How many times have you thought about setting-up your own enterprise, whether it is to develop a good idea, a new product or to take advantage of a niche service?

We believe that there are three factors that hold back entrepreneurs from getting their business off the ground:

• lack of focus
• lack of confidence
• lack of support.

Lack of focus:

Successful entrepreneurs seem to take the bull by the horns and just go for it. They know what they are trying to achieve and they have a plan of action. They have taken time to think about their strategy, market and business plan. They don’t prevaricate and they have spent time researching their market and the competition.
What successful entrepreneurs have in common is the determination to succeed.

Lack of confidence:

There are many talented people out there, and many innovative ideas. What makes an entrepreneur succeed with their idea is that no matter how scared they are of failure, or of looking foolish, they carry on regardless in the pursuit of their dream. If you imagine the participants in Dragon’s Den on TV, they are certain that their product or service will succeed and this confidence is required because it will help you to overcome the hurdles you will face along the way. Confidence is an essential business tool.

Lack of support:

Once you have decided on your business plan, you’ll need people alongside to help to give you important expertise at strategic times. This could be for emotional encouragement, someone to listen to the problems, financial know-how, general business advice as well as independent observation for sensible review and even critical evaluation.

Starting a company can be a lonely activity. You need to believe in your company and its products and yet be realistic that your best laid plans might not work.

To help your business get off the ground, you will need advice from a bank or lender about finance and a business bank account, an accountant or bookkeeper about the accounts and tax implications, and a lawyer, to ensure your business is legal and protected.

If you want to ensure your business has the best start in life, remember:

Focus, Confidence and Support.

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At www.LawSense.co.uk you will find several start-up legal documents that you can create yourself, using Solicitors Regulation Authority-approved templates that have been created by law firm Brethertons LLP. The basic legal documents that you are likely to need for your start-up include:

www.LawSense.co.uk is a new website that is a revolutionary way for you to purchase quality legal documents and legal advice over the internet, with ease-of-use, cost-certainty and value for money.

You can go online and see a lot of free legal advice about how to choose the most appropriate business structure for your start-up and the advantages and disadvantages of being a sole trader, and how to protect your business ideas from fraud. Many of the legal documents you will need are also listed, at very affordable prices.

Following on from the recent change in employment law to embrace Carers’ rights for equality in bringing discrimination claims based on their duties and responsibilities for caring for disabled people, the depth of the impact of employment law is, by its nature, always changing and this means that it is hard for employers to keep abreast of the changes. It is hard for employers to interpret the implications of not only changing employment legislation, but wider equality and discrimination laws and EU directives, which ultimately affect them and their employees. Understanding one’s employer responsibilities and doing the right thing has never been harder.

There are numerous forms and procedures which employers have to adopt when dealing with employees and these can be very confusing. As current employment law changes fast, employers run the risk of being out-of-step with the law and subsequently their employment contracts and disciplinary procedures may fall foul of changing legislation especially when disputes occur, and their employee documentation is found to be inadequate for purpose and simply does not protect them from penalty, loss or embarrassment, not to mention the potential of high costs in defending disputes through the courts.

What’s required is an easy to understand solution that’s cost-effective, yet 100% protective. At www.lawsense.co.uk there are over 150 legal documents and documents that an employer can purchase easily over the internet at very little cost compared to instructing a solicitor. Lawsense.co.uk is a website where an employer can choose a specific legal document online, change and adapt it on screen to meet their specific requirements, and then purchase it with little hassle, just by using a credit card payment.

LawSense.co.uk has documents that are legally up-to-date and have been verified by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and it is brought to employers by Brethertons LLP solicitors who have been around for 200 years. All the documents and contracts have easy-to-understand explanations and full guidance is given on how to create the documents. For those requiring the security and comfort of a full legal review of what has been created, this too can be provided online by Brethertons’ solicitors and the costs of a review are much less than you’d expect.

LawSense provides peace of mind and employment documents include: employee contracts, employment procedures, discipline and dismissal, sickness and absence and recruitment. You can download simple letters, more complex contracts and even a whole ‘pack’ of employment documents which contains all that you are likely to need for a particular issue or area of employment law, with the confidence of knowing that they are compliant with current legislation and contain helpful explanations.

