The property team pride themselves on giving a friendly, approachable and reliable service.

Our specialist areas are:

Residential and commercial property to include house/flat sales and purchases, re-mortgages, transfer of equity, equity release, new build properties, auctions, Help to Buy, and site assembly.

Commercial leases and sales and purchases of business properties.

The team is headed up by Alison Mason who has worked at the firm for over 20 years and specialises in all aspects in residential property. Alison is committed to providing a first class service to her clients and has a good relationship with many banks, building societies, builder clients and estate agents.

The team also has the expertise of Adam Fletcher who is a residential property specialist with over 13 years of experience. Adam joined the team having previously been a Partner at a well-established West Yorkshire practice where he headed up the estate agency and lettings division, as well as co-ordinating IT systems.

David Amies brings to the firm his knowledge of the local market and takes pride in offering sound commercial advice to his clients across an exceptionally broad range of matters.

Mark Thornton has worked in large firms with national coverage, as well as smaller local practices; he successfully marries the benefits of modern technology with a personal approach to deliver a first-class service for his clients.

John Royle has a track record of helping clients to deliver projects on time and within budget, by taking a commercial approach to managing transactions.

The team is assisted by Laura Proctor who is currently training to become a Licenced Conveyancer, Donna Miller (PA to Adam Fletcher), Liz Ling, Helen Crowe and Nathaniel Antonio-Gorse.

From the back left of the photo Nathaniel Antonio-Gorse, Adam Fletcher, John Royle, Mark Thornton and from front left Liz Ling, Donna Miller, David Amies, Alison Mason, Helen Crowe and Laura Proctor

Take a look at our past year

New Year’s Resolutions

New Year, New Will

Question Time with Mark Thornton

Meet the property team

Remembering Helen

see inside

news&viewsIssue 14 | January 2016

01484 538 421 info@ridleyandhall.co.uk ridleyhall.co.ukRidley & Hall Legal Limited, Queens House, 35 Market Street, Huddersfield, HD1 2HL

Having the right people is essential for any business to be successful. As part of our continued growth strategy, we have recently welcomed well known solicitor David Amies to lead our offering to business clients and potential corporate customers in the region.

David has strong connections within the local business community and can offer tailored advice to a wide range of businesses. With over 20 years’ legal experience across a

broad range of commercial property matters, he has particular expertise in buying and selling businesses, commercial leaseholds, as well as complex property development transactions. He has also developed a specialism dealing with community asset transfers.

Commenting on his appointment, David said, “I am delighted to have joined Ridley & Hall. The firm is already recognised as a market leader in providing services to individuals, and there is a huge opportunity for this firm to become the “go to” place in Huddersfield for business clients who are looking for commercial yet straight forward legal advice at sensible prices.”

Meet The Property Team...

James CookChild Care & Adoption

Here to serve you...

Sam HirstPersonal Injury &

Contentious Probate

Sam SandersChild Care & Adoption

Tracey LingCommunity Care

Michael GeorgeChild Care

Johanna AllenFamily

Victoria MaudePrivate Client

Managing Partner, Adam Fletcher, is looking to grow the commercial sector“We are committed to developing our legal services in the commercial sector. David has worked with clients in the region and beyond for many years. He has an exceptionally broad experience and a good understanding of the local market, so he’s the ideal choice to lead our offering to businesses in the region and direct the commercial property team through the next stage of its growth.”

New appointment adds even more experience......Ridley & Hall in a great position to provide expert advice to businesses

Remembering Helen…Helen Galsworthy who sadly died in December 2015, joined Ridley & Hall in 2002 as a Costs Clerk in the accounts department dealing with Legal Aid claims.

She was chosen for this role after letting slip at interview that in a previous job as an employee of the Post Office she was required to balance down to 50p and this was considered more than good enough for Ridley & Hall!

With her hard work, reliability and unshakeable sunny nature she soon became a valuable member of the Ridley

& Hall team and not just a fellow colleague but a great friend to everyone here, the effects of her passing are already being felt deeply.

She was a fun-loving person bringing a great deal of daily laughter to the workplace and fully understood the meaning of the word ‘team’ always ready to contribute in any way possible. It was this willingness to help that led her into the important role of ‘bartender’ at the many

Ridley & Hall events. She also volunteered for the responsible position of part time relief cashier where undoubtedly her Post Office training came in handy yet again.

