Free Legal Information on the Web for Individuals Organised by Topics
maintained by Delia Venables
Please note that this page provides links to sources of legal information on the web, but I have no means of knowing whether the information provided on these sites is correct or not. If you know of other useful sources of free legal information, please tell me - delia@venables.co.uk Last updated on March 30th.

Scotland

Scottish Law differs in some respects from the law of England and Wales. These sources relate to specifically Scottish law.

  • The Law Society of Scotland offers information for the general public on Scots Law and a History and Structure of the Courts. There is a comprehensive description of 40 legal topics called Dial-a-Law and a directory of all Scottish Lawyers which can be used to find all lawyers in, say, Aberdeen, as well as to find particular individuals or firms. The list can be used to find accredited experts (solicitors) in specific fields of law, such as IP, employment and so on.
  • Govan Law Centre has fact sheets and advice on many topics of law in Scotland
  • Several Scottish firms provide access on their websites to a database of Scottish Law, for example: Anderson Strathern, Murray Beith Murray, Jameson & Mackay, Lindsays and Balfour & Manson. There are question and answer sections, as well as factsheets and some basic documents.
  • Citizens Advice Scotland provides extensive and detailed information on Benefits, Civil Rights, Communications, Consumer Affairs, Education, Employment, Family Matters, Health, Housing, Immigration, Legal System, Tax, and Travel. The viewer can also search the site for particular topics or keywords. You can find a local office by naming the town or area.
  • Cairns Brown - Alexandria and Dumbarton, near Glasgow, provides information on crime, arrest and police powers, as well as divorce and accident claims.
  • Carol Garvie - Brechin, Angus, provides a calulator on her site to calculate a person's eligibility for civil legal aid in Scotland. There is also information specifically about divorce in Scotland.
  • McCourts offers information relevant to Scotland, about how to deal with the police, police powers, your rights and duties, and about making statements.
  • Graham Walker, of Glasgow, offers information on road traffic law in Scotland, and generally how to protect your licence
  • Lawdocs offers Scottish legal documents, both domestic and business, which you can fill in online and then download. It is run by a company called SDE publishing Ltd, of Edinburgh and supported by McGrigor Donald, a large firm of Scottish solicitors. (There is also free information on English law).
  • Scottish Human Rights Trust is the educational arm of the Scottish Human Rights Centre, in Glasgow. The trust, started in 1979, believes that "you do not have rights until you know about them" and provides access to human rights materials for the general public. There is a substantial introduction to the Human Rights Act and links to other bodies concerning Human Rights.
  • Govan Law Centre (Glasgow) provides Scots law 'basic advice' pages on consumer affairs, housing, neighbour nuisance, school exclusions, and other topics; a legal resources section including caselaw on small claims, developments on the law of debt (from a debtor's perspective), basic guide for organisation looking for charitable status etc., and information on free or low cost legal events.
  • Legal Services Agency is a Scottish charity offering legal assistance to the disadvantaged as well as courses and training in legal subject areas. Housing and social welfare law are especially covered both in the courses and in the advice and all initial advice is free. The Agency is funded by local authorities and the Scottish Office.
  • Scottish Law is a commercial organisation offering information on this topic.

    Buying and Selling Property in Scotland...

  • Robson McLean offer free "Fact Sheets" on buying and selling property in Scotland (take "Free Legal Information")
  • The Edinburgh Solicitors' Property Centre.
  • The Glasgow Solicitors' Property Centre, including free legal advice on property matters.
  • Georgesons - Thurso and Wick, offer good information on home buying in Scotland.

    Solicitors' Costs

  • Click on Costs is a site dedicted to information on solicitors' costs in contentious matters. The author of the site is solicitor Barbara Swirski who has represented many solicitors and members of the public upon disputed bills both in the County and High Courts. There is information on solicitors' fees and how they are disputed, a description of what is a Remuneration Certificate, how to start the procedure for challenging a bill, and information on all county Courts giving the limit set on fees for each grade of solicitor at the court, where available.