A small sample of the LawSense.co.uk employment legal document library includes:

• Sickness Self-Certification
• Work experience agreement
• Criminal convictions declaration form for job applicants
• Agreement to opt-out of the working time directive
• Employee suspension letter pending investigation of allegations
• Employee dismissal letter for gross misconduct

Have you ever considered why it is that the UK divorce rate soars during the months immediately after Christmas? It is a true fact that solicitor divorce lawyers have their busiest time in the months from January to April, the months immediately after the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Sadly, what starts off as a happy annual festive time often ends up as an event that can ignite deep-felt resentment and highlight unfulfilled emotions.

So, why is it that the Christmas holiday period can result in such finality for people’s relationships? The reasons are more varied than you’d think:

• For some, the meeting of family and putting a ‘brave face’ on what is already a patchy relationship can mean long-festering issues are eclipsed, becoming huge concerns at a time when couples are off work and out of their normal routines, allowing them more time to reflect and see their relationships as they really are.
• For others, the Christmas period embodies the responsibility of being nice to family or step-families, that in other circumstances you would avoid. This creation of false emotions can put additional pressure on individuals to behave in specific ways that are outside of their true comfort zone. This additional pressure can result in breaking-point within some partnerships.
• For others, Christmas holidays mark the end of a year and having to face a whole new year with the same person, sometimes with unresolved resentment having been left over from the previous 12 months. You just can’t face being in that relationship any longer due to an insurmountable difference, desertion, domestic violence, unreasonable behaviour or an adulterous betrayal.
• Christmas time can also eclipse the emotions that you have for others and make you realise that you should be with someone else as your life-long partner. You have significant doubts that your existing partner is right for you and you might have found Miss or Mr Right elsewhere.

Divorce is about being true to yourself and your feelings and if you simply can’t ‘love the one you’re with’, then a separation agreement can be seen as an escape route, and divorce proceedings, a permanent solution.

You can read about divorce documentation at www.LawSense.co.uk, the online legal document library, where you can learn about the required legal steps to leave your partner and what’s involved in doing so. www.LawSense.co.uk is a new website that Brethertons LLP solicitors has recently developed, as a revolutionary way for you to purchase quality legal documents and legal advice over the internet, with ease-of-use, cost-certainty and value for money.

LawSense.co.uk legal divorce documents that you can visit and learn more about include:

• Divorce Pack – all the standard legal documents in divorce
• Dissolution of Civil Partnerships
• Affidavit for divorce on the grounds of a two-year separation
• Affidavit for divorce on the grounds of a five-year separation
• Statement of arrangements for children

Divorce is often a difficult and emotional experience, which is why you want the process to be handled quickly and efficiently, and you need to know what the different options are that are available to you, and the impact on your children/step children, so that you don’t rush into divorce as the only option and that you have considered Collaborative Law solutions as well as other avenues.

If children are involved in divorce, you will need to plan ahead for the contact you’d expect to have if or when your relationship breaks down.

Brethertons LLP is staying open between Christmas and New Year in 2010, and we are here to offer detailed family legal advice and support should you need it. Our offices reopen on the 30th December 2010, please do contact us (confidentially) on (01295) 270999 (Banbury) or (01788) 579579 (Rugby) if your relationship is at breaking-point. Alternatively, please arrange an initial consultation online at www.brethertons.co.uk.

In excess of 60% of Britons die each year without having made allowances for those that they leave behind in the form of a legal Will.

None of us know for sure exactly when we will die and there is the perception that you can leave making your Will until you are old and grey, facing your pensionable years. That’s not the best planning. The truth is that you could die at any point and failure to make a Will means that the Laws of Intestacy will dictate who gets what from your estate and even the fortunes of your children can be dictated against your wishes if you haven’t made a Lasting Power of Attorney to guide their upbringing.

If you already have a Will – when was the last time you updated it?

Partner Elizabeth Young head of the Wills and Probate Team at LawSense confirmed: “It is recommended that a Will is updated every five years to ensure that all your most recent assets are included, like your current flat or house, other property, your possessions, your car, your savings and even your pets.

Making a Will isn’t the onerous task that it used to be. You can make a basic Will from as little as £75 by creating and purchasing it over the internet using new legal technology called LawSense.”

www.lawsense.co.uk is a new way to buy legal documents that can allow you to create your Will and Lasting Power of Attorney in the privacy and comfort of your own home, and you can create a Will anytime you like…

There are a number of different options of Wills for you to choose from, depending upon your circumstances and you can “Try For Free” to see how you can create the Will document on screen, and how you can tailor the contents to be relevant to you. Unsure on which Will is right for you? Our helpful Will Advisor will guide you through all the legal jargon. Once you have decided on your type of Will, our intelligent interviewing software will guide you through the process of making it, tailoring the document to your exact requirements. Worried you have made a mistake? Don’t. The document will be thoroughly checked by one of our highly experienced solicitors before it is sent back to you, so you can be safe in the knowledge that should the worst happen your wishes will be respected.

