Services

Connelly & Yeoman will keep the process simple, jargon free and update you at every stage. We have prominently located estate agencies in the High Streets of Arbroath and Carnoustie. It is important when you are selling your property that you receive good, straightforward, professional advice. Our aim is to ensure that the best possible price is achieved for your property. We have a full estate agency service providing a free initial valuation of your property with preparation of detailed sales particulars and step by step guidance through the entire selling process. It is important to remember that our solicitors are also involved directly with our estate agency and usually one of our solicitors will visit your property at the initial valuation along with a member of our estate agency team. We believe that this system ensures that you are given full information from both the estate agency and the legal side and this is particularly helpful when deciding the basis on which you are to market your property for sale. For many years, properties were marketed on an “offers over” basis and many properties still are, however, you often now see properties marketed at a fixed price or “offers around”.

Our Office in Carnoustie

We are members of the Tayside Solicitors’ Property Centre and can access detailed information on prices achieved for similar properties in your area. We would recommend that your property is lodged with the Property Centre so that it can appear not just in their showroom in Dundee but also in the Tayside Solicitors’ Property Guide and on their website. Your property will also appear on the Scottish Solicitors’ Property Centre website. Press advertising can be arranged in the local papers, should you wish.

Our estate agency team will take time to deal with all enquires and schedule requests from prospective purchasers and provide appropriate information including access to the Home Report. Our team will also arrange viewings of your property at a time convenient to you and make follow up calls to viewers to gauge interest and obtain feedback. When an Offer is received, we will advise you, taking into account the market conditions, whether you should accept or reject an Offer, or when to set a closing date.

Once an Offer has been received and agreed in principle, it is then passed to one of our solicitors to deal with the conveyancing (transfer of ownership of your home to the buyer). It is usual that the solicitor who discusses the Offer with you will be the same solicitor that carried out the initial valuation. Our solicitors and estate agency team would be pleased to discuss your proposed sale.

Without a doubt, buying a property can be the biggest investment of your life. With Connelly & Yeoman’s experienced team, you will be in safe hands.

We undertake all legal work in the purchasing and selling of property. If required, we can put you in touch with a mortgage advisor who will assist you in finding the best mortgage to suit your needs.

For first time buyers, it is important that before you start looking for a property, you have an understanding of how much you can afford and it is worth taking advice from us regarding how to proceed. We would discuss with you the different ways of finding your new home and review the Home Report in relation to a property which is of interest to you.

Once you have found a property, we would note interest on your behalf and thereafter prepare the Offer and advise on the price and on any appropriate conditions that might be included. We would then take you through the process with a view to concluding the contract and will confirm the provisions of the title deeds to you. If you are obtaining loan finance to assist with your purchase, we will liaise with your lender and prepare all documentation that you are required to sign. Once settlement of your purchase has taken place, we will arrange to register all the appropriate deeds at Registers of Scotland. Our solicitors have an indepth knowledge of the property market and are therefore able to give you expert advice.

The death of a member of your family or close friend can be very difficult and an upsetting time for all concerned. The administration of an estate can also involve further stress and upset. It is important to take advice as many organisations, such as banks and insurance companies, will only deal with the person appointed as Executor acting under a Will. In many cases, the Executor is required to apply to the Sheriff Court for Confirmation before they can act. Confirmation is the document issued by the Court confirming the appointment of Executors and their entitlement to administer an estate. We can assist in obtaining the appropriate information regarding the value of assets owned by the deceased and the preparation of the Inventory and Confirmation to be lodged in the Sheriff Court. We can also assist when no Will has been left, as there may be additional matters which have to be attended to before Confirmation can be obtained. Once Confirmation has been issued, the assets of the estate are ingathered, and any debts are paid. Thereafter, the assets of the estate are distributed either to the beneficiaries in terms of the Will or, alternatively, according to law. Additionally, taxes may require to be paid and assets sold or transferred. Our solicitors are experienced in dealing with executries and will be pleased to help.

Making a Will gives you much more control over the succession to your estate. If you die without making a Will, the law determines who gets your possessions and not you. This is known as dying intestate. If you were to die without having a Will and have no family or relatives, the Crown would obtain all your possessions.

A Will is a legal document which ensures that your possessions pass on your death to the people you wish. It is always worth having a solicitor prepare your Will. We have vast experience of preparing Wills to cover the most straightforward to the most complex of scenarios. For example, increasingly, children from former marriages are having to be considered and the issue of inheritance tax can be addressed.

If you have young children it is also important to consider nominating a guardian in your Will to look after your children, in the event you die while they are young. In addition, you can decide at what age children inherit. If you do not specify an age, children can ask for their entitlement to be paid to them at the age of sixteen.

Once you have made a Will, it is important to review its contents, particularly if there are changes in your financial and family circumstances.

We are experienced in preparing Wills and this can ensure that you avoid potential future difficulties.

A Power of Attorney is a document stating who you wish to make decisions on your behalf and manage your affairs when you are unable to do so or if you no longer wish to do so.

While a Power of Attorney is often used to help the elderly manage their affairs, it is worth pointing out that Powers of Attorney can be granted by younger people, particularly if they are living or working in another country. There are different types of Powers of Attorney. Firstly, a simple Power of Attorney may be useful if you are away or unable to manage your affairs for a short while. This type of Power of Attorney does not continue to have effect after you have lost mental capacity. Secondly, a Continuing Power of Attorney deals with property or financial matters and, thirdly, a Welfare Power of Attorney deals with care, accommodation and medical treatment. Continuing and Welfare Powers of Attorney will continue to have effect even after you have lost mental capacity and these Powers of Attorney must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

It is important to remember that a Power of Attorney can only be granted when the grantor of the deed has the mental capacity to fully understand the document they are signing. If somebody does not have capacity then the alternative may be for an application to be made to the Court for a financial and/or welfare guardianship order. This is a relatively costly and time consuming procedure and a Power of Attorney is a much simpler, quicker and cheaper way to proceed.

You can appoint whoever you wish to be your attorney. Usually, they are a family member or friend who you trust. You can have more than one attorney and they can act either jointly or separately. Sometimes, people appoint separate attorneys to deal with financial or welfare matters. Our solicitors are experienced in preparing Powers of Attorney and would be pleased to advise you.