How Mark Thompson Law can help you
“I am so grateful to you for all your support and patience.”
If you have been involved in an accident which has caused injury and loss, the last thing you need is complicated legal jargon and impersonal advice.
I set up Mark Thompson Law with what I think is a unique policy, not to take on more cases than can be sensibly handled. That means I will give close personal attention for you and your case.
My role as a solicitor is to help you put things right so far as the law allows.
I believe you need honest and straightforward advice. I will sympathise with you and your situation and, at the same time, you will appreciate the need for a businesslike approach. You need a clear view of your chances of success, how much compensation you are entitled to receive, who will pay and the time scale.
I will explain how legal costs are paid and how you can be protected from financial risk. I will usually act on a “no win no fee” basis, under what is called a conditional fee agreement.
My view is that compensation is yours, so I will not seek a share of that compensation. I will make sure you understand how we will take your case forward.
The more I can learn about you, the more I can help. I prefer to meet you personally, at your home rather than at my desk. You will feel more comfortable and the information I need will be close at hand. I deal with clients all over the country and geography is not a problem.
You can contact me for a chat on 01392 314086.
Bringing the case to a successful conclusion is my aim and I can help along the way. Making sure you are receiving State benefits and proper support from your employer can make a great difference. Rehabilitation can often be obtained without cost and I will investigate all avenues with you. I will also help you understand any insurance policies you have,which may help you, examples being permanent health and medical insurance.
Terminology can be a problem when you deal with a specialist. I will do my very best to avoid it, but if I cannot help myself, do just ask. You can see explanations of the terms used in accident and industrial disease personal injury cases on the terminology page.
The need to seek compensation always arises from difficult circumstances. Nobody wants to have to claim compensation. You will need help and want to know where you stand. I am more than willing to discuss your case without obligation or cost.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Hi mark
I Was awarded 27000 in 2015 from a car crash, not related the injuries I then developed illnesses and claimed pip from 2017 to now, I received a letter of nil t be paid by DWP shortly after the award, I received a CRU form asking me for an update today, asking me to put how much I was awarded on the form?
Any repayment due under the recoupment scheme is the liability of the party paying the compensation. You should provide the information requested.
Hi Mark,
I’m just waiting on my PI payout coming through. I have been told by my solicitor to get PI trust account. I have made contact with a financial guy who recommend caterallen and the cost £750 plus vat £900. Is this correct or perhaps this is his fee? Or it this end up costing me the price of the bank account and then the professional fee also.
Many thanks
To create a trust, you need a trust deed. That is the legal document which establishes the trust and appoints trustees. Once the trust is signed off the trustees open a joint bank account for the trust.
I prepare the trust deed, coach the trustees through opening the bank account and, finally, contact benefit agencies on your behalf. My fixed fee is £400 plus VAT, that is £480 in all.
Hi Mark. My position. I have been getting contribution ESA since 2009 on support group. Registered Blind and suffer brain injury causing me balance issues. in 2015 I was awarded £500,000.00 CICA compensation of which £13,000 was paid to me directly between 2011 and 2013 but dispersed paying off bad debt due to almost losing my house and banked cash never exceeded (£6000) and £30,000.00 paid in to a trust between 2013 to 2014 with a final payment paid in 2015. Upto now I have had no worries regards deprivation of capital because I was not in receipt of means tested benefits. Due to lack of knowledge I have found following my wife giving up work to care for me in 2016 that I could have transfered from Contributory to income related ESA (to which I have made a backdated claim recently, because in Dec 2015 I was told by JCP I was not entitled to (IR) because my TRUST would be assessed! but this is untrue being a PIT) DWP initially have indicated the 52 week rule but have backed down pretty quickly (something we discussed recently) due to seeking advice from thier Chesterfield head office.
However, I am now conscious of this rule “deprivation of capital” it seems if my case is won that I will be entitled to ESA (IR) since January 2016 to present, on top of this my trust owns two properties that are rented out to provide income for the trust = £15,000.00 per year and a £5,000.00 investment bond @ 8% interest of £400. I am very thoughtful now of what I can spend any incomes from the trust on without it being considered deprivation and of course any back payment from DWP. Any Thoughts? What can I spend on that would not be considered deprivation?
We can approach this from the point of view of someone about to apply for means-tested benefits, who has already received personal injury compensation. I would say, before you claim means-tested benefits move all compensation into a trust and only then apply for benefits.
