The short answer to the question in the title is one beloved of lawyers namely: it depends. The answer is yes you may pull out before ‘missives are concluded’; but no you may not once ‘missives are concluded’. An explanation of the legalese of ‘missives being...

What should I do first?   Not many people can buy a property without getting a loan from a bank or building society. So the first thing is to get an agreement in principle from a lender as to how much you can borrow - so you know how much you can offer. You’ll...

The usual way of buying a house, or a flat (or other ‘heritable’ property) involves the would-be purchasers having viewed it after it has been publicly advertised; getting their solicitor to put in a written offer to the sellers’ solicitors; and, if that offer is...

It is not unusual for a client or prospective client to approach us for advice about protecting their assets (usually a house) against possible future long-term residential care costs: they may have seen publicity about such schemes or heard of them from friends. The...

When it comes to financial provision on divorce it has been said that “...the matter is essentially one of discretion [for the court] aimed at achieving a fair and practicable result in accordance with common-sense...” (per Lord President Hope in Little v Little)....

There are two main answers to that question. By making a Will you choose (i) who you want to deal with the administration of your affairs on your death, and (ii) who you want to benefit from your estate. It’s worth expanding a bit on each of those reasons. (i) the...

The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (“the Act”) introduced a whole new range of measures to cover decision-making for “Adults with Incapacity” in relation to both property matters and matters of personal welfare. Broadly speaking if a person loses physical...

The death of a relative or close friend is a difficult time. And there are also the immediate practical questions about getting a death certificate; registering the death; and arranging the funeral which have to be dealt with in the midst of that difficult time. This...

The aim of this Note is to outline what the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 (“the Act”) does about property rights for couples who are living together (“cohabiting”). For people who are married, or for same-sex couples in civil partnerships, the law provides a fairly...

Broadly speaking, on death, the market value of everything you own at death is added up. If you made any lifetime gifts within seven years of your death then, in principle, they too are added onto the value of what you owned at death. If that total exceeds the current...

Is it Really Worth it? Court action to recover a debt may result in a court “decree” saying the debtor must pay – but if he or she has no money the decree may not be worth much in practice: “you can’t get blood out of a stone”. Some checks may help assess the...

In Scotland - things are not done in quite the same way in England - the buyer’s solicitor makes a written offer to buy and the seller accepts in writing. The solicitors then exchange letters - known as “the missives” - setting out the details and conditions of the...