    Tax and Financial Advice

  • The Chartered Institute of Taxation provides tax information for beginners and for experts.
  • The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group is an initiative of the Chartered Institute of Taxation which gives a voice to those who cannot afford to pay for help with tax and tax credits. There is useful information on the site particularly for Pensioners, Students and Low income workers.
  • Robert Newey & Co. - London, provides information on UK taxation, including VAT, employment and international tax issues.
  • Taxcafe is an advice site offering various inexpensive guides on tax issues, aimed at individuals and small businesses. There is also a useful directory of websites on tax topics under the "Links" section.

    Tsunami - Free Legal Assistance for Tsunami Victims

  • The Solicitors Pro Bono Group is coordinating the involvement of volunteer lawyers and law firms wishing to assist those affected by the Tsunami. They have set up a national legal assistance helpline and can take details of cases from the relatives of victims or those affected in other ways. The helpline (020-7090-7363) is open from 9:30 until 4:30 every weekday. The phone is manned by lawyer volunteers who take contact details, an outline of the legal matter and any major insurance companies or banks which might be involved. They then put the data on a secure online database to which selected volunteer lawyers have access and the person is contacted directly by the lawyer. There is also a contact page on the web here.

    Wills, Probate, Death, Coroners

  • Solicitors for the Elderly is a national association of solicitors, barristers and legal executives who are concerned with improving the availability and delivery of legal services to older people. The site contains a list of member solicitors, arranged by town or area, and also a very good set of links to other bodies concerned with elderly people and the law, benefits, health, illness, disability, wills and so on.

  • probatesdirect.co.uk, a site set up by Lister Croft Partnership, of Wakefield, Pudsey & Ilkley, covers the issues surrounding bereavement. There is information on dealing with the registrar, meeting the funeral expenses and arranging the funeral. Legal guidance is also available with advice on who to call for more help and there is a set of links to a wide range of support organisations. The site also allows you to apply for a grant of probate on-line (charged service).

  • Probate Helper provides a free "ask a question" email service on probate topics. There is also a jargon buster and other information about probate and wills on the site. They also offer access to 75 probate solicitor panel members around England, Wales and some parts of Spain.

  • thewillplace.com is a national will registration service. It allows members of the public to register the whereabouts of their wills and enables people dealing with probate to search for missing wills. Members of the public can search on a name to see if there is a will and, if there is, the person will be referred to a probate solicitor in their area. Professionals can register with the site and can then, on production of a death certificate, search the database and retrieve the deceased's will details.

  • IHT-Solutions is a blog (commentary) on all Inheritance Tax (IHT) matters by solicitor and IHT specialist, Paul Solomons, of Frettens LLP. It is written for the ordinary person with an interest in wills and IHT as well as other lawyers.

  • The Coroners' Law Resource is a set of pages created by Paul Matthews, of the School of Law, King's College, London. The pages are intended to assist both the non-lawyer and the lawyer on this topic. The site includes a description of what a coroner does, relevant legislation and textbook material.

    Mainly Wills...
    Firms of solicitors (and a few companies) offering information and also, in some cases, actually preparing the wills on line:

  • Barcan Woodward - Bristol City Centre, North Bristol, South Bristol, provides a set of question and answers on wills and probate.
  • Blake Lapthorn - Fareham, London, Portsmouth, Southampton & Brussels, provide a FAQ section.
  • Berryman Shacklock - Nottingham, provide useful information regarding Wills and related areas such as Probate, Tax, Trusts, Powers of Attorney and Asset Preservation.
  • Brethertons - Rugby and Banbury, take details online for your will.
  • Dickinson Dees, of Newcastle, offer a special area of their site called Peace of Mind which provides information and documents for the individual and includes the ability to make a will online.
  • Fidler & Pepper - Nottinghamshire, provide a facility for you to prepare your will online.
  • Thomas Flavell & Sons - Hinckley, Earl Shilton and Market Bosworth, Leicestershire, offers information on making a will, administering an estate, and advice for the elderly.
  • Foreman Laws - Hitchin, Herts, offer wills.co.uk which provides lots of information on this topic and the ability to make one online.
  • Kaye Tesler & Co. - London, provides and information and will take details online for your will.
  • Gordons Cranswick - Leeds, Bradford and Keighley, provides Frequently Asked Questions on wills and probate.
  • Hyde Mahon Bridges - London, provide wills online
  • Law on the Web, a legal information site - take "legal basics"
  • Learnedcounsel.com (the firm of Gabb & Co., Hereford, Abergavenny) offers information on wills, enduring powers of attorney and trusts.
  • Pearson Maddin - New Malden and Surbiton
  • Rogers & Norton - Norwich
  • Shoosmiths - National, multi-branch firm
  • SGC Solicitors - Nottingham, provides "Fact Sheets" on long term care planning, inheritance tax, enduring powers of attorney and wills.
  • Sure Will is a will writing service online.
  • Stafford Young Jones - London, provide a guide to making a will.
  • The Will Site is a company providing a will making service and also advice from a solicitor. There is lots of useful information.
  • Trethowans - Salisbury and Southampton
  • Wallace & Co. - Balham, London
  • Terry & Co. - Essex
  • Will to Live is a service which enables someone to write a will easily and at an affordable price, with free and unlimited consultation time for all prospective clients. Prices start at 35.
  • Wollastons - Chelmsford, Essex. Take "News and updates".
  • compactlaw.co.uk

