LEGAL CORNER
Late Payments And Solicitors’ Letters By Owen Hill, Consultant Solicitor
had a call from a client yesterday who wanted a fixed fee quote for a solicitor’s letter to pursue the late
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payment of money due on a commercial contract involving parties here in the uK as well as in Germany and Portugal. I explained that it is impossible to fix a cost for a task like
this. A one line letter demanding payment would be cheap but hardly worth sending. A solicitor’s letter for a purpose like this would normally set out the relationship between the parties, quote the relevant obligations and point to the relevant numbered clauses in the Contract and evidence the tasks or events that trigger the liability to make the payment so that the case is shown to be solid. I did all this and then discovered buried in some small
print in the Contract that there were provisions which said if the payment is not made in a specified number of days then the parent company could be called upon to make the payment instead. I discussed this with the client (in Germany) and it was agreed that serving a notice on the parent company (in Portugal) to call on the guarantee would be a good way of embarrassing the uK subsidiary into action. For reasons that I regard as no longer justifiable, most commercial contracts do not allow for legal notices to be
The Power to Choose By Marinella Hollies, Associate Solicitor
A
Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to decide who should
make decisions on your behalf if you are unable to make them yourself.
We are increasingly living longer and becoming more
susceptible to the possibility of mental incapacity. Making an LPA simplifies matters if this happens. They replaced enduring Powers of Attorney in 2007. LPAs must now be certified by a solicitor or doctor confirming the donor has sufficient understanding to grant the power and the LPA must also be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used. These were introduced to make financial abuse of the elderly less likely.
The are two separate forms for LPAs: Health and Welfare,
and Property and Financial Affairs. A Health and Welfare LPA can allow your attorney to
decide your treatment and your living accommodation (e.g care home) if you are unable to choose this for yourself,
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along with the receipt of life sustaining treatment, but it can only be used after you have lost capacity. Property and Financial Affairs LPAs allow your attorneys to
make decisions selling of your house and other assets, dealing with tax affairs, operating bank accounts and claiming benefits on your behalf. It is important to remember that your attorney will
effectively be put in a position where they can make any decision on your behalf. you need to be absolutely sure that your attorney will act in your best interests. The appointment of a professional attorney would be advisable in many circumstances if you have concerns. An LPA allows you to choose the person who will do
these things if you were to lose mental capacity - it is difficult to put a price on peace of mind. For more information, please contact Marinella Hollies on 01803 213251 or email:
marinella.hollies@wollenmichelmore.co.uk
served by email. Registered post or hand delivery is always allowed but not practical when in a hurry and serving a legal notice in another country. It is a strange quirk that the serving of legal notices by fax is often permitted and in this case the contract allowed the use of this medium. To my relief, a quick check on the website of the foreign parent company showed a generic ‘contact us’ fax number. so I put my best step forward with a convincing legal
presentation of the case for payment in an email to the Directors of the uK company that was obliged to make the payment and explained that immediately after pressing the send button I would print the email and fax it to their superiors in Portugal to call on the parent company guarantee. All hell broke loose and it worked a treat. Payment was made the next day by bank transfer. It took the best part of a day to start and finish so this
sort of service is not economic unless the amounts involved are significant. But it was about as much fun as a lawyer can have at his desk during daylight hours. For more information, please contact Owen Hill on 01803 832191 or on email:
owen.hill@wollenmichelmore.co.uk
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