http://www.widdows.co.uk/page/news The latest news updates from Widdows Mason Solicitors. en-gb Wed, 20 Jul 2011 Copyright: (C) Widdows Mason Solicitors. 15 Louise Cadman, family lawyer with Widdows Mason, recently gained Resolution lsquo;accredited specialistrsquo; status.Louise (an Assistant Solicitor at our Wigan Office) passed examinations in Domestic Abuse and in Children Law to gain specialist status under the Resolution scheme.Originally set up in 1999, the scheme is designed to help people who are facing family breakdown to make an informed choice when deciding which lawyer to appoint.nbsp; To become a Resolution accredited specialist, lawyers have to agree to uphold the Resolution Code of Practice and to have passed a written test demonstrating a breadth of knowledge of family law issues and specialist knowledge in at least two areas of family law.By choosing a Resolution specialist, clients can be assured that they are being advised by someone who has a wide knowledge and experience of family law, and has the qualifications to demonstrate it.NotesResolution is an association of over 5500 members who are committed to promoting a non-confrontational atmosphere in which family law matters are dealt with in a sensitive, constructive and cost-effective way.nbsp; It sets high standards of good practice in family law and runs an accreditation scheme for specialist family lawyers. http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/21/national-acclaim-for-widdows-family-lawyer http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/21/national-acclaim-for-widdows-family-lawyer Wed, 20 Jul 2011 Amy Mathison, family solicitor, based at our Wigan Office has been appointed to the Board of Management Committee at Stonehouse Family and Contact Centre in Leigh.Stonehouse is run by volunteers and provides an invaluable service to the community by providing facilities and assistance for families facing difficult periods.nbsp; During the week Stonehouse operates as a childrenrsquo;s and family centre offering a range of services to children in need aged 0-11 years and their families.On a Saturday morning the centre becomes a lsquo;Supportedrsquo; contact centre which is utilised, generally in Private Law Children Act Court Proceedings (which are disputes between parents following a breakdown of a marriage or relationship), to facilitate contact between the Child and the Non resident parent where concerns mean that support is required during contact times.Although the Centre is not a long term measure for contact it provides an invaluable service to families to ensure the contact between children and their absent parent continues even during very difficult times.The Contact centre accepts referrals from a number of sources including Widdows Mason.nbsp; At present the contact centre does not accept lsquo;self referralsrsquo; (from parents themselves).nbsp; The Closure of the Bolton contact centre has resulted in Stonehouse receiving an increase in the number of referrals.The Contact centre is run entirely by volunteers who give up their own time to provide support to families during difficult times.nbsp; Without the devotion and commitment the Contact centre would not be able to open its doors each week.In recent years the Centre has successfully obtained grants of money from CAFACSS and the National Association of Child Contact Centres which, in addition to fund raising events and donations, has allowed the Centre to continue operating.nbsp; However, due to changes in CAFCASS funding and the availability of grants from other sources the centre is more reliant than ever on Fund raising events and Donations.nbsp;Amy comments lsquo;Stonehouse contact centre provides a fantastic and invaluable service to the local community and the volunteers are inspirational.nbsp; It is a pleasure and a privilege to be appointed to the board of Management Committee of such a vital community resourcersquo;. http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/20/amy-mathison-appointed-to-stonehouse-board-of-management http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/20/amy-mathison-appointed-to-stonehouse-board-of-management Tue, 17 May 2011 Widdows Mason Trainee Solicitor Kerry Szczerba recently passed the Legal Practice Course (LPC) at Manchester Metropolitan University with distinction, scoring the highest marks across stage one and two and scooping the annualnbsp;New Charter Prize.The New Charter Prize for overall highest performer is sponsored by social housing provider the New Charter Housing Group, which featured in the recent BBC1 series 'Neighbourhood Watched'.The Legal Practice Course is a postgraduate diploma in law which is the professional qualification taken before becoming a Solicitor.nbsp; Kerry completed the LPC part time whilst working and studied a fast track course which condensed the usual 2 years part time LPC into 15 months. She is due to qualify as a Solicitor at the end of her Training Contract in December 2011.Kerry says: 'I was always told the LPC would be hard work and that certainly turned out to be true, so I was very pleased to pass with distinction and to receive top marks was fantastic. I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding something to spend the prize of high street vouchers on! I'm looking forward to qualifying as a solicitor at the end of my training contract this December'.Kerry has been invited to attend the New Charter awards ceremony later in the year.nbsp; http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/19/widdows-trainee-scores-top-marks http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/19/widdows-trainee-scores-top-marks Tue, 19 Apr 2011 The skills of a North West lawyer have been recognized by the UK's leading family law group - Resolution. Sharon Ferguson, family lawyer and partner at law firm Widdows Mason, has gained Resolution accredited specialist status.Sharon Ferguson has passed her examinations in domestic abuse and children law - private to gain her specialist status under the Resolution scheme.Originally set up in 1999, the scheme is designed to help people who are facing family breakdown to make an informed choice when deciding which lawyer to appoint. To become a Resolution Accredited Specialist, lawyers have to agree to uphold the Resolution code of practice and to have passed a written test demonstrating a breadth of knowledge of family law issues and specialist knowledge in at least two areas of family law.Sharon Ferguson is one of a growing number of North West lawyers to achieve Resolution accreditation. She comments:'As a Resolution member, I am committed to encouraging a non-confrontational