    Grant of Probate and Letters of Administration

  • Kaye Tesler were the first UK firm to offer legal services online and they have continued to do so steadily for quite a few years. Now they have developed a new online service to prepare a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration according to the new regulations. I quote here from Michael Kaye's email to me.

    "Prior to October 2004 the way in which one applied for either a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration on a smaller estate was for the applicant to swear a form of Affidavit which in effect said that the estate was less than a certain value and provided the Affidavit was correctly drawn, a Grant would follow. For many years I offered a very simple service online. I took the view that the man in the street would be able to ascertain the value of the deceased’s estate and, once he had the Grant, he would be able to gather in and distribute the estate either in accordance with the Will or the rules of intestacy. The problem that faced the man in the street was actually drawing the Affidavit and obtaining the Grant himself. I therefore provided a scheme via the internet whereby for a set fee persons would visit my website, answer some simplified questions and I would use the answers to draw the Affidavit and obtain the Grant for them, allowing them to deal with the administration themselves.

    In October 2004 the system changed. Not only was the Affidavit required but it had to be accompanied by a Revenue & Customs questionnaire (form IHT205). Even when dealing with a small estate the questionnaire is detailed and certainly one that the man in the street would find difficult to complete.

    My new service addresses this problem. Once again it is aimed at the average estate under the inheritance tax limit and intended only to obtain the Grant leaving the client to use that Grant and administer personally. It seeks the information necessary to complete both the IHT205 form and the requisite Affidavit. There are so many variations that it is impractical to cover all but the most common in the program. If any answer given by a client falls outside the norm they are prompted to phone us at no extra charge."

    Each service costs £300 (plus VAT and disbursements). The site provides a great deal of useful information on these topics (provided for free whether or not the person is actually taking the service) on the site.

    Two sites relating to wills, probate, missing heirs and intestacy

  • The Bona Vacantia Division of the Treasury Solicitor's Department deals with the assets of dissolved companies and the estates of people who die intestate and without known kin. (Bona Vacantia means Vacant Goods). The site has a facility for relatives of people who die intestate to search the records and there is also an auction on the site of domain names previously owned by dissolved companies. There are also guidelines on policy and "how it all works".
  • Fraser & Fraser is a firm of genealogists which specialises in probate research to locate missing heirs and beneficiaries. The site has a good description of what probate research involves. They can also help find wills, obtain copies of certificates, help to administer an estate, calculate how an estate, intestacy or trust should be distributed. They can work either for firms of solicitors or for individuals who think there could be a bequest waiting for them.

    Ireland....

  • Wills.ie - Cork, offers information on these topics, a free (very simple) will, and other more complicated wills at various prices from 80 euros upwards.

    Scottish company..

  • scotwills is a company offering to create wills online for 35. There is lots of free information as well as the actual will creation.

    Women's Issues

  • Rights of Women is a womens voluntary organisation committed to informing, educating and empowering women concerning their legal rights. Founded in 1975, they offer free confidential legal advice by phone. The site provides information on the organisation and also a series of information sheets (in pdf) on divorce, child contact orders, child residence orders, and parental responsibility. The site also features downloadable copies of research and policy papers and a set of links in this policy area.

    Go back to Topics index

    Note to solicitors or other providers of free legal information for individuals:
    Please email me - delia@venables.co.uk

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