Solicitors in Leeds

Accidental Death Insurance

Insurance that pays money to you or your loved ones if you are hurt or killed in an accident. It does not cover death due to sickness or natural causes. Also called Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance.

Administrator

Has 2 common legal meanings.

Can either be a person empowered to administer the affairs of an insolvent company or a person appointed to manage the estate of an individual who has died without a will.

Aggravated damages

Additional damages awarded only for certain types of cases and in exceptional circumstances

Arbitration

The settling of a dispute by an arbitrator. Arbitration is a long established alternative to litigation (which may not always be less complex) and which involves an arbitrator reaching a judgment, which is binding on both parties. Where arbitrators cannot agree they may appoint an “umpire”. The decision of an arbitrator is known as an “award”.

Assent

Formal document used to transfer a property from a personal representative of deceased to beneficiary named in the will

Assign

To transfer the benefit (rights) of a party in a contract to another party

Assignment

The name generally given to the process of transferring the benefits of a contract to a 3rd party

Assured shorthold tenancy

Commonly used short term residential tenancy arrangements, regulated under various Housing Acts

Attachment of earnings

A type of enforcement procedure whereby a judgment creditor can apply for an order that the judgment debtor’s employer be ordered to pay part of his or her earnings to the court each month to pass onto the creditor

Bare trust

a simple form of trust effectively giving the beneficiary control rather than the trustee

Beneficial interest

represents the actual value of an asset, generally in cash terms. An asset, such as an asset held in trust can have separate legal and beneficial owners. The legal owner in such circumstances will have control and responsibility in law, with the beneficiary being entitled to the ultimate value. Position is akin to the difference between company directors and company shareholders.

Bona fide

genuine, secure and made in good faith

Bequest

A gift in a will of personal property known also as a “legacy”. A residuary bequest is a gift of the residue of the testator`s personal estate, namely, of what is left after payment of debts and legacies. A specific bequest is, strictly, where a testator bequeaths to a person all his property of a certain class or kind, but it is commonly used to mean a legacy of a particular article e.g. a watch.

Bona Fide

The Latin term “Bona fide” means, in a UK legal context: “sincere, in good faith”.

Conditional agreement

Refers to  a situation where all terms in a contract are agreed but the contract only becomes operative and binding on the parties if a defined event  in the contract actually occurs

Constructive dismissal

Situation where the employee  resigns claiming that the employer has fundamentally breached the contract such that the employee can legally claim that he/she was left with no option but to resign

Constructive notice

Situation where the law will imply that a person or entity has had notice of something without proof that they have actual knowledge or notice

Disbursement

Expenses which are part of a legal case or transaction which are not the lawyer’s charges. Also described as expenses incurred on behalf of the client. Generally, there should be no mark up or profit added to the disbursement by the lawyer

Disclaimer

Contractual clauses whereby parties may agree that certain liabilities which might arise for a party under general legal principles or otherwise based on the contract generally, will not apply. In certain circumstances, liability cannot or cannot fully be disclaimed by law, such as possibly for personal injury.

Discretionary trust

Form of trust whereby the trustees are given wide or limited discretion to generally invest or use trust assets. Commonly the trustees can make decisions on investing money in trust, selling assets, releasing assets to beneficiaries or for their benefit, particularly where beneficiaries are children.

Distrain/distress

To seize goods as security for an unpaid debt.

Domicile

For legal purposes a person’s domicile is considered to be where they have an established presence and intention to remain permanently.

Easement

A right of way granted to use land owned by someone else. Can be a legal easement, formally agreed or an equitable easement, generally demonstrated by longstanding use.

Ex gratia

Something done or given without expecting obligation or payment in return i.e a gift

Fiduciary

Signifies a position of trust and consequently, certain duties are imposed. There are many examples, such as company director’s where the law imposes fiduciary duties.

Fixed charge

A charge over a specified asset, often a property. A standard mortgage over a residential property is generally an example of a fixed charge

Floating charge

A charge which is not over one asset, but over a group of assets and often which floats over all assets then owned by a company, but which generally gives a company freedom to operate unless and until the terms of the charge are breached, for example by liquidation

Forefeiture

Relates to action taken by a Landlord to cancel a lease and repossess the property. Both commercial and residential leases generally have a forfeiture clause but it is far quicker and easier to generally forfeit a commercial lease than a residential lease.

General damages

Compensatory damages awarded for a wrong done without reference to proving a loss. English law generally only allows general damages for certain types of cases such as personal injury.

Grant of probate

Formal court order (but in the form of a certificate) whereby executors in a will become legally entitled and responsible for administering the affairs of the deceased.

Guarantee

a promise by a person (the guarantor) to repay a debt owed by another. Commonly used for situations where a bank lends to a new business.

Intestacy/intestate

Term used to describe situation where someone dies without leaving a will.

Joint & several liability

Where 2 or more people are jointly responsible for repaying a  debt. Each are individually responsible to repay the entire debt and the creditor can generally decide to go after all of them, some of them or even only one of the debtors for the debt.

Joint tenancy

Term used to describe one of the two forms of co-ownership of property. On the death of one of the joint tenants his or her legal and beneficial interest in the property automatically passes to the survivor notwithstanding the terms of any will. This is known as the “Right of survivorship”

Judgment creditor

Name given to a person or other legal entity which has obtained a court order against another party for a financial sum.

Judgment in default

Judgment entered by the court (the claimant must apply to the court for the judgment) when the defendant has failed to submit a defence withion the required timescale

Lien

The right to retain possession of something, typically goods,  owned by someone who owes a debt until the underlying debt has been repaid in full.

Liquidated damages

An agreed amount of compensation in a  contract such that, regardless of loss suffered by a party where the other has breached the contract, the party in default will be bound to instead pay the liquidated (already agreed) amount of damages as per the contract.

Negotiable instrument

A document which is signed, is an instruction to pay money, and can have its ownership changed by changing the name of the payee and can have its ownership changed simply by being delivered to its next owner.

Novation

The term assignment generally refers to the transfer of the benefit, whilst novation generally refers to the transfer of obligations to a 3rd party and generally requires a new contract to be entered into.

Personal representative

A person appointed to deal with a dead person’s estate. If there is a will the executors are the personal representatives. If there is no will, the courts will appoint an administrator, which is the term used in that circumstance.

Possessory title

A class of legal title to property based solely on a  significant period of actual occupation. Possessory title can sometimes later be upgraded and where the Land Registry grant possessory title only it may not be satisfactory for a subsequent buyer or their lenders.

Power of attorney

Document by which legal authority is given by a person to one or more people to act on their behalf for legal purposes either generally or for limited purposes.

Pre-emption

A right to first refusal on buying assets when sold, often applying to shares and created as a right for existing shareholders to buy shares from a selling shareholders as part of a shareholders agreement.

Preference shares

A share entitled to a fixed dividend which must be paid before any ordinary shareholders receive dividends. Preference shareholders have more favourable rights than ordinary shareholders. In addition, on winding up of a company preference shares must be fully paid before ordinary shareholders can be paid.

Privity of contract

Rule whereby only parties to a contract can sue each other for breaches of contract.

Proxy

Term generally applying to attending at company meetings where there is a right to send a substitute person in place of the shareholder, as that shareholder’s “proxy”.