National Swim Team for 2019 as well as representing Jamaica at the Carifta Swimming Championships in Barbados.Jaedon is one of the youngest members in his age group to be selected, and will be heading out to the Championships in Barbados this April.Manak Solicitors are very proud to be his official sponsor for the 2019 swimming season. Jaedon is ranked as a Top 5 swimmer in the Kent County and South East region in most 50m and 100m events. We wish Jaedon the best of luck at the Carifta Swimming Championships!Original Article – http://sevenoakssc.org/index.php/component/k2/item/656-sevenoaks-swimmer-jaedon-lynch-picked-to-represent-jamaica-at-the-carifta-swimming-championships 

On 28th January 2019, the UK Government outlined arrangements that are to put in place for EU citizens if the UK was to leave the EU on 29 March 2019 without a deal. The Government has made it clear that this policy does not apply to EU citizens already living in the UK, prior to 29 March 2019. Those already in the UK will be protected by the EU Settlement Scheme.If there is no deal reached between the UK and the EU by 29 March 2019, EU citizens will be able to enter the UK for the purpose of visiting, working or studying, for up to 3 months free of charge. Stays of longer than 3 months will however require European Temporary Leave to Remain, which if granted, will be valid for a period of 3 years, and will be subject to a fee.Those wishing to stay in the UK for longer than 3 years will be required to apply for further leave to remain under the new skills-based immigration system, which is due to begin in 2021.Irish citizens are exempt from the policy and will not need to apply for European Temporary Leave. They will continue to enjoy the right to enter and live in the UK under the Common Travel Area.If you have any concerns or questions over immigration law, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team of specialists.Kemesha LynchHead of ImmigrationManak Solicitors29.01.2019

Manak Solicitors are once again proud to be the official sponsors of 13-year-old competitive swimmer Jaedon Lynch for the new swimming season 2019. Jaedon competes for Sevenoaks Swimming Club and is currently ranked as a top 5 swimmer in the Kent county and the South East Region in most 50m and 100m events. Jaedon is preparing for the Kent County Swimming Championships which starts on 20th January 2018 at the London Aquatic Centre. Jaedon is the reigning Kent Champion in 50m Breast Stroke and is hoping to re gain this title and to win more gold medals at the championships in other events.Jaedon’s goal is to qualify for the British Swimming Championships in Summer 2019 and to again be selected to represent Jamaica at the Caribbean Swimming Championships and the Central American Swimming Championships in April and July 2019. The qualification for these events is tough but Jaedon is working hard to achieve his dream.Manak Solicitors wishes Jaedon all the best for the season ahead.

Here is a short video showing our Virtual Reality Experience and Giant Snow Globe from Light Up Orpington 2018!VID_20181115_182021_1 from Manak Solicitors on Vimeo.

With the amazing success of last year’s event, Manak Solicitors will be back at the Light Up Orpington event with Christmassy Virtual Reality games for everyone to play!Manak Solicitors Christmas Virtual Reality Experience_5 from Manak Solicitors on Vimeo.Have a snowball fight in the middle of the High Street, without the snow! Everything is possible in VR and the massively popular Merry Snowballs VR game will be an experience you do not want to miss.The Light Up Orpington event is on Thursday 15th November, starting at 4pm. The use of the VR headsets will be completely free of charge and anyone can have a go! Our VR experts will be on hand for any problems and to show you how to use the devices. We will also have a giant snowglobe for you to take photos with. You won’t want to miss it!To see what we got up to last year, take a look at our blog post here or check out the short video above!

All of our office are now fully trained Dementia Friends!Our very own Wills & Probate Solicitor Nosheen Bukhari has been travelling across the Manak offices at Gravesend, Sevenoaks and Orpington giving enlightening training sessions on the effects of dementia and how we can all help those affected. These sessions took place over the past few weeks and have given us all ideas into how we can help people with dementia and make life easier for them.Dementia Friends is an initiative created by the Alzheimer’s Society to raise the awareness of dementia and the ways that we can help in our own way. By learning about dementia, we can have a bigger impact on those affected and provide help and understanding to clients.Nosheen is a Dementia Friends Champion, which is a volunteer that encourages others to make a difference to those living with dementia. Nosheen took the time to provide a training session to each of our offices and provide us with a bite of lunch as well! Through these training sessions, we learnt how to aid those living with dementia and what to do if one of our clients may have it.Everyone who attended received a Dementia Friends badge, that you may see when you have a meeting with one of our solicitors! These badges represent that we are helping to build dementia-friendly communities and encouraging the conversation about dementia.If you would like to learn more about Dementia Friends and sign up to be a Dementia Friend or Champion, please visit their website at www.dementiafriends.org.uk .

Light Up Orpington was a huge success! Firstly we would like to thank everyone that came over to our stall and tried our amazing virtual reality games, as well as having a go in our giant snowglobe!Our team of experts set up two HTC Vive Virtual Reality systems. One system with the rhythm based lightsaber game BeatSaber, and the other with the massively popular Merry Snowballs, just to get you in the holiday spirit. We had a lot of people wanting to try out the games, and it was great to see the smiles on peoples faces as they were transported to this other ‘virtual’ world!Our Giant Snowglobe was also a huge hit, with so many people wanting to have a play in the snow on a rather warm evening. It’s amazing to see everyones photos in the snowglobe on social media, we are very glad that you all enjoyed taking photos with our Manak Snowman!We also provided sweets and drinks for everyone to keep you going on a busy night.We would like to give a big shout out to Sunshine Events for providing the VR and Snowglobe for us. And also a big thank you to Orpington 1st for somehow making the event bigger and better each and every year!And of course, thank you once again to every single person that came to see us at the event. It was amazing to see the Christmas spirit of the Orpington locals, and watch you enjoy the activities we put on for you. Thank you!