If you want to leave money to a charity, then look out for our legacy giving options when you create your online Will. If your situation is a little more complicated than a basic Will provides for, then why not contact one of our experienced Wills, Trust and Probate Solicitors, they can talk you through the options about Tax Planning Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney and other options available to you and your family.

Need some more information before you commit? Then why not consult our comprehensive Law Guide beforehand, helping you to make an informed decision.

Make life easier for your loved ones; make a Will at LawSense.co.uk today. It only takes about 20 minutes to draft a basic Will and the price is low and can be paid for by credit card.

Visit http://www.lawsense.co.uk/ today to find out more about online legal documents or enquiries@lawsense.co.uk.

LawSense is the online legal services website of 200-year old law firm Brethertons LLP. http://www.brethertons.co.uk/

In this week’s Panorama programme, presenter Vivian White highlighted the risks in using a will writing service. Many people are under the false impression a ‘will writer’ is a solicitor, but unlike a solicitor they do not have to undergo any training, have insurance, and are not regulated by any organisation which ensures that they conduct their activities in the interests of the consumer and provide some form of redress, if things go wrong. If they go out of business, there is little that can be done- sometimes the will cannot be found, even where charges have been made for storing it.

Andrew Poole’s wife, Suzanne used a will writer, but the will failed to include any provision for him, leaving the entire estate in trust for his stepdaughters. Caroline Bielanska, Chief Executive of Solicitors for the Elderly, appeared on the programme, and expressed concern that a spouse had not been provided for. The will writers appeared to have failed to advise on his right to bring a claim against the estate for inadequate provision. She said, ‘a specialist solicitor would have asked why a spouse was left out, kept a detailed record of those reasons and advised of the high risk that the will would be challenged’. Solicitors are in the business of giving legal advice, taking into account the client’s domestic and financial circumstances- it does not appear that Suzanne Poole received any such advice’.

The lack of regulation has enabled many will writers to adopt high pressure selling techniques which was illustrated in the programme, often offering wills for a low or discounted fee, and then recommending themselves to be appointed as executors, selling other services without full advice, such as transferring the home into a trust in an attempt to avoid care fees.  Terms and conditions can be poorly worded and difficult to understand. In secret filming undertaken by the BBC for the programme, an elderly couple was not told the details of charges which were confusingly set out in writing but then taken away by the will writer.

The fear of solicitors costs, prompts some people to use will writers. Elizabeth Young, Partner at Brethertons commented: “Solicitor’s are required to set out in writing the basis of their charges, and in many cases wills are undertaken for a fixed fee with free storage of wills and other documents.”  Recent research by the consumer group, Which? found that the average fee for will drafted by a solicitor was  £130, compared to a will writer of £107.”

Elizabeth said, “This programme highlights the potential for getting it wrong without full legal advice and the need for proper regulation of will writers.  It can be very costly to undo after you have gone and can leave your family in disarray when they have to pick up the pieces as problems generally only come to light when you have died.”

Brethertons Solicitors act on behalf of individuals and more recently for companies with an initiative known as ‘Wills in the Workplace’ – creating staff Wills, at work.  Companies taking a caring interest in their staff have been helping them to create their Wills or Lasting Power of Attorney whilst at work.  A member of the Brethertons Private Client team visits the companies delivers a presentation and then meets with individuals regarding their personal concerns.  Many companies are taking advantage of this initiative and the very special offers which come as part of the package. For further information please contact Elizabeth Young on 01788 559501.

One of the benefits of last year’s launch of www.lawsense.co.uk is that it allows charity supporters to specify legacies to charities in their Wills over the internet.

The website www.LawSense.co.uk contains hundreds of legal documents for individuals to edit and purchase over the internet. By logging onto the website, charity supporters can select the document they require at any time they choose to create and complete it.

The creation of Wills is now easy and fast and the user simply answers questions asked on the PC screen and their Will is created in front of their eyes into a tailored Will just for them. One of the questions asks supporters to consider making a charity legacy or residuary gift. At this point supporters can choose Yes or No to leaving a legacy, but what is interesting, is that many supporters might not even have considered leaving a legacy before and are now prompted to do so. They are encouraged to think about leaving part of their estate to others.

