The two themes were high on the agenda as representatives…

By Jonathan Carroll, Head of Agriculture  Yet again a farming family dispute has led to huge legal costs, when a decent partnership agreement would have prevented it for a tiny fraction of the sums lost. The Wild family farmed Beard Hall Farm from 1965, which was owned by dad, Ben.  Ben and his wife Jean brought their son, Malcolm, into the partnership in 1978 when he was just 16, but…