Personal Injury Claims

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• Car Accident Claims
• Whiplash Claims
• Motorbike Accidents
• Uninsured Driver & Untraced Driver
• Repetitive Strain Injury claim
• Skin rashes/Dermatitis
• Employer’s Negligence Claims
• Catastrophic injury /Fatal Accidents

For a fuller explanation of these types of claim and our expertise and approach in helping you secure adequate compensation please download the Small & Marken Personal Injury Brochure below.

Our dedicated family lawyers are members of the Guardian Ad Litem Panel of Solicitors and trained Collaborative Lawyers. We provide cost effective legal solutions for all family matters.

Our particular areas of Family Law practice include the following:

• Divorce / Separation
• Children
• Financial Settlements
• Domestic Violence and Non – Molestation
• Adoption

We aim to provide you with clear, common sense, yet sensitive advice, in what can be a difficult time for you and will provide you with professional and confidential advice.

Divorce/Separation

There are many factors to be resolved in any relationship breakdown. We can advise you on property settlements, spousal maintenance, custody of children, contact with children. We aim to achieve the best result for you while trying to avoid animosity wherever possible.

We can also advise you in relation to your child’s future. If married, parents may share joint parental responsibility for your child before, during and after divorce or separation.

If you wish to speak to us about any query in respect of applying for or defending divorce or in respect of other factors relating to your divorce such as property settlement, maintenance, custody of children and contact with your children, then please contact us.

We appreciate that the breakdown of a relationship is a difficult and stressful time for you. We aim to make the procedure of divorce as simple, swift and as amicable as possible.

Alternatively, if you do not wish to obtain a divorce for social or religious reasons, then we can advise you in relation to Judicial Separation Proceedings. This will ensure that your rights in relation to your children and to ensure that your finances are fully protected.

We can represent you no matter where you live, if your case proceeds in the Northern Irish Courts. If you would like us to act for you now, we can arrange an initial free consultation or alternatively, we can deal with all matters through email, telephone and letters if it is not easy for you to come to our office.

Children

We aim to work with you to ensure that the best arrangements for your children, including their financial support, is achieved. Two of our dedicated Family Law Solicitors are members of the Guardian Ad Litem Panel of Solicitors and can offer specific advice in respect of children.

We aim, wherever possible to achieve amicable solutions for your children. However, where that is not possible then we can apply to court, on your instruction, for a court order in respect of contact with your child, a residence order, or a parental responsibility order, a prohibited steps order.

Financial Settlement

We aim to assist you to achieve financial settlement that is realistic, and to ensure that you retain sufficient assets / income, for your future life.

We shall advise you as to your entitlement and negotiate on your behalf and pursue court proceedings, where appropriate, to ensure that you achieve the apportionment that you deserve.

Domestic Violence / Non – Molestation

We aim to respond quickly to your urgent situation. The violence that you are subjected to may be both Physical and Psychological. We will discuss your situation and advise you as to how to best protect you and your children, if applicable.

We can help you to apply to the court for a Court Order to prevent your abuser from coming near you. That order carries a power of arrest, providing you with immediate and effective protection.

Adoption

If you wish to adopt a child then we can help you with all of the legal procedural requirements needed to establish a legal application for adoption and any subsequent legal requirements that may arise.

We can help you with the Purchase – Sale or Leasing of office – Industrial and retail or even – Private/domestic premises.

We can also advise you in relation to lease negotiations and completion for both Landlords and Tenants. Our domestic conveyancing complies with the standards set down by the Law Society’s Home Charter Scheme. 

We shall endeavour to deal with your transactions as quickly and as efficiently as possible and keep you updated at all stages of the transaction. As well as providing the above services, we also deal with the following areas of property law:

• Commercial property investment, sale or refinancing.
• Purchase of building sites.
• Mortgages/remortgages.
• Buy to let/Property Investment clients.
• Advice on Letting Agreements.
• Purchase & sale of houses

We ensure that your property move progresses as smoothly as possible. We offer a thorough and professional service, providing excellent value for money, with a friendly and approachable team, who are always ready to exist.

When the Police or Courts are involved, you need specialist legal advice that you can trust.

