Terms of Engagement

The Taylor Lucas Partnership Limited (hereinafter referred to as 'The Company') is a full member of The Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) and it operates in accordance with the IPW code of practice, copies of which are available free of the charge from the company or from the IPW (Trinity Point, New Road, Halesowen, B63 3HY) (w: www.ipw.org.uk)

(e: compliance@ipw.org.uk) (t: 0345 2572570).

Any issues of non-compliance with the IPW code of practice should be addressed to the IPW.

The purpose of this letter of engagement is to explain to you what your rights and obligations are and what rights and obligations the Company has. The terms of this agreement are governed by English laws and any dispute shall be resolved within the jurisdiction of the courts of England & Wales.

Definitions and Interpretations

“us” or “we” or “our” or “firm” shall mean the Company.

“you” or “your” shall mean our Client.

“Client” shall mean the person/persons using services provided by the Company.

“Matter” means any specific transaction in relation to which you ask us to provide services whether or not it has been defined in a letter or engagement or other agreement.

“Services” shall mean our products and services provided to you in relation to a specific matter whereby this may include various products brought together to form a package.

“Writing” includes emails. When we use the words "writing" or "written" in these terms of engagement, this includes emails.

“Website” means www.taylorlucas.co.uk

Our Company

The Taylor Lucas Partnership Limited is a legal services firm registered in England and Wales under Company No. 13283455 whose registered office is at No. 1 Parkside Court, Greenhough Road, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 7FE and trading address at First Floor, Unit 7, Morston Court, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS11 8JB.
The Clients relationship is with the Company and not with any individual member or employee of the Company.
Any advice that is given by the Company is based on its understanding of law, practices and procedures at the date of this agreement. The Company is not responsible for any consequences arising from any future changes in law, practices or procedures.
The Company has professional indemnity insurance of £2 million and public liability insurance of £5 million to cover claims and losses worldwide arising as a result of any negligent act by it or an employee of the Company

Services

The Taylor Lucas Partnership Limited is a Legal Service firm not a tax specialist including Inheritance Tax. Basic information may be provided and we may refer the Client to a specialist partner if necessary with the Client’s permission.
Note that some advisors within The Taylor Lucas Partnership Limited are able to provide financial advice through Taylor Lucas Financial Services Limited, an Appointed Representative of PRIMIS Mortgage Network, a trading name of First Complete Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The Company is obliged to give the Client the best advice. In some cases this may require additional products or services, provided at an extra cost either by the Company or another company recommended by the Company. The Client is under no obligation to take up any product or service, but the Company may require the Client to sign a disclaimer if the Client chooses not to the follow the advice provided by the Company or is in anyway contrary to our advice.

Fees & Charging

The Company fees for our services and products are attached in the form of a price list. Our standard will writing service is free of charge for those that meet the qualifying criteria; the Client may be an employee of one of many private and public sector service partners, for example.
Our fees do not include any expenses or payments to a third party ('disbursements'). Where possible, the Client will be billed / invoiced at the same time as the other work the Company undertakes on the Clients’ behalf.
The Company reserves the right to include an additional charge should any production of a document require special urgency.
The cost of correcting any error or omission on the part of the Company shall be borne entirely by the Company.
The Company shall provide advice free of charge in matters relating to this transaction for it's lifetime. The Company reserves the right to withdraw from any transaction if it is unable to complete any transaction in whole or in part but if it does so, the Client will be written to immediately and will not be liable for any fees.

Client Instructions

The validity and suitability of any advice or documents provided, depends upon the honesty and accuracy of the answers to our questions. The Company is not responsible for consequences arising from inaccurate or incomplete information provided by the Client.
Where Clients are instructing the Company as husband and wife, co‐habitees or partners, clients hereby jointly agree that until the Company is informed to the contrary, instructions from one Client will be deemed to be the instructions of both.
The Client will be expected to provide sufficient evidence of identity to enable the Company to confirm the Client’s identity and/or comply with Money Laundering Regulations.
The Company reserves the right to charge normal fees should the Client request an amendment to any document post completion and finalisation of all documents being approved and signed off by the Client but this is not applicable to any Client that subscribes to the Company’s Secure Document Storage offering.

