By Sarah McDermott, Private Client Paralegal
Traditionally getting advice from a Solicitor involved making an appointment, and taking time off work to go to the Solicitor’s office during the working day. Some Solicitors offer home visit appointments.
However, as a result of the global pandemic, some Solicitors have adapted their offering to align to the requirements of their clients. We recognise that people need flexibility, and so can see clients at their home or work, or wherever is convenient.
Having a meeting with clients on a face-to-face basis is not just a tradition, but actually can be an important part of providing appropriate legal advice. Solicitors need to check you are who you say you are, and will check and take a copy of identification. We also like to see you as we can ensure that you want to make the decisions or take the action we discuss, without the undue influence of others. We can also fully understand any issues which could affect your capability to make legal decisions.
However, we have learned to adapt our practices and some clients may find a remote appointment more convenient. There is the opportunity to use technology to conduct these remote appointments and still carry out our best service.
Much of our work, in the field of Wills, Trusts and Probate, can be carried out by telephone or video calling applications, whether via computer or mobile phone. The process for you as the client is largely unchanged, you meet with us, we discuss your needs and we provide the advice you need and create legal documentation and instruments. There may be some additional questions from your Solicitor, this is purely to make sure that everything is done correctly, providing the reassurance that everything will be legally valid.
To find out if a remote appointment would be appropriate for you, please contact us on 01630 652405 or sarah@onionsanddavies.co.uk. We are happy to discuss with you whether we can help you and provide peace of mind.