Over the past year, LawSense has encouraged new legacy income for charities which is an important income stream for them. The website has seen new legacies being made to national charities and local charities too, from healthcare charities, disabled charities, through to charities supporting local community activities and animals. Many charities have benefitted from increased legacy giving through online Will-making.

LawSense.co.uk is the online legal services website of 200-year-old law firm Brethertons LLP who is a recognised provider of probate, Wills and trusts advice. http://www.brethertons.co.uk

LawSense has been developed as a revolutionary way for your supporters to purchase quality legal documents, Wills and legal advice over the internet, with ease-of-use, cost-certainty and value for money. The purchase of a basic Will starts from as little as £75.00.

Speaking about the website, Shaun Jardine, Business Development Partner explained: “One of the problems with legacy fundraising, is that in order to leave a legacy, an individual must first make a Will and we know that over 60% of people die without making one. By introducing Will-making to be an easy online task, the site encourages more Wills to be made and thereby prompts more supporters to leave a legacy after their death.”

LawSense is one of the first websites in the UK to enable users of legal services to create legal documents online and interact with lawyers involved in the creation of the documents via the internet.

Logging onto the www.lawsense.co.uk site, users can select the document they require at any time they choose and immediately begin to complete it. The “Try for Free” option, allows users to see the document being created on screen. LawSense is powered by highly sophisticated and interactive document drafting technology which intelligently interviews the user, just as a solicitor would, about their needs. As each question is answered, the document is instantly amended on screen. In most cases the document is then reviewed by a lawyer who answers any questions and amends the document where necessary, ensuring it exactly reflects the user’s intentions.

Partner Elizabeth Young head of the Wills and Probate Team at Brethertons confirmed: “For every Will made in this way LawSense will donate an additional £5.00 to the designated charity.”

Shaun Jardine concluded: “The internet has revolutionised the way in which we purchase goods and do business, and there is no reason why Will-making charities cannot benefit from new technological Will-making opportunities.”

Charities who wish to find out more about www.LawSense.co.uk can contact the LawSense team for a charity legacy giving pack of information at: enquiries@lawsense.co.uk.

Visit www.lawsense.co.uk today.

One of the benefits of last year’s launch of www.lawsense.co.uk, the online website that allows business owners and directors access to create and purchase their own legal documents over the internet, is that the site contains a straightforward pack of documents that is designed to help chase bad debtors from the initial stages of lack of payment, right through to Court appearance.

LawSense is the online legal services website of 200-year old law firm Brethertons LLP. www.brethertons.co.uk

The debt recovery pack costs £125 for an initial series of reminder and letters before action (or unpaid invoice letters from as little as £19 each) and business owners can edit and purchase any number of straightforward letters that have been drafted by debt recovery litigation specialists at Brethertons. The legally-drafted letters from the site can be used to send to an individual or company that is withholding payment due to your business; the payment having been withheld against your agreed terms and conditions of trading.

Of course it is often the case that some debtors like withholding payment until a time when they can afford to pay, and some debtors don’t like to pay bills at all until they get a second or third reminder as a point of principle, helping to bolster their own cashflow or using the funds due to pay their untimely VAT demand, school fees or divorce settlement.  What ever reason they may have for not paying your company, one thing is certain, the law is on your side under The Companies Act 2006.  Under your terms and conditions for payment, debtors have a legal responsibility to pay you on time, and in full.  Failure to pay is against the trading contract they entered into when the provision of goods or services was initiated.

Getting paid can take up a disproportionate amount of your time, time that could be better spent running your business.  What www.lawsense.co.uk provides is a straightforward resolution that will most likely result in prompt payment without having to call upon expensive debt factoring services, or debt recovery specialists. A well-scribed legal letter could be just the medicine your business needs to stir your lazy debtors into payment.

The debt recovery pack contains the following items:

• Debt collection letters for unpaid invoices
• Form N1 – claim form for debt recovery
• Letter Before Action following earlier correspondence
• Letter Before Action for an outstanding invoice
• Reminder letter for an outstanding invoice payment
• Reminder letter for continued outstanding invoice payment

LawSense is the online legal services website of Brethertons LLP, one of the top firms of debt recovery litigation specialists in the South East*, so you know that the letters are not only crafted in a way that will stand-up in Court, if matters excel to that, but that you also know that Brethertons is on hand offering advice in conjunction with the letter pack if you need greater support, or if the matter turns contentious and needs to progress to Court to get what’s rightfully yours.

