Looking for some information if any solicitors could help please

[sophiewd]

My DH's BIL has been arresetd and charged for fraud and forgery of powers of attorney. My FIL is yet again bailing DH's sis and BIL out of the quagmire therefore putting his own finances in jepoardy I have a couple of questions that would be great if could be answered so DH cna speak to his father and try to get him to see some sense before he loses all his money as he is in danger of doing (currently supporting them by paying rent, bills etc).

1. FIL has given solicitor £1700 and has left his credit card details to cover further expenses. DH's sister says that her H will only appear in a magistrates court but to us £1700 seems to much for just a magistrate hearing and we are guessing that it will be moved up to crown court.

2. Will there be and what should be a custodial sentence for this type of fraud, it is not the first time he has done anything like this, about 4 years ago he forged DH's signature on a £25k loan and the first we knew bout it was when the bank wanted their money back.

DH's sister seems to be living in denial, he hasn't done anything wrong, she didn't know about anything including the fact that their mortgage hasn't been paid for 3 years.

Any thoughts would be great so DH has some info to take to his brother and maybe together they can help their father.

What a pickle!
BIL should be able to get legal aid. The £1700 already paid will cover the from filling that needs to be done, the solicitor interviews and the barrister. I strongly suggest that he looks for some legal aid as this is going to be very expensive to sort out. Fraud is a very serious offence and will not be discussed at a magistrates court, they will have an initial hearing and refer it to either county or crown depending on how much money is involved. There is normally (depends on the circumstances and the judge) a custodial sentence for this type of offence, it depends on the judge though, it could be anything around 3 years upwards. They may look to sieze assets aswell under the Money Laundering regulations or the proceeds of crime act. I'm very sorry that I do not have nice news for you. Your family needs to get expert advice on this. There should be a law centre phone number in your phone book or try and find a solicitor that does the first consultation free/legal aid. You need to tell your fil not to pay out money for the solicitor as it really will cost a fortune, by this I mean thousands, if not tens of thousands.

Avenap, are you a solicitor? Just querying your saying that it could be referred to a county court????

I'm a law graduate. It depends on how much money was involved as to where it would be heard.

Unless my criminal law lecturer has told me porkeys

Thank you so much for that, DH and brother will now see how they can persudae FIL to stop payments on CC.

County Courts deal with civil matters. Magistrates and Crown Courts deal with criminal.

Oh yes. It's the small claims court isn't it? Doh!

perhaps it would be best to wait until you qualify before giving legal advice avenanap? or some practice experience?

£1700 can go very quickly in criminal matters, regardless of whether the matter is heard in the magistrates' or crown court. Especially if a barrister is instructed as well as a solicitor.

Your BIL should see if he might be eligible for legal aid and your FIL should not give the solicitors an open ended cheque or limitless access to his credit card.

County Court is civil, never criminal matters. Same with small claims court.

I think you should go and re read your lecture ntotes avenanap.

I've checked, this is what he said . Oh well, this explains why he was given the chop. I was not giving legal advice (hence telling the op to find a solicitor), there's also a disclaimer on the thread.