General Interest News
Our Doncaster Office
Here are a few photos of our lovely new Doncaster Office which is situated within Gresley House, Ten Pound Walk, Doncaster.
Gresley House is a large, modern, purpose built building of several offices. It is located south of the centre of Doncaster in a well established business area just off Ten Pound Walk. It offers a large car park with free parking. Both the Railway Station and Bus Station are just under a 20 minute walk away. It is also only half a mile from the A1M and M18.
If we can be of any assistance with your legal matters, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01775 722261 or enquiries@maplessolicitors.com
A Career with Maples – A Young Solicitors View
Having qualified as a Solicitor in September 2003 with another firm, I joined Maples & Son as a Solicitor in April 2004.
From the start I was given responsibility evidenced by the fact that I was involved in the interviews for my secretary and the decision as to who to employ was left to me, however I was also given support and made to feel welcome.
The reason for my move to Maples was due to my intention to increase my specialism in Criminal law as on qualification I had been dividing my time between Criminal and Family Law. I have always been supported by Maples and undertook the Criminal Litigation Accreditation Scheme in order to join the Boston and Spalding Duty Solicitor Scheme. Whilst the firm has always allowed me to pursue my specialism of Criminal work, I have been allowed the opportunity to continue to develop other areas of expertise including Licencing Law, Family and more recently Civil Litigation.
There is very much an ‘open door’ culture at Maples and so it has always been possible for me to speak to my colleagues if ever I have needed any advice or guidance. I would like to think that I have also extended that to my colleagues and obviously it is a boost to the confidence of any young Solicitor to occasionally find a more experienced colleague come to you for advice or to seek your views on a case.
Many young Solicitors find that good or high profile cases get taken away from them by the Partners but that certainly has not been the situation at Maples where on 2 occasions I have dealt with Murder cases from the start at the police station right through to the conclusion at the Crown Court. This clearly is of benefit to the client to have continuity but also to be able to develop a relationship with the Solicitor.
As my time at Maples progressed I was gradually given more responsibility so that I would not only be managing my own caseload but also acting as a supervisor to others.
The friendly atmosphere at Maples is demonstrated by the fact that as well as working here, I also spend time socially with my colleagues including having been on skiing holidays with 2 of the Partners and the then trainee solicitor.
The social side has also been evident in that I have been involved in playing 5 a side football for Maples both in a regular league and also in tournaments arranged between local Solicitors and other professionals. Maples have also arranged a number of Cricket 20/20 matches normally with a BBQ and a couple of drinks to follow.
It was therefore an honour when I was offered Partnership and I became a Partner with effect from 1st January 2009. I now look forward to enjoying many more years at the firm and would commend the firm to anybody thinking of joining.
Maples Go Green
Maples Solicitors LLP are proud to announce that they have pledged their support to “Investors in the Environment” a new, not for profit initiative that has been launched to help businesses to reduce their environmental impact and ultimately save money.
Maples are one of the 300 businesses supporting the scheme which was officially launched in Peterborough and the surrounding area on the 15th April 2010.
Maples feel passionately about the environment and hope that this will be the first of many contributions to helping the environment and reducing our carbon footprint. Ultimately this will help us reduce our overheads/costs and the savings can then be passed onto our clients so that we can maintain our very competitive fee structure.
Maples Solicitors agree Shirt Sponsorship deal
Maples Solicitors are delighted to announce they are the new Shirt Sponsors of Holbeach United Ladies Football Club.
As ever, Maples are continuing their tradition of helping local causes within the community and look forward to supporting the team throughout 2012 and into 2013.
Holbeach Ladies have been established for over 15 years and currently compete in the Fenland and District Ladies League. The team are always on the lookout for new Players, and any interested parties please feel free to contact Kay Piccaver on 01406 371668 or on 07935 155058.
Collaborative Marketing Workshop
Around a dozen delegates attended the Collaborative Marketing Workshop held at our offices on the morning of Wednesday 30th March 2011. During the course of the workshop, Andrew Goode and Lyndon Wright of Blue Dolphin Business Development provided advice on how to combine online with offline marketing to maximum profitability and also provided ten top collaborative marketing tips.
We thank Andrew and Lyndon for their presentation.
