Legal advice needed in Scotland

[Linesman]

Can anyone enlighten me about something . I am currently struggling with a Solicitor who is charging the earth and making lots of recommendations about some Trusts set up by my parents. What is the difference between the electronic and sasine register? They want to charge us for updating the Trusts to the sasine register and I am completely at sea. I have no idea which recommendations to accept, they just want to charge us more and more money.

If you don’t trust your solicitor I would suggest going on the scotsnet page and asking for alternatives

Do you mean from the sasnine register ?

Yes

https://www.ros.gov.uk/our-registers/general-register-of-sasines

I believe it’s the list of all land and property and who owns it. You can update it digitally nowadays.

Id suggest you gwt a new solicitor if the one you have isn’t to your liking for whatever reason.

https://www.ros.gov.uk/our-registers/general-register-of-sasines

not sure if this is any help, but I would ask the National Records of Scotland for advice rather than a solicitor for this first of all.

though as I write this, I see that TalulahJP has beaten me to it

The Sasine register was established in maybe the 16th century. It’s just a register of deeds so to check a Sasine title deed you have to check back the prior deeds. This can sometimes be a complicated task. The Sasine register is mostly closed to new transactions now. The Land Register is a register of titles. The keeper examines the prior deeds and if satisfied registers the title and issue a certificate and then no more looking back ant prior deeds and no concern over losing deeds. It may not be necessary to transfer the title to the Land Register now (I’m not a conveyancer so I don’t know) but ultimately if property is ever sold it will have to go on the land register. I am assuming the trust holds property. The trusts themselves won’t/can’t be registered in either.

Is the electronic register a better way for these records to be held? I really don’t understand.

Depending on the changes being made, it’s possible that the trustees will have to update/register the trust on HMRCs Trust Register, could that be what they mean by electronic register?

https://www.litrg.org.uk/tax-nic/trusts-and-estates/trust-registration-service

We have done that. I just don’t understand what they are charging us for.

You should have a breakdown of the bill with what is covered and the solicitor should be acting on your instructions.
If you are not sure what is covered, then you need to ask them. I had an extensive legal process about ten years ago and I really have no faith in Scots law, it’s expensive and archaic and they know how to make their money, but some solicitors are better than others. So it may be that taking further advice from a different possibly more specialised firm is warranted.