Ridley & Hall are pleased to announce that Helen Dandridge qualified as a solicitor on 1st September 2014.

Helen, who has a first class degree in law from the University of Northumbria, joined the firm in March 2010. At that point she was working as a paralegal in the Family department before she began her training contract.

She has now joined the Litigation department and will specialise in contentious probate and financial abuse claims, alongside Partner Sarah Young.

Sarah said, “Helen has been an exceptional trainee and I am delighted to have persuaded her to join my team. The work that I do is growing significantly  – I think that’s because of a number of reasons, including the fact that we have an ageing population where dementia is unfortunately a factor.”

Provisional figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre produced on 30th July 2014 show that 344,000 patients had a recorded diagnosis of dementia in 2013/14. This is a rise from 319,000 in 2012/13 and from 213,000 in 2006/07, when the data was first collected.

Sarah Young sees these figures as telling; “Inheritance disputes, especially those involving a issues about a will maker’s mental capacity, are on the rise. I’m also finding that allegations of financial abuse affecting the elderly and vulnerable often surface after a loved one’s death, when family members find that their inheritance has been siphoned off.”

Helen commented, “I  enjoy contentious probate and Inheritance Act claims because each case is different and it really is an area of law which turns on the facts of the individual case. I also  have a genuine interest in helping victims of financial abuse; cases can be complicated and difficult to prove but I’m determined to make a difference.”

For more information on contentious probate and inheritance disputes, please call Ridley & Hall on 01484 538421 and ask to speak with Sarah Young or Helen Dandridge.