News

Budleigh Salterton Scarecrow Festival

3rd June 2019

Gilbert Stephens Solicitors are proud to be a part of the East Budleigh Scarecrow Festival again this year. Friends of All Saints Church are once again coordinating the famous Scarecrow Festival. Over the two days, a variety of events will take place around the village to raise funds to maintain the church and churchyard. Read more…

Crediton Parish Church Flower Festival

31st May 2019

Gilbert Stephens Solicitors are proud to be sponsors of the Crediton Parish Church Flower Festival from Saturday 1st – Thursday 6th June 2019. Crediton Parish Church will be filled with floral displays showcasing the skills of local flower arrangers in and around the magnificent Grade 1 listed gothic church.

This year’s theme is ‘Colours of the Wind’ and displays will be diverse, including references to ‘Candle in the Wind’, the Red Arrows, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and the ‘Lungs of the City’. The festival will also include two concerts this year. The Tedburn Community Choir will be entertaining visitors with an evening of popular music on Saturday 1st June at 7.30pm and the Crediton Town Band will perform on Wednesday 5th at 7.00pm. Read more…

Exwick Villa win the league

30th May 2019

Gilbert Stephens Solicitors were honoured to be a guest at the Devon and Exeter Premier League awards ceremony at Fingle Glen last Thursday. Dana Mulligan, Marketing Manager at Gilbert Stephens, who attended the ceremony said, “we are proud to be one of the football team’s sponsors, as we have had a brilliant season watching Exwick Villa’s trials and successes.”

After an impressive meal, the awards started and Exwick Villa were presented with the Devon and Exeter Premier League trophy by Wayne Carlisle. Wayne was an accomplished professional footballer playing most recently for Torquay United and is now Head Coach at Exeter City Football Club. Exwick Villa finished their last game of the season on Saturday 4th May with a no-score draw to Beer Albion. However, the club’s impressive goal difference throughout the season ensured that they were victorious overall and have taken the position of champions of the league for the first time. Read more…

Pebble Building for Charity at Budleigh Gala Week

29th May 2019

Gilbert Stephens Solicitors were pleased to sponsor the fascinating annual Pebble Building Competition on Bank Holiday Monday 27th May at Budleigh Salterton beach, as part of Budleigh Salterton Lions Club’s 37th Gala Week.

The Gala Week is raising much needed money for FORCE Cancer Charity who offer face to face support for anyone affected by cancer. The work of the Budleigh Salterton Lions is phenomenal. To date they have raised over three quarters of a million pounds, all donated to local charities, organisations and worthy local causes.

Gilbert Stephens thoroughly enjoyed attending this fun filled event. We sponsored two of the competitions; the highest pebble tower and the best pebble design.

We were gobsmacked at the height of the winning tower which stood at a whopping 48 inches, the record to date is 54 inches. The proud owners of this tower were the Steele and Acura families.

We were also incredibly impressed with the best design pebble towers and although there were so many fantastic and creative designs to choose from it was finally whittled down to 3 talented families. The winner was the Save Bees design, carefully put together by the Rehbock Family. Second prize went to Peppa Pig, created by the Browne Family and the Third prize was awarded to Pirate, crafted by the Robinson Family.

The Mayor of Budleigh Salterton, Caz Sismore-Hunt, had the tough job of choosing the winning designs and Gilbert Stephens were honoured to hand over the prizes to the talented families in a small ceremony.

Take a look at the Budleigh Salterton Lions website to see the varied line-up for the rest of the week.

Proud supporters of the Lord Mayor’s charity, helping veterans when they need it the most

20th May 2019

Gilbert Stephens Solicitors had the pleasure of attending the Lord Mayor of Exeter’s thank you reception on Friday 10th May 2019 for those who supported and raised money throughout the year for his chosen charity. The Lord Mayor’s Cheque was presented at 6.30pm to the Soldiers’, Sailors’ & Airmen’s Families Association (SSAFA).

The current Lord Mayor of Exeter, Councillor Rob Hannaford, chose SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity, as we have seen the centenary anniversary of the end of the First World War. Read more…

Otters Triumph in U13s League Cup Final

8th May 2019

Gilbert Stephens Solicitors were thrilled on Saturday 4th May to be on the side lines as sponsors of the Ottery St Mary Under 13s football team, winners of the Exeter & District Youth League Cup Final.

This impressive youth team, known as the Otters, is managed by Adam Carpenter and coached by Mark Gleeson and Stephen Upsher. Saturday was a chance for the Otters to put all their training to the test as they faced the Exeter Panthers at Tiverton Town Football Club, to battle it out for the 23rd Cup Final of the League. Read more…

Top turnout for Sidmouth Surf Life Saving Club AGM

8th May 2019

Gilbert Stephens Solicitors were pleased to attend the Annual General Meeting of Sidmouth Surf Life Saving Club on Friday 3rd May.

It was a great evening where all the committee members, children and parents came together at Sidmouth RFC to hear the plan for the year. Gilbert Stephens were thrilled to be introduced as one of the club’s sponsors this year. The firm have contributed towards the club’s training programme for the year and sponsored their new kit, which was launched on the same day as the AGM. Read more…

Training begins for the Nello Century Cycle Challenge

8th May 2019

This year, Gilbert Stephens Solicitors will be entering a team into the Nello Century Cycle Challenge 2019, in aid of the FORCE Cancer Charity. We participated in this non-competitive charity event last year and raised an incredible sum of over £2,000. We will be riding this year in memory of Liz Govier, one of our solicitors, who sadly passed away last year after a brave battle with cancer.

We are very pleased that the Gilbert Stephens team have banded together and are now in training for this year’s Nello. Our team includes 8 members, including supervising partner Don Middlemost, who is a keen cyclist and was instrumental last year in keeping up morale over this test of endurance. Some members of the team will be cycling the 55 mile route, and some will be taking on the full 100 mile route.

Read more…

Lasting Powers of Attorney

8th May 2019

Gilbert Stephens Solicitors has an experienced Private Client department, spanning across our 6 branches. Conall Ryan, who is a Chartered Legal Executive working in our Crediton and Okehampton offices, talks to us about Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Private Client law encompasses many different areas, including wills, trusts, inheritance tax planning together with lasting powers of attorney (LPAs).  Although people are often aware of the need for making a will, they are not always aware of the importance of LPAs.

Read more…