Owen White Catlin Reviews 6

We had to switch solicitors half way through our house purchase recently and our case was far from straightforward.

Clive Cooke from the Greenwich branch took our case and made the near impossible happen for us. He was diligent, committed and kept us informed throughout the process at all times unlike our first solicitor.
He did an excellent job and we cannot thank him enough.

In his recent letter to The Northern Echo newspaper, Richard Atkinson, President of The Law Society in England and Wales, mentioned the 200th anniversary of The Law Society and praised the work of solicitors. (Honouring Solicitors,17th February 2025)

He stated: 'Nearly eight in 10 people who have used a solicitor in the past five years report positive experiences'.

What Mr Atkinson didn't mention is that only 16% of the population believe that the law treats everyone equally.

Nowhere, I believe, is this lack of equality, more apparent than in matters relating to wills and probates. For it is impossible to challenge a will in the UK unless you already have the funds to employ a solicitor or if you qualify for a legal aid under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

My mother died in August 2023 and her will was published in March 2024. It was a shock to discover that this was a changed will to the one my father made just before he died in 1998. This will was made, in great secrecy and with undue haste, on 25th February 2010 at Owen White & Catlin’s (OWC) Ashford, Middlesex office. On that day my mother was 82 years old - frail and vulnerable and not as independent, coherent and strong as she had been.

It was also a shock to discover that my youngest sister (who died six weeks before our mother in 2023) and I had been disinherited. R. died not knowing that she had been disinherited.

I saw immediately that there were concerns over the validity of the will: evidence of coercion, and also a lack of due execution in the signing of the will. By law, two clearly named witnesses should be on the document. On this will, the only named witness was one of OWC’s Ashford secretaries. The second signature was an illegible scrawl with no printed name.

As I didn’t have the money to employ a solicitor, I tried for a 'No Win, No Fee' assistance under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) but didn't qualify because I'm not living below the breadline so to speak. This was after having been means tested. Not one law firm was prepared to help me make a serious challenge to the suspect will that had been signed off at OWC’s Ashford office.

I tried under my own initiative to see if I could challenge the will independently but it was a lost cause. I didn’t stand a chance.

Using the Larke vs Nugus framework of questions, I wrote letters and emails to OWC asking for a copy of the File of Papers which is supposed to record who is present and what is said when a will is signed off. I asked a series of valid questions about what took place in OWC’s Ashford office on 25th February 2010.

OWC steadfastly refused to comply with my questions and requests. There was a ‘determination’ on their part, a conspicuous lack of ‘honesty’ in concealing the truth about what took place in their Ashford, Middlesex office on 25th February 2010.

There was also a professional arrogance and disdain in the way they dealt with my enquiries and refused to cooperate. Dealing with OWC proved to be a demoralising experience to say the least.

The law is unequal and often inaccessible. Mr Atkinson's final claim in his letter about solicitors doing their 'part to improve fairness and access to justice for everyone' is pure fiction.

Mr Osman’s work has been extremely professional and he has provided expertise advice through out my case. The communication has been great and he has taken his time to explain every step of the way to me. I could not recommend him enough!
/Jasmin

Joyce Lim from Hammersmith branch has done a highly recommended work.

We used her services twice already for 3 different transactions; when we were first time buyer and after.
She was extremely carefull when she handled the sale of our flat which had a recent lease extension, she was more expert on the matter than the solicitor that was lease extension specialist!

From our first meeting she gave us precise instructions to manage our lease on the flat so all went smoothly, without her my sale would not have gone through especially during this covid period.

She was also very expert in the matter of property and home extension and party wall agreement and insurances...

She made sure that all was fully covered carefully, she is really well organised and responds with detailed clear email.

We found her very available and her precious advises helped us to manage our chain properly. We managed to complete in a relatively great time given the Christmas break and covid delays we still completed within the normal standard!

If we had to reuse a solicitor we would definitely use Joyce Lim again.

We learned so much as she explains all that we feel like we became solicitors too!

Thank you again.