Timescales

If an employee of the Company has agreed to send the Client draft documentation for review by the Client, this will not be more than 5 working days from the date full information and details have been provided by the Client.
The Client’s completed documents will be available for signing 10 working days from the date on which the Company has all the information it requires to complete the Client’s documents.
In the event the company is unable to meet the above timescale then the Client will be able to renegotiate this agreement or can cancel it without any obligation to pay any fees, if the Client has done so already.
If the Client is unable to provide all of the details and information that the Company requires to draft documents within 28 days of this agreement then you will be liable to pay half of any fees on the 28th day after this agreement has been put in place. Any fees paid at this time will be deducted from your final invoice.

Confidentiality & Data Protection

The legal basis on which any personal information that the Company collects from you, or that you provide to it in multiple forms such as during meetings; face to face or virtual, in correspondence, telephone conversations or by completing a contact form on the Company website.
Personal information may be processed by the Company for a number of legitimate purposes including;
To carry out its obligations under this agreement.
To provide you with information, products and/or services which the Company believes may be of interest to you, provided that you have given your consent.
For accounting purposes and statistical analysis.
The Company will maintain Client files for a period of 6 years after the conclusion of the matter or for a period of 6 years after you have notified us in writing that your document(s) have been revoked, whichever occurs first.
The Company may disclose your personal information to its partner firms who it relies on to provide its services to you, but in doing so it will ensure it applies the same or greater controls in terms of data protection.
The Company may also disclose your personal information in the following circumstances;
If the Company or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal information held by us by our customers will be one of the transferred assets.
To prevent fraud or required to do so by law.
The Company will not disclose any of your personal information to anyone outside of the Company without your specific permission.
Whenever the Company processes personal information, it will ensure that it always keeps the personal data rights of you and anyone whose personal information you provide in high regard and will take account of these rights. You have the right to object to this processing and if you wish to do so, please contact the Company in writing. Please bear in mind that if you object, it may affect the ability of the Company to carry out its obligations under this agreement and/or to provide products or services to you.
All personal information will be held by the Company under appropriate security.
You have a right to request a copy of the personal information provided by you that the Company processes. If you would like a copy of some or all of this personal information, please contact the Company.
If you wish to raise a complaint on how your personal information has been handled, please contact the Company Data Protection Officer who shall investigate further. If you are not satisfied with the response or believe we are not processing your personal information in accordance with the law, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) (w: www.ico.org.uk) (t: 0303 123 1113).

Complaints

If the Client is not happy with any aspect of service provided by the Company, the Client should first contact the advisor or case officer in control of the Client’s case.
If the Client wishes to make a complaint about any aspect of the service provided by the Company, the Client must in the first instance inform the Companies Office Manager, Amanda Lockett in writing (e:info@taylorlucas.co.uk). The Client’s letter will be acknowledged within 5 days of receipt. The Company will then investigate the circumstances of the complaint and write to the Client with the results of the investigation within 56 days of receipt of the complaint. If the Company do not find in the Client’s favour, the Client can contact the Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) who operate an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) that will consider the Client’s complaint. Please note the Client must raise a concern with the Company before the Client can access (ADRIPW).
These complaints procedures do not prevent the Client from seeking other means of redress.

Notice Of Right To Cancel

If the Client wishes to cancel this contract, you must do so in writing by electronic mail to info@taylorlucas.co.uk within 7 days of the date of this agreement. Where notice of cancellation is received within this 7-day period the Client will not be charged for any instructed work. This is called a cooling-off period.
A Client can cancel this agreement later than 7 days after the date of this agreement, however unless the cancellation is due to a delay on the part of the Company the Client will be liable to pay half of the full fee for works instructed but not completed and the full fee for any works completed prior to the date of the cancellation.
The Company will acknowledge receipt of notice of cancellation in writing within 7 days.
The Client can request in writing that the Company can start work on documentation before the expiry of 7 days (the cooling-off period), providing full information has been provided by the Client and is accurate to the best knowledge of the Client.
The Company reserves the right to withdraw it's service completely to any Client that cancels their appointment(s) on any level of our process on more than two occasions. The Company will write to the Client to confirm such decision.
The Company reserves the right to withdraw it's service completely to any Client that does not respond to or acknowledge any correspondence for a continuous period of 28 days. The Company will write to the Client to confirm such decision.

It is important that you read and understand the above terms before signing. Only sign if you wish to be bound by these Terms of Engagement.