Provided your expenditure is direct from the trust, it is not the business of the benefit agencies. It becomes their business if you are spending from personal accounts, as you are then spending your money and, like anyone else applying for means-tested benefits, your expenditure is examined to make sure you have not been “blowing” money so you can claim benefits. I cannot give you a list of what is and what is not acceptable under the dissipation of capital rules, but I can say, you will avoid problems by separating your personal accounts and expenditure from that of the trust.
I have a compensation claim which is going through my union. I am now at the stage of agreeing/rejecting offers from the other side. On the form of authority I have been asked if I want to allow publicity for the settlement of my case as it can be helpful to my union and solicitors. Should I allow publicity and what are the benefits? More importantly would my name and details be made public if I do so?
Also I am a single occupant so I receive the 25% reduction in council tax. Is this classed as a benefit? e.g. for personal injury trusts etc.
Thanks
You should ask your Union how they might use details of your case. I guess the Union will publicise it alongside other cases to show how they support their members.
The council tax reduction is made because you live alone in the house, so it is not a means-tested benefit.
I have 2 questions please. I am polish national living in U.K. Last 2 years. Soon getting £80,000 car injury compensation.
1. Can my 2 trustees be non-uk nationals, resident in Poland? I have asked bank (Barclay), they say for U.K. account person must live and pay tax in U.K. Does this apply to trustees?
2. With the £80,000 I want to use toward buying flat. Flat is about £150,000. Can I buy flat which cost more than my compensation? How can I purchase flat in name of the trust if not all money is from trust ( rest family will help as I am on benefit so can’t get mortgage)?
Thank you
There is no l;aw which says non-UK passport holders cannot open a UK bank account. In fact an EU resident should be able to open a bank account in the UK. Some banks will be unhappy as they have to satisfy regulations, such as anti-money laundering, which means they must know their customer, which is not easy if people live outside the UK.
The trust is not bound to open its bank account in the UK.
At the moment, property ownership does not play a part in your entitlement to means-tested benefits. This can change. Property ownership does play a part if you need local authority support for care.
A trust can own a property, or part of a property, if the trust powers include the ability to hold such an asset. From experience of other clients, I know mortgage lenders may not want to loan money to a trust to make up the purchase price. You should ask a mortgage broker to see if that is the case with all mortgage lenders. The trust could own the part of the property for which it had paid, with the rest owned by family members who have contributed. An alternative would be for family members to make a loan to the trust, the trust own the property completely, with family members being repaid on sale of the property. The loans to the trust would have to be registered at the Land Registry.
It is important to think through these and other alternatives, as the trustees must have the power to fulfil the plans.
I am on contribution based esa and dla living allowance. If I set up a personal injury bare trust will I pay tax on this? as it is a taxable income. Will I have to inform tax? as benefits have not told me this when I spoke to them. Both benefits have said if I set up a trust for money then it will be disregarded. I wish to consider to buy my council house from trust.
Your first question is about taxation of benefits. ESA contributions based is taxable but disability living allowance is not. You can see a helpful list here.
If you are the beneficiary of a bare trust the trust fund and any income received are treated as yours for tax purposes and you are personally liable to pay any tax due.
Whether you need to file a tax return depends on how much income you receive. There is a list here. You might find much of your income already has tax deducted at the basic rate and your personal tax allowance for 2015/16 will be £10,600, so you can receive quite a bit of income before you pay income tax. You can check income tax details here.
A bare trust can usually buy and hold property, but a council house purchase may be more complicated as the property may have to be held in your name for five years to preserve the discount. You could pay for it with trust funds and hold it in your name for five years. It makes sense to transfer it back to the trust after those five years as property ownership is bound to become a greater factor in assessing benefit entitlement. At the moment owning the home you live in is not a factor for benefits, but it is relevant if you need local authority help with care. So if care is required now, or it is not far away, you should get advice on the council house purchase.
At the moment your benefits are not affected by the compensation as the benefits are not means-tested. There is a lot of change in benefit rules and you may need other benefits in the future so I suggest you set up a trust now to protect your benefit and care entitlement.
I am on benefits now as result of accident. If i setup personal injury trust I will receive the HOUSING BENEFIT?
Yes is the answer. If your personal injury compensation is protected by a trust you can claim housing benefit, or any other benefit which depends on your income and savings.