By logging onto the www.lawsense.co.uk site, users can view the debt recovery pack of letters and “Try For Free” to see how you create the letters on screen, and how you can tailor the contents to be relevant for the specific debtor in question.  The cost of the letter includes a final legal check by a qualified litigation lawyer, so you know that your letter will do the job.

Cashflow maintenance can be a burden, but don’t let it get out of hand.  It’s your money and you are entitled to be paid, so visit www.lawsense.co.uk today and see from the hundreds of business legal documents listed there those that might be right for you and your business which can be purchased at low cost and low effort over the internet.

In May 2010, Brethertons was recognised at the national Credit Today Awards and won “Litigation Team of the Year” for its Debt Recovery and Litigation services to clients…so your business is in safe hands.

*Source: The Legal 500.

Visit www.lawsense.co.uk today. enquiries@lawsense.co.uk.

I don’t know if any of you watched the One Show on Tuesday night, if you did then you would have heard the harrowing tale of the lady whose husband died intestate. I would love to say that this woman’s story was an anomaly, however latest estimates suggest that 60% of Britons die each year without having made allowances for those that they leave behind.

You may believe you don’t have the time, or this would never happen to you, or even that you don’t have anything to leave so why bother? Well this is not the case. Should you die without a will, then your estate will be split up according to the rules of intestacy. This does not mean that your wife/ parents/ family will get everything; the rules are highly complex and can make a traumatic circumstance far more painful, and expensive, for all involved.

Don’t think that you have the time? LawSense can allow you to create your will in the privacy and comfort of your own home, and as we’re online, then you can create a will anytime you like… There are a number of different options of Will for you to choose from, depending upon your circumstances. Unsure on which will is right for you, then our helpful Will advisor will guide you through all the legal jargon. Once you have decided on your type of will, our intelligent interviewing software will guide you through the process, tailoring the document to your exact requirements. Worried you have made a mistake? Don’t. The document will be thoroughly checked by one of our highly experienced solicitors before it is sent back to you, so you can be safe in the knowledge that should the worst happen your wishes will be respected.

Got a will already? We would advise that it is updated and reviewed every 5 years to ensure that everything is still up to date and fully covered. Want to book in for a review? Then click here to find out more.

Think you have nothing to leave? You could not be more wrong, there are a number of issues that are covered by wills, from money you owe through to who will look after your beloved pet once you have gone… Want to leave money to a charity, then look out for our legacy giving options online…If your situation is a little more complicated, then why not contact one of our experienced Wills, Trust and Probate Solicitors, they can talk you through the options about Tax Planning Wills, Lasting Power of Attorney and other options available to you and your family.

Need some more information before you commit? Then why not consult our comprehensive Law Guide beforehand, helping you to make an informed decision.

Make life easier for your loved ones; make a will at LawSense.co.uk today.

No one likes to waste their time, and in this current economic environment, no one can afford to. In the past year, the old cliché “time is money” has never seemed more relevant. With us all trying to fit more and more jobs into the day, the key isn’t to work harder, it is to work smarter…This is especially key to the numerous SME’s which make up the backbone of the British economy. These businesses, according to David Cameron speaking at the launch of LawSense.co.uk, will become the first sector to emerge from the current recession.

In his speech Mr Cameron continued to emphasise the importance of maximising your resources during this new business age. Making the most of all your resources is they key to Working Smarter and with many businesses tightening up their budgets; any activities that are undertaken have to be both time and cost effective. Shaun Jardine from Brethertons LLP reiterated this statement, explaining “In these challenging times we need to work smarter, not harder, in order to make our businesses successful”.

So how do we begin to “work smarter”, well, we at Brethertons believe that the internet is the key. With the proliferation of the online world, the internet has become an indispensible resource to us all, and a key weapon in our constant fight to save time and therefore money. The internet has created a new technological age, an instant access age. This belief effectively captures the thinking behind Brethertons innovative web offering LawSense.co.uk, a new way to deliver cost-effective legal services to both businesses and individuals in the 21st Century.

LawSense offers a legal revolution; legal services are no longer the preserve of those that can afford to pay for them. Through LawSense.co.uk, you and your business have access to cost effective legal services at the touch of a button quickly and easily. The services available are ideal for all SME’s with hundreds available covering everything from hiring a member of staff, to buying and selling a business. LawSense is a service which enables users of legal services to create legal documents online and interact with lawyers involved in the creation of the documents via the internet. So take control of your legal affairs and start “working smarter” today, with LawSense.co.uk.