Our Dedicated Criminal Department are Specialised Solicitors in the defence of Serious Crime including Murder, Manslaughter, Assault, Drug Supply and Possession, Fraud, Motoring offences.

Our dedicated Criminal Department can provide you with expert legal advice and defence representation in court if you are suspected of, or charged with, any criminal offence.

We can visit you in prison to discuss your case, if you require.

We undertake a detailed preparation of your defence where matters proceed to trial, which will include a detailed assessment and examination of the prosecution case against you, and the preparation of defence witness statements. We also undertake to instruct barristers in your case, where appropriate.

We have acted in many high profile cases over the years, acting for clients charged with the most serious Criminal offences. We offer a free initial consultation.

Our Criminal Department is able to deal with all criminal offences and our Specialised Crime Team are available to deal with your case on an emergency basis.

We provide an emergency call out service for any person arrested on suspicion of committing a criminal offence. All advice and assistance in the police station is absolutely free no matter what your personal financial circumstances. We provide an excellent service from the point of arrest right through to the final day in Court.

We provide a premier service to those clients who find themselves before the Courts on Criminal Charges. Our specialist criminal practitioners have amassed a wealth of experience in dealing with even the most serious criminal charges.

We can provide you with a full range of services incorporating the complete administration of an estate. In particular, our services include:

• Completion of Inheritance Tax returns;
• Court Applications;
• Transfer of Assets;
• Payment of debts;
• Distribution of estate according to Will / Intestacy rules.

We welcome the opportunity to talk with you and to discuss how we may be of service.

Contentions, Trusts & Estates

Thankfully disputes about wills, probates and Trusts are uncommon, But when they do arise, they can be extremely upsetting for all the people involved, particularly the deceased’s next of kin.

Occasionally, wills can be challenged and a claim may be made against the Deceased’s estate on the basis that they did not adequately provide for Family and Dependants. It is important that you do so quickly as there are important time limits that must be adhered to if you are to successfully challenge the validity of a Will – in fact, on some occasions, you have as little as six months in which you may do so. 

Therefore, if you think that you might have a claim then it is important that you contact us as soon as possible. we offer a free initial interview in order to discuss and assess your case.

Making a Will is good common sense.

There are many reasons why you should make a Will, such as:

• If you do not make a will then you shall have no say in how your estate should be distributed upon your death and those whom you wish to benefit may not do so;

• If you do not make a will then your estate shall be administered according to the rules of Intestacy. However, under these rules the surviving spouse can be treated quite harshly;

• A will can be an effective tax planning tool, through which your inheritance tax liability can be reduced or avoided.

Upon receipt of your enquiry we shall contact you and outline what further information we require from you in order to enable us to draft a Will on your behalf and to ensure that the legal formalities are complied with.

Our job is to give you peace of mind about what will happen after you die. We can provide you with the reassurance of knowing that you have made sensible provision for your loved ones by preparing a legally valid and properly drafted Will on your behalf.

If you are unclear as to why you should make a Will or what happens if you die without making a Will, then you may find our Will facts below useful.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What is a Will?

A will is a document in which you outline what you would like to happen to your estate upon your death. Your estate comprises of any assets that you own at the date of your death. No matter how little you feel your estate is worth, it is important that you make a Will. Your Will is your opportunity for you to confirm:

1. Who you wish to appoint as Executor to your Will; and
2. How you would like to have your funeral arranged; and
3. Whether you wish to provide to charity; and
4. Who you wish to give your personal items to; and
5. Who you wish to act as Guardian for your children; and
6. How you wish to provide for your children.

2. What happens if you don’t make a Will?

If you don’t make a Will then delays may be caused, along with unnecessary anxiety, for family members and loved ones. If you died without leaving a Will then your estate shall be distributed accordingly to the laws of Intestacy and you shall have no say in the distribution of your estate.

3. How much will making a Will cost?

Making a Will can be relatively inexpensive. We shall provide you with a quotation upon receipt of your formal enquiry.

However, in order to assist you with the preparation of your Will, we have designed a very simple guide that will help you to understand why it is important to consider making a Will.