Hampstead solicitor becomes notary public

Hampstead solicitor Elspeth Neilson of Osbornes Law has qualified as a notary public (a notary), meaning she can now certify documents for use overseas.

Notarial appointments are made by the Archbishop of Canterbury who confirmed Elspeth’s appointment earlier this year.

Elspeth is a private client partner in the firm and splits her time between Osbornes’ offices in Hampstead and Camden. She specialises in both contentious and non-contentious estate and Court of Protection matters and has particular experience in complex estate administrations, including those involving cross-border issues. She has considerable experience in estates involving assets in many jurisdictions around the world.

According to the Notaries Society, there are less than 800 notaries in England and Wales. A notary can, amongst other things:

• Prepare and authenticate powers of attorney for use overseas;
• Authenticate wills and provide documents to deal with the administration of the estates of people who live or own property abroad;
• Authenticate personal documents for immigration or emigration purposes; and,
• Authenticate company and business documents and transactions.

To qualify, Elspeth undertook the two-year Diploma in Notarial Practice delivered by University College London.

Elspeth says: “I handle a great deal of cross-border work across many jurisdictions around the world, so I wanted to ensure that I could provide clients with an even more comprehensive service. There are very few notaries in Hampstead and Camden, so I think the additional services that I can now provide will be very useful to existing and new clients.”