What was most important to Helen was her family, including her husband Jeremy and daughters, Sian and Aimee. She proudly surrounded her work place with photos and drawings that her daughters had done for her whilst they were growing up. She was able to combine her work and family life seamlessly and in 2012 when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer her positive attitude and drive helped her to continue working whilst undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

Whichever role we remember her in she will be greatly missed here, but not forgotten and the staff at Ridley & Hall have contributed to a Memory Brick which will be placed along the new path of remembrance at Kirkwood Hospice where she was so well looked after in her final days.

It was a privilege to have known Helen and work alongside her and we know our office parties will never be the same again without her.

…More than just experience, we are passionate to get you moved!

team image required

Helen WebsterWills & Probate

Helen DandridgeContentious Probate &

Court of Protection

Hilary SissonWills & Probate

New Year’s ResolutionsAnother yearended!

A 50 year old woman wanted to refuse medical treatment, a decision which would inevitably lead to her death.

The hospital where she was being treated asked for a ruling that it would be in her best interests for treatment to be imposed on her – and for restraint and sedation to be used if necessary. Doctors from the Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust argued that the woman, known only as C had a ‘dysfunction of the mind’ making her unable to make decisions about treatment. She had attempted suicide by a drug overdose, damaged her kidneys and was refusing dialysis.

C’s daughter said she thought it was a “horrible” decision and no one in the family wanted her to die. But she argued, that she understood what she was doing and was mentally capable of making her own decision. The 50-year old had had a difficult life including failed marriages, numerous

affairs and financial difficulties. Her daughter told the judge, “She kept saying that she doesn’t want to live without her sparkle and she thinks she has lost her sparkle.”

The court had to decide whether C had the capacity to refuse treatment. The judge ordered she did have capacity which meant he had no powers to make any declarations in her best interests and medical professionals cannot treat an adult without their consent. The court of protection can only make decisions on behalf of adults who are found to lack capacity to make the relevant decision.

The issue of whether a person has capacity can often be complex and controversial. Three psychiatrists were instructed and they disagreed with one another about whether she had capacity. The law states that a person should not be assessed as lacking capacity because they make an

unwise decision. However, an inability to weigh up the pros and cons of a decision (which may lead them to making an unwise decision) is part of the test of establishing a lack of capacity.

Following her death, applications were made by a number of newspapers, including the Guardian that her name could be made public. However at a further hearing, a judge ordered that her anonymity must be protected even after her death.

Ridley & Hall’s court of protection team have expertise in advising on a range of disputes concerning people who may lack capacity. We have the experience to advise on issues of capacity and whether capacity assessments can be challenged. If you require advice or assistance please call us today.

If you require advice or assistance please call us today on 01484 538421.

C A S E S P O T L I G H TOur Court of Protection team review a recent case...

With the New Year come resolutions to improve our lives. These can range from buying membership at the local gym to making more life-changing decisions.

Family departments in law firms across the country note there is usually a large increase in divorce proceedings which commence in January compared to any other month in the year. References are often made that couples just want to have one last Christmas as a family before separating, or that they are staying in a relationship ‘for the kids’. Others cite the financial pressures of Christmas causing strain on the relationship.

Having spoken with our clients, there are positives to be taken from what can be an emotionally difficult time. Starting in February, we will be sending out via social media the themes of why couples separate and the positives that they are looking to get out of the divorce process. Follow us on @ridleyandhall

Ridley & Hall’s Family team is the highest ranked in Huddersfield, according to the 2015 Legal 500. Our team are Resolution-accredited and seek to approach cases in a non-confrontational manner, whilst presenting our clients’ cases effectively.

Please contact us on 01484 538421 for further details or visit our website – www.ridleyhall.co.uk

QUESTION TIME WITH MARK THORNTON

January Legal Aid contract obtained for family mediation by passing desk top audit.

Nigel Priestley wins an adoption case against Calderdale Council for teachers in Singapore.

FebruaryOn the 12th February we hosted a “Thank you” event for those clients who have supported us over the years.

MarchR & H add 14 more dementia friends from within the team.

AprilWe hosted an afternoon tea to

support the work of Missing People, a charity specialising in

bringing missing adults and children back together.

