The government guidance on coronavirus is a fast evolving picture.
At the time of writing the ‘at risk’ category has just been extended to include pregnant women in addition to those aged 70 and over and those with underlying health conditions. People in these groups have been advised to minimise their social contact for up to 12 weeks.
Every family is different; no two relationships have the same dynamic and every single case we deal with as family law specialists, is slightly different. The same goes for making the decision to take legal advice from a family lawyer. It can be a carefully considered decision; some wait for children to finish exams, for an occasion, or simply wait for the right moment, for others the decision is more immediate and urgent.
If you do not have a lawyer and may need legal advice in the coming weeks, it is wise to get your ID documents certified now.
Why? All solicitors need to identify and verify their clients before establishing a business relationship and therefore require certified copies of your ID and proof of address documents before they act for you. This means you can either:
- Bring your documents to their office so that your lawyer can personally certify them; or
- Have your documents certified by a local lawyer to enable you to take advice via video link or telephone/ skype/ Whats App call/ Facetime (you should do so safely taking into account the current guidance).
At Raydens we accept:
- As proof of identity: passport or photo-card drivers licence; and
- As proof of address: utility bill, council tax bill or bank, credit card or mortgage statement dated within the last three months.
If you are unable to produce one item from a. above and one item from b. above, then please do contact a member of our team as we can possibly consider other acceptable forms of proof of ID and proof of address documents.
Having certified copies of your documents at home will enable you to take legal advice from a family law specialist at Raydens in the coming weeks, without having to attend the office, if necessary.
Rayden Solicitors are also set up to offer ‘virtual’ meetings via conference call facilities, or via Skype or similar video conferencing apps.