approach to resolving family disputes. That way, both the emotional and financial costs of divorce or family breakdown are minimized for those involved.Now by choosing a Resolution specialist, individuals can be assured that they are being advised by someone who has a wide knowledge and experience of family law and has the qualifications to demonstrate it.'NoteResolution is an association of over 5,500 members who are committed to promoting a non-confrontational atmosphere in which family law matters are dealt with in a sensitive, constructive and cost effective way. It sets high standards of good practice in family law and runs an accreditation scheme for specialist family lawyers. http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/18/national-acclaim-for-sharon-ferguson---family-lawyer http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/18/national-acclaim-for-sharon-ferguson---family-lawyer Mon, 7 Feb 2011 The Partners of Widdows Mason are pleased to announce that we now have a branch in Chester, following the acquisition of the existing practice of E J Bamforth Solicitors.The office is based at 9 Hunter Street, Chester CH1 2AQ (Tel: 01244 357209 Fax: 01244 357226) and has traditionally specialised in Criminal Law and Social Welfare Law including housing and welfare benefits advice. Our full range of services will soon be available at this branch including Family Law, Conveyancing, Wills and Probate, Personal Injury, Employment Law, Commercial Law and Motoring Law http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/17/new-branch-in-chester http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/17/new-branch-in-chester Mon, 31 Jan 2011 The Partners of Widdows Mason wish to advise that our office at Runcorn closed on Friday 14 January 2011.Staff members Guy Dodd, Kenny Ip and Su Wilson have transferred to our office at Warrington (Arundel House, 12 Rylands Street, Warrington WA1 1EP) and will continue to deal with existing matters from there. Wills and Deeds previously stored at the Runcorn office will now be held at our main office in Leigh (20 King Street, Leigh, Lancashire WN7 4LR).Any queries or questions about the office closure should be addressed to the Managing Partner, Keith Freer http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/16/runcorn-office-closes http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/16/runcorn-office-closes Mon, 17 Jan 2011 The Partners of Widdows Mason are pleased to confirm that Trainee Solicitor Amy Mathison qualified as a Solicitor on 1 September 2010.During her training contract, Amy has worked in our Personal Injury, Private Client and Family Law Departments. Amy is now based in the Family Law Department at our Wigan Office http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/15/widdows-trainee-qualifies-as-a-solicitor http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/15/widdows-trainee-qualifies-as-a-solicitor Fri, 3 Sep 2010 The Government announced today that homeowners selling their properties will no longer be required to provide Home Information Packs with effect from the 21st May 2010.HIPS were launched in 2007 and have since been mandatory for anyone selling a property in England and Wales and were seen at the time as a means of a way of simplifying the house buying process. A HIP would include an energy performance certificate, a local and drainage search and various legal deeds and documents. The introduction of this new procedure brought wide spread criticism as it involved Sellers in additional expense at the outset of a transaction. The packs included local searches which were often out of date by the time a Buyer was found for a property, meaning that searches had to be carried out for a second time.Estate agents locally are hopeful that the news will now stimulate the market, by perhaps prompting speculative Sellers to put their property on the market, whilst at the same time reducing selling costs.The Government confirm that a Seller will still be required to provide an energy performance certificate before being allowed to market a property for sale.Widdows Mason are able to provide this service. Please telephone 01925 632267 to speak to one of our property law specialists for further details http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/14/hips-scrapped-by-coalition-government http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/14/hips-scrapped-by-coalition-government Thu, 20 May 2010 Long-serving staff member Dorothy Devlin today (13 May 2010) celebrated her 60th birthday.Dorothy joined the Leigh Office of what was then called Widdows Davis and Frankland on 6 March 1978, which at the time was based in Turnpike House, Market Street. Dorothy worked for John Frankland and, for a period of 22 years, the late Blanche Cooke before moving to the Hindley Office of the firm in 2006 where she currently assists Janet Calvert with a varied caseload of Wills and Probate work.Dorothy recalls many changes across the years, particularly the expansion of the firm with numerous mergers (Masons of Bolton, Martin and Co of Farnworth, Campbells of Wigan and Hindley, Linakers of Warrington and Runcorn and D Hampson amp; Co of Shevington) and the trend followed by many legal practices towards specialisation. Dorothy is an authority on the Administration of Estates and much relied upon by staff across the firm. She is also a key member of the development team which looks after the firm's Case Management software.Colleagues from the Hindley Office joined Dorothy for a very pleasant lunch at 'Summat to Ate' in Market Street, Hindley http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/13/sixty-glorious-years http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/13/sixty-glorious-years Thu, 13 May 2010 The Chancellor announced in his Budget on the 24th March 2010 that the Legislation in Finance Bill 2010 will introduce relief from stamp duty land tax (SDLT) for purchases of residential property at up to pound;250,000 where the purchaser or all the purchasers are first time buyers and intend to occupy the property as their only or main home. This relief is time limited to two years.The new relief will be available for residential purchases where the effective date (normally the date of completion) is on or after 25 March 2010 and before 25 March 2012.For further details and guidance notes from HMRC, please follow the attached link: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2010/sdlt-qa-tech-1545.pdf. http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/12/budget-2010---stamp-duty-changes http://www.widdows.co.uk/post/12/budget-2010---stamp-duty-changes Wed, 24 Mar 2010