If you want to access the slides and other information provided at the workshop, then please follow the link below.
http://www.bdolphin.co.uk/1203/maples-online-offline-extra-marketing-resources/
If you are interested in attending future workshops/seminars that we hold, then please either ring Laura Day on 01775 722261 or email laura.day@maplessolicitors.com.
Maples supporting Macmillan Coffee Morning
On 29th September 2017 Maples Solicitors LLP will be hosting a coffee morning as part of Macmillan’s “World’s Biggest Coffee Morning”.
Tea, coffee and cakes will be served from 10:00am until 1:00pm and all donations received will go to Macmillan Cancer Support to assist them with providing medical, emotional, practical and financial support to those facing cancer and their families.
At the same time, Maples will also be running a free Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney and Probate clinic so that whilst you are in the office you may take the opportunity to discuss any of these with one of the Private Client Team with no obligation to commit. You can use the time to raise any questions you may have about making a Will, who you could appoint as Executors, whether you need a Power of Attorney or how a Power of Attorney works, for example.
Maples hope to see their existing clients join them for the coffee morning and very much look forward to meeting new people- everyone is welcome!
If you would like to discuss any matters in relation to Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney or any Probate related matters prior to the coffee morning then please contact one of the lawyers in our private client team:-
Jane Mawer- jane.mawer@maplessolicitors.com
Jamie Dobbs- jamie.dobbs@maplessolicitors.com
Faye Blair- faye.blair@maplessolcitors.com
Or telephone the office on 01775 722261 and ask to speak with one of the team.
Cryptoassets in Estates
Executors are facing new challenges when it comes to the administration of a loved ones estate in the form of cryptoassets and digital currency.
There is estimated to be around 130 million users of bitcoin alone with the crypto market now being
worth around $1 trillion in value. Unlike a standard bank account, access to such assets requires online log in details, access to a particular App on a deceased’s phone or their ‘virtual wallet’ and it is unusual for there to be a bereavement team to contact for assistance. As the asset exists purely virtually the Courts have had to establish a whole new form of identity for these assets outside of the term ‘property’ in English Law.
The starting point to deal with a deceased’s digital and crypto asset is to look at what devices they
had. Crypto and digital assets can be stored on hard-drives, laptops, tablets, smart phones and
hardware wallets. If the Personal Representatives are then able to locate these cryptoassets they
will need the key entries to be able to access them. In a digital wallet the account holder of the
cryptoassets will have a public and private key to be able to access and conduct any transactions.
Essentially a public key is like an account number which is used to identify the user and the private
key is like a pin number which only the owner will have access to. It is therefore advised to see if the deceased stored these keys anywhere such as in any paper trails or digital files. It may not always be that simple to find these passcodes/keys however if you are able to locate them it is advised that an expert accesses these accounts as Personal Representatives may not have the knowledge to do so and may not be covered for any losses to the estate.
It may also be the case that the deceased owned cryptoassets through third party intermediaries
who safeguard those assets on their behalf. A further complication that must be overcome.
The value of a cryptoasset does count towards the deceased’s estate for inheritance tax purposes
and so it is important to locate these assets to avoid making any false representations to the
revenue.
Once access has been obtained, the cryptoasset can be transferred to another wallet, for example to a beneficiary of the estate or to the executor, or it can be converted to currency to be cashed out.
Bitcoin reports that more than 4 billion bitcoins have not been located or accessed when dealing
with a deceased’s estate. Without any key information the likelihood is that these cryptoassets are inaccessible and lost forever.
Maples Solicitors are now encouraging clients to prepare what is referred to as a ‘digital will’. This is a document setting out exactly what crypto assets an individual has and all details in relation to access to those assets included the virtual keys. This digital will also include passwords to mobile telephones, email passwords and all other potential online and security information that the
executors will need to access virtual currency or online only accounts belonging to the deceased.
The digital will is safely stored with the original will and can be updated at any time without need to update the original will. It is hoped that practical steps such as these will assist Executors in the future.
If you have any queries or concerns in relation to cryptocurrency, the administration of an estate or
your own will then please contact one of the members of our Private Client Department:-
Jamie Dobbs- jamie.dobbs@maplessolicitors.com
Jane Mawer- jane.mawer@maplessolicitors.com
Faye Blair- faye.blair@maplessolcitors.com
Or telephone the office 01775 722261 and ask to speak with one of the team.
