Our Services
House Purchase & Sale
Scottish Solicitors sell houses. Nowadays web presence is the crucial marketing tool. We ensure our clients’ properties have the widest internet coverage. They can be found on our own website, DGSPC, Zoopla, Globrix, Prime Location, Find a Property, S1 Homes and Home.
In Dumfries & Galloway the SOLICITORS PROPERTY CENTRE (DGSPC) still commands the lions share of domestic property sales. There are branches in Dumfries, Annan and Castle Douglas offering a good High Street exposure for our clients properties. We deal with property sale from start to finish, beginning with obtaining a Home Report, viewings and enquiries, the legal formalities, transfer of your title deeds, repayment of your existing mortgage and dealing with the practicalities of your relocation.
On the purchase side whether you are a first time purchaser, retired couple, family or single person or investor we offer a wealth of experience and advice in buying the right property at the right price. We are registered for ARTL. (Automated registration of Titles to Land) this is the most recent development of electronic conveyancing. Primrose & Gordon were one of the first Firms in Dumfries & Galloway to undertake an electronic (paperless) title transaction from start to finish. We are on the approved panel list of most High Street Lenders and we are therefore in a position to prepare your mortgage documents in-house as part of the transaction saving you time and money.
Leasing (both private and commercial)
We can guide you through the minefield of buying to rent whether it be for commercial or residential purposes. We are registered with the Local Authority’s Register of Agents (Register No. 287720/170/1844).
We can assist you in finding a suitable tenant, taking up the prospective tenant’s references and prepare and arranging signing of the lease documentation once a tenant is found.
Family Law
We cover all aspects including separation, divorce, child contact and residence and adoption, and dissolution of Civil Partnerships. Whether the matter is amicable or confrontational we are equipped to guide you to a fair out of Court settlement, or if needs be to pursue your rights vigorously through civil litigation in the Sheriff Court. We regularly appear in Court not only in Dumfries but also in various Sheriff Courts throughout Scotland.
Court work (both Civil and Criminal)
We cover a full spectrum of Criminal offences including diverse road traffic matters and regularly appear on behalf of our clients in both the Justice of the Peace Courts and the Sheriff Courts throughout the South West of Scotland and instruct representation by Advocates before the High Court and Court of Appeal. We can tender pleas-in-mitigation of sentence where you are pleading guilty or represent you at trial. Civil Court appearances are a staple of our workload including contractual and land disputes and personal disputes of every genre.
Representations at other Tribunals
Whether it be an employment law problem or appealing a benefits decision, we can represent you at the appropriate Tribunal. We can also offer you housing advice and consumer-rights advice. Perhaps unique in Dumfries & Galloway we also offer representation and advice in Immigration matters. We are very proud to have a very broad multicultural client base.
Charities and Associations
We are pleased to have dealt with the Company Formation of Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust and to have raised the Court Action which prevented the demolition of Moat Brae House (now destined to become Scotland’s first national Centre for Children’s literature.) Other Charitable bodies we advise include the Mouswald Trust (Archaeological Research), the John Primrose Trust (benevolent fund for residents of Dumfries), Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum and the Ian Wardlaw Drama Trust ( providing financial assistance to young people throughout Dumfries & Galloway who wish to further a career in Drama and the Arts).
Wills Trusts and Estates
Many adults in Scotland do not have a Will. The fact is that if you die without a Will the family may have to go through a Court process to have an Executor appointed by the Sheriff Court and may also have to pay a hefty premium for an Insurance Bond (Bond of Caution) before they can wind up the estate. Disputes over who benefits from an estate are common where there is no Will, and claims for Legal Rights by children can put them in opposition to the surviving spouse. All of this can be avoided by having a straightforward Will drafted by a Solicitor. We offer very competitive rates. We deal with the administration of an Estate from registration of death to payment of legacies. We aim to handle such work in an organised, efficient and sympathetic manner.
If you require some Inheritance Tax planning we can advise on the best approach to mitigate liability, including for example setting up a Discretionary Trust in your Will.
Adults with incapacity
People are living longer nowadays and coping with less robust health in advancing years is something which many families have to face up to whether it be a relative who has been diagnosed with dementia or other progressive disease.
Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is granted while you are in full command of your faculties. You could appoint your Solicitor or a trusted member of the family or friend to deal with your affairs should you become unable to do so. This document is prepared and then requires to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. We offer a competitively priced package for a Power of Attorney which combines both (a) financial and (b) personal care/welfare issues. Free Home visits can be arranged on request.
Guardianship
If a Power of Attorney is no longer appropriate (where the adult concerned has been assessed by a Doctor and deemed to lack capacity) we can carry out the procedure of applying through the Local Sheriff Court for a Guardianship Order to protect the adult and their resources.
Legal Aid
Primrose & Gordon are one of the remaining Firms in Dumfries registered with the Scottish Legal Aid Board to offer advice and assistance and representation in Civil work. Legal Aid can be available if you have a reasonable case to make and if Legal Aid covers the topic in question and you are financially eligible. If in doubt as to your financial eligibility you can check this online with SLAB before arranging your consultation with us. See www.slab.org.uk
Notary Services
Primrose and Gordon can attend to the notarising of official documents and presently have several Notaries Public able to witness or notarise documents.
We can attend to certifying Visas, documents for people who are emigrating and also documents for those who are marrying abroad. We can also assist with applications for Naturalisation as a British Citizen and UK Visa applications.