May3 Peaks Challenge

completed and raised

£3,600 for Kirkwood

Hospice.

Victoria Maude is appointed

to Wills and Probate team.

JuneKirklees Dementia Action Alliance First Annual Conference chaired by R&H Managing Partner, Adam Fletcher.

JulyWe host our soiree for the

Huddersfield Criterium Cycle Race.

Jill Waddington, Alison Mason and Vicky Medd

are made partners.

AugustVicky Medd is accredited as

Resolution Specialist in

Domestic Violence.

Family carers, through Nigel

Priestley, win a battle for unpaid

fostering fees with our help.

SeptemberSarah Young shortlisted for Forward Ladies Women in Business Award.

OctoberNigel Priestley shortlisted for Family Law Partner of the Year 2015.

NovemberCarers’ Rights Day on 20th November to celebrate and support carers. Nigel Priestley speaks at Community Care Live about Special Guardianship orders.

DecemberParalegal Sam Hirst returns home from

providing legal training in Uganda.

New Year, New Will!So the decorations are down, the diets have started (and possibly finished!) and your New Year’s resolutions have been made. But when you were thinking about the coming year ahead, was getting your personal affairs in order on your list of priorities?

Many of us seem to make the same resolutions each year, such as learning something new, get fitter and healthier or give up smoking - generally things that would improve our quality of life. But does anyone think about the longer term?

Having reflected on the year just passed, and looking forward to the one ahead, the reality is that none of us truly know what the future holds. It is unlikely that many people will have thought about who their estate would go to if they died but this is exactly the sort of thing that needs thinking about, and not just because it is the New Year.

By making a will, you will lose the uncertainty of where your assets might otherwise end up, as you get to specify who you would like to inherit from you and what they should receive. Without a will, your estate would be distributed according to the rules of intestacy, which is a list of beneficiaries set out by law, starting with close family, but ending up with the Crown. Your estate may therefore pass to people who you would not wish to inherit from you, or it may even end up with people you have never met!

With modern family structures including unmarried couples, second families, step-children and half-siblings, it is more important than ever to legally set out who should administer your estate after your death and who should inherit your assets.

By forward planning, it is also possible to mitigate Inheritance Tax or even negate it altogether. Inheritance Tax is charged at 40% on assets valued over £325,000, and with the value of property having risen, the tax charge on some estates can be substantial, so again it is worth considering this and drafting a will accordingly.

These matters need careful consideration and any of our specialists from the Wills & Probate department will be happy to discuss your circumstances and requirements. We can help you put in place the necessary documentation and will prepare your wills on a fixed fee basis, advising you at our initial appointment what the cost will be to give you added peace of mind.

So why not make a further resolution for 2016? Contact us and get your affairs in order so you can then get on with living life to the full… on or off the diet!

Mark joined Ridley & Hall in the autumn of 2015 having previously worked in the Holme Valley area. He has over 25 years’ experience, specialising in residential conveyancing, including sales, purchases, remortgages, transfers of equity and right to buy purchases of council houses. Mark also deals with some commercial property transactions.

His experience includes working in large firms with national coverage, as well as smaller local practices; he successfully marries the benefits of modern technology with a personal approach to deliver a first-class service for his clients.

Mark is married with a six year old daughter.

What do you think makes R & H a special law firm? I have found R & H to be a very friendly and welcoming firm.What is your first memory of R&H? My first memory of the firm is acting for the other parties to transactions at my previous firm, Adam and Alison must have made a good impression as I decided to join the firm!Which famous celebrity would you like to take to lunch and why? Maxine Peake a brilliant actress with a great taste in music.What book would you recommend to others as a ‘must read’? From a conveyancing point of view, the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook, but I enjoyed reading the social realism novels of the late 1960’s like “Room at the Top” by John Braine.Name your three favourite hobbies and interests outside work… I am an avid football fan and when I am not watching Bradford City, I am probably watching a local non-league game at Emley or Brighouse. I also enjoy live music and comedy and going to the cinema. Do you have a favourite holiday location? Southwold in Suffolk, a traditional seaside town with its own brewery!What have you never understood? Not great on Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.If you weren’t working in the law profession what would you be doing? Probably a Sports journalist.

What’s your favourite word? “Goal !”, see above.