Kind hearted Somerset Solicitors are giving a Christmas gift of over £5000 to charity.

Acorn Solicitors has now given more than £15000 to charity since starting in 2009 from their Taunton office.

The latest amount raised is from when Acorn took part in Wills for Will Aid last month. It also donated £100 to Age UK Somerset instead of sending clients Christmas Cards this Christmas.

In September the firm donated £2500 to St Margaret’s hospice through their wills week.

The community minded firm are now planning to give 10 per cent of all their ‘Living Wills’ done in January to Age UK Somerset and continue their pledge to support local good causes in the new year.

Managing Partner David Sinclair said: “We believe in the community and are part of it also, so want to invest in it.

“These are tough economic days and I believe that firms have a responsibility to help good local charities and the spin off is affordable wills for local people which has encouraged them to make a will.”

David was on a shortlist of five for young lawyer of the year in the UK in 2009.

He is also a national director for Solicitors for the Elderly and helps out with Somerset’s Age Concern.

For more information see www.acornsolicitors.com

A Somerset solicitor has had his comments on probate published in one of the UK’s most prestigious newspapers.

David Sinclair of Acorn Solicitors in Taunton and Street gave his views which were published on an article on Sunday Telegraph on Probate.

David, aged 34, was shortlisted for UK Young Lawyer of the Year two years ago and has been on regional BBC Radio programmes discussing issues on Wills and Probate.

He is also a national Director for Solicitors for the Elderly.

The latest article in the Money Section of the Sunday Telegraph was entitled “working your way through the probate maze.”

The article was about a company called the Living probate company that aims to reduce the cost of probate by encouraging people to put all their details in one place – namely their company’s database.

Then one telephone call would trigger a package of pre-addressed letters for the executor to send out, costing around £750.

David said: “This is expensive and really a gimmick. Personally I would simply suggest people keep their information up together and complete an asset log which doesn’t cost them anything.

“Companies like this make out that Solicitors charge a huge percentage of the estate but really the vast majority have moved with the times and either charge by the hour or fixed fees for probate work.

“At Acorn we like to work with clients to keep probate costs as low as possible and would get letters out just as quickly following our initial interview.”

In the article David was quoted as saying “…even with letters addressed in this way, probate could still be complex in some cases. It depends on the individual estate. Nowadays there are a lot of broken family relationships and things can get very complicated.”

He added: “There can be a lot of arguments and people can become very resentful. He denied that most solicitors charge a percentage of the estate for probate. That’s quite an old-fashioned way of doing it in my personal opinion.”

The telegraph article was written by Rosie Murray-West.

Find Acorn on www.acornsolicitors.com

A Somerset solicitor already has dozens of people booked in as he looks to do their Wills for free in November.

David Sinclair who runs Acorn Solicitors, based in Street and Taunton High Street, is taking part in Will Aid’s ‘Make A Will Month’ in aid of charity and dozens of local people are taking up the offer.

Instead of charging their usual fees for a basic Will during November, Acorn will invite people to make a donation to the Will Aid scheme, which is a partnership of nine national charities.

David, 34, of Burnham-on-Sea, is booking appointments across Somerset and people are advised to book early because of expected high demand. In the last two years Acorn have given £7000 to charities and £10000 since their formation.

The suggested donation is £85 for a single will, £125 for mirror wills or £40 for a codicil or change to a previous will.

David, a UK Director for Solicitors for the Elderly, said: “As usual this is a popular scheme where we write Wills and people donate to good causes. This is part of our community work and being part of the community.

“The message we want to get across is that if you die without a will, you can cause hardship and stress for loved ones and your assets may not go to the people you want to inherit them.

“Will Aid provides an affordable way to help your loved ones by ensuring that they are provided for in the future and to help people in need around the world.”

The money raised is shared between participating charities including ActionAid, Age UK, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, NSPCC, Save The Children, Sightsavers, SCIAF and Trocaire.

To book a Will for charity, contact David or Jill on 01823 273010 or 01458 441507 or visit their website for more information www.acornsolicitors.co.uk

A thriving somerset firm that bravely formed in the midst of recession in 2009 has just reached the £10,000 mark for giving money to charity.

Acorn Solicitors Taunton have now reached double figures for money given to charity, since David Sinclair set the business up in 2009 after the firm he previously worked for closed down.

David, of Burnham on Sea and his mother and joint Partner Jill Sinclair are eager to run the solicitors for local people and to help the local community – which is why they give regularly through the organisation Will Aid and other schemes.

David said: “There are so many out of town, large solicitors that aren’t part of their community. We want to be different. Our solicitors live in the area and want to help by giving as much as we can to good causes.

“The recession is hitting people hard. We want to help all we can by giving to people in need and making the community a better place to live.

“Setting up in business after another big firm of Solicitors closed was hard and a risky, brave thing to do and I was only 31. But we wanted to offer something different, a personal service where local people got face to face contact and help. It works.”

Acorn is doing so well that it opened new offices in Street High Street earlier this year, and David was on a shortlist of five for young lawyer of the year in the UK in 2009.

He is also a national director for Solicitors for the Elderly and helps out with Somerset’s Age Concern and is often featured on BBC local radio talking about old people’s issues.

For more information see www.acornsolicitors.co.uk