LAW
Family-oriented – James , Shannon and Jacqueline are focused on providing an holistic approach for the services offered by Punch Robson and its associate advisors .
And , James suspects , it ’ s that combination of knowing its locality while carrying out work comparable to large city firms that helped clinch its Legal 500 inclusion .
He told Tees Business : “ The main ethos of the firm is that it ’ s family-orientated . We like to work collaboratively with clients and bring in intermediaries where there might be the need for other advisors , so we can give an holistic approach towards estate planning and lifetime provision .”
Wills are clearly a major part of what the team does – and perhaps recognising it ’ s something that many people put off , James barely bats an eyelid at my own negligence in such matters .
He smiled : “ Well , having an up-to-date will is always a good idea . Under the default rules for intestacy , of those assets forming the estate currently the first £ 322,000 and personal chattels passes to the spouse – anything over and above that is equally divided between the spouse and children , so it ’ s not a default that everything passes to the spouse .
“ But having an up-to-date will provides clarity – it ’ s an expression of wishes as to what someone actively wants to happen rather than a default position and we can help with every aspect of it .”
Indeed , clarity , says James , is exactly what Punch Robson aims to provide for its clients .
He said : “ Quite often , people will see us at difficult points in their lives . They might be having problems with capacity or understanding , or they might have recently lost somebody . Our role is to support the family right the way through from the planning stages to , ultimately , helping to implement and deal with things at the other end .
“ It is very much a lifelong appointment and a personal point of contact for people to refer back to us , as opposed to a more transactional basis that you might have with , say , someone who deals with fixed fee , bulk will-writing services where the will gets dealt with and that ’ s the end of the matter .
“ We offer a more personal service . We see the parents , we ’ ll help put planning in place , we ’ ll meet the children as part of the process and then we ’ ll ultimately help with everything , working with the family ’ s advisors all the way through .”
The hope is now to keep growing the department , with James particularly
For more about Punch Robson and its services , visit punchrobson . co . uk
We ’ re doing comparable work to firms in big cities and I think this recognises that .
keen to expand one service it offers – Court of Protection applications for the appointment of a deputy .
He said : “ I think it ’ s an area that ’ s under-represented on Teesside generally – there ’ s not many firms that offer professional deputyship services , but we help families in the application process and can also act as a deputy , where we assist in the financial management for clients who lack capacity themselves .
“ It ’ s an area of increased need , unfortunately , but it ’ s something we ’ re looking to help with more .”
He added : “ We have the full range of clients – from business owners and large agricultural land owners to private individuals .
“ Everybody has their own needs and requirements and every circumstance is different . There isn ’ t “ one size fits all ” and we pride ourselves on recognising that and working with the individual – and that ’ s been recognised by the Legal 500 .”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 43