PRESS RELEASELocal solicitor, Nosheen Bukhari from Manak Solicitors issues warning about the Government’s online tool for Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)LPA tool leaving people at risk of financial abuse and fraudCoalition of organisations including Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE), Action on Elder Abuse, Anchor, Contact the Elderly and SOLLA are backing new reportLocal solicitor Nosheen Bukhari from Manak Solicitorsbased in Orpington has joined a number of organisations representing older and vulnerable people to raise serious concerns around the Government’s online tool for creating Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs).An LPA is a powerful legal document that allows a person to appoint trusted individuals to make important decisions about care and finances on their behalf, in the event of a loss of mental capacity through an accident or illness such as dementia.In May 2014, the Government’s Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) launched its online LPA tool, which it claims allows people to create the documents without the need for professional advice from a solicitor.But a new report, published by a coalition of organisations led by SFE, warns that anyone creating an LPA without taking specialist legal advice faces a significantly higher risk of being left with an ineffective legal document, incurring additional application fees, and even becoming a victim of fraud or coercion.The report also raises concerns around the potential of a completely digital system proposed by the OPG, whereby ‘wet signatures’ – the physical signing of the document – would no longer be required.Nosheen Bukhari is a Full Accredited member of SFE, and said: “The prospect of being able to submit an LPA application entirely digitally is extremely concerning, and raises some serious questions around the potential for fraud and financial abuse.”During a study conducted for the report, participants were invited to create LPAs using the OPG’s online tool and other ‘DIY’ methods. The study revealed that:Some of the forms did not accurately express the way in which participants would want their affairs and welfare to be handled in the futureDocuments made using DIY methods were more likely to contain elementary mistakes, rendering them ineffective and requiring additional application feesFollowing consultation with a solicitor, most participants made significant changes to the permissions of their documents regarding how and by whom their affairs were managedJune McSparron, a 75-year-old who participated in the study, said: “You’re exposing yourself to a lot of risk by filling this form in on your own. There are so many bits that you can get wrong, and you can easily be pressured into making choices that you’re not entirely comfortable with.”The number of LPAs being registered has increased steadily since the launch of the online tool, with over half a million registered in 2015/16 alone. The OPG is actively trying to convince more people to apply for LPAs online, having set a target for the service to comprise 30% of all applications from April 2016 to March 2017. In its latest Annual Report, the OPG even admits it is willing to take ‘risks’ in striking a balance between ‘empowering and safeguarding’.With the OPG already receiving over 1,000 calls to its contact centre every day, the organisations behind the campaign say the Government body is potentially exposing people to unacceptable levels of risk and in doing so may be compromising its ability to safeguard those who are most vulnerable.Nosheen Bukhari said: “An LPA is by far the most powerful and important legal document an individual can have, because it allows you to pass potentially life-changing decisions about your affairs on to a third party.“It’s absolutely right that people should be planning ahead for the future with LPAs, but granting someone this sort of authority over your affairs is an extremely big responsibility for all parties involved. This is a specialist area of the law, and we recommend that anyone considering an LPA goes to a legal expert to ensure they get the right advice, consider all the options, and safeguard themselves for the future.”To download the report ‘The Real Cost of DIY LPAs’ go to: https://sfe.legal/downloads/-Ends-

With over two million landlords in the UK renting properties to tenants, it is more important than ever for landlords and tenants to understand their rights when it comes to terminating a tenancy.One way in which a landlord can seek possession of his property is by virtue of section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (“section 21”). A notice pursuant to section 21 can be served on a tenant at any stage of the tenancy but not within the first four months of a tenancy. In addition, a section 21 notice cannot be served by a landlord in retaliation to any complaints raised by the tenant about the property.A section 21 notice runs for a period of two clear months and upon expiry of the notice, the tenant must leave the property. A failure to vacate may lead to the landlord initiating a possession claim in the courts to obtain an order for possession, and the tenant may find themselves liable for the landlord’s costs for bringing said claim.The notice itself must be in a specific, prescribed format and it is important for landlords to note that a section 21 notice can only be used where the following documents have been served on the landlord at the commencement of the tenancy:“How to rent” checklistEPC certificateGas safety certificatePrescribed information about the protection of any depositIn addition, if the landlord has taken a deposit from the tenant, this must have been protected in a tenancy deposit scheme within 30 days of receiving the deposit. If the deposit has not been protected, a section 21 notice cannot be served. Further, the tenant may also claim against the landlord for a value of up to 3 times the value of the deposit, due to the landlord’s failure to correctly protect it.If you are a landlord who requires assistance with obtaining possession of a property, or if you are a tenant who has been served with a section 21 notice, it is important that you understand your legal rights and the options available to you. Telephone our offices on 01689 870 769 to book in for an initial consultation with one of our experienced property solicitors today.By Amarjit Atwal