Residential property review of the year
2016 has, to put it mildly, been a challenging year for property sales in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. The well publicised downturn in the local economy, as a direct result of the decrease in the price of oil from mid 2014, has led to numerous job losses and a consequent negative impact on the property market. […]
Voluntary Registration – Jen Davidson, trainee solicitor, asks what’s in it for you?
The Land Register for Scotland is a digital map-based system of land registration established by the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979. The Scottish Government have asked the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland to complete the Land Register by 2024 with all public land being registered by 2019. The most recent data shows that around […]
Autumn Statement: What it means for you?
In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced that the government will move to a single major fiscal event each year. Following the spring 2017 Budget and Finance Bill, Budgets will be delivered in the Autumn, with the first one taking place in autumn 2017. So what could this Autumn’s statement mean for you? Pensions: The […]
Inheritance Tax – New Residence Nil Rate Band
From April 2017 a new residence tax free allowance is being introduced for Inheritance Tax purposes. How will this affect you? At present Inheritance tax is payable at the rate of 40% on the value of the estate over and above the tax-free allowance (known as the ‘nil rate band’) of £325,000 per […]
E-MAIL – AN EFFICIENT OR IMPERSONAL MANNER OF COMMUNICATING?
There is no doubt that e-mail has transformed the way we communicate in business as well as socially but how impersonal and sometimes irritating it has become. Long gone are the days of letters being sent with time to breathe before the reply arrived 2 or 3 days later! The merits of e-mail in business […]
Market Overview – Quarter 1, 2017
This last 6 month period of 2016 has been one of the most significant since the credit crisis and potentially marks a change in long term investment trends. Equities have strengthened worldwide, whilst in contrast there has been a continued downward trend away from the long term bull-run of the bond market. The period began […]
Cohabitation – What To Be Aware Of and How To Protect Yourself
In 2006, everything changed with regard to cohabitees, thanks to the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. Before this Act, rights for cohabiting couples were limited, but since this came into force, cohabitees rights have been revolutionised. The Act clarified who ‘cohabitees’ were, and stated that in the event of a cohabiting relationship breaking down, couples […]
Staff Promotion – Mark Allan
James & George Collie are delighted to announce that they have promoted Mark Allan, Solicitor to Associate. Mark, with over 10 years’ experience in residential conveyancing joined the firm in September 2014 as an Assistant Solicitor and was quickly promoted to Senior Solicitor. Mark is involved in a wide range of transactions, primarily acting in […]
Section 63 – Will it affect you?
New regulations under Section 63 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 (the “Act”) are now fully in force and landlords of eligible non-domestic properties are now under obligations to contribute towards reducing Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions. The potential costs and implications for commercial property transactions are significant and should not be overlooked. […]
We’re all going on a Summer holiday!
Separated parents often wish to spend extended periods of quality time with their children over the Summer months; but when it comes to taking your children abroad on holiday, what do you need to know? The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 provides that no person can remove a child habitually resident in Scotland from the UK […]