The family of former Cardiff-resident Frank Green, who owned a famous toy shop in Canton for over 20 years, have been able to claim back care costs from the NHS after a recent claim through the team at Howells Solicitors.

Mr Green, who served in World War II and ran the toy shop SF Green on 295 Cowbridge Road afterwards until 1969, became increasingly ill after retirement and moved into care homes in Llandough, UHW and Whitchurch hospitals. There, the authorities made no assessment for his ongoing care and informed his family that any care fees must be funded by them. The family used Mr Green’s savings and sold his home to pay for his care in the final years of his life between 2003 and 2007.

Informed by the Coughlan and Grogan cases, in which families of seriously ill people were able to claim compensation from the health authorities if they were wrongly charged with care fees, our solicitor Alison Huggins worked with Mr Green’s family to reclaim the care fees they paid. More...

Sarah Millard, an experienced family law solicitor, has joined the Howells Solicitors team in our Talbot Green office.

Mrs Millard has practised family law in the Rhondda for over 15 years. She sits on the Children’s Panel Accreditation Scheme, the Family Law Panel, is a member of the Family Law Advanced Accreditation Scheme and Treasurer of the Pontypridd and Rhondda District Law Society.

Mrs Millard joins the firm from a local practice where she had worked for 12 years. Her appointment will provide Howells Solicitors with the expertise to represent clients involved in children and domestic violence cases as well as other family law matters in the Rhondda and Mid Glamorgan. More...

In recent months, a new breed of firm has emerged which take a new twist on a burgeoning trend. Much like more established companies which offer to buy any vehicle, these online start-ups promise to buy any home for up to 90 per cent of their value. The lure for many house sellers is the transaction can be completed in just a matter of weeks.

If you’re in need of cash quickly, firms such as Webuyanyhouse.co.uk, Quickbuyers.co.uk and Housebuyerbureau.co.uk offer to buy your property so you can achieve a quick sale. However, vulnerable homeowners are being warned that in many cases homeowners are offered just a fraction of the property’s real value and end up tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Peter Bolton King, a spokesman for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, was quick to voice his concerns about the new firms: “Homeowners looking for a quick sale are vulnerable by definition and are prime targets for quick sale property websites. Homeowners should know they are unlikely to be offered the value they had hoped for”. More...

Conveyancing is perhaps the most nerve-jangling aspect of buying or selling a property, but mandatory as it is, you need to make sure you find yourself the very best firm for the job.

Conveyancing is the legal process involved in the transferral of a property’s ownership titles from one party to another and can be completed by either a solicitor or a specialist licensed conveyancer. 

The six main duties of a conveyancer

Whether you choose to use the services of an experienced solicitor or a dedicated licensed conveyance, there are six main responsibilities to carry out on behalf of the buyer: More...

The removal of legal aid for divorce cases which came into effect on April 1 2013 is predicted to have a disproportionate impact on the poorest members of society, as they are hit almost three times harder than those in the wealthiest parts of the UK.

In figures released by the Legal Ombudsman, the current average cost of a divorce in the UK is £1,300, which represents 9 per cent of the average annual salary in the poorest areas of the UK. This is in stark contrast to figures from the UK’s most affluent areas, where a typical divorce represents just 3.3 per cent of the average household income.

Currently nine of the UK’s parliamentary constituencies with the lowest average salary are situated in the North of England or Wales, which is why, here at Howells Solicitors we are intent on providing every individual with an affordable alternative to the conventional divorce. We appreciate that with the recent demise of legal aid our clients may find it difficult to afford to pay their solicitors fees for a divorce and may need a degree of flexibility in order to spread any legal costs they might incur over a period of time. More...