Being neighbourly is important to us here are Argo. We do not want to keep all the knowledge we have in our heads to ourselves. This is why we are holding a wills and power of attorney seminar at The Business Terrace in Maidstone on 19 February 2019 between 10am and 12am. Taking the brave step to run your own business is risky. We remember to take advice to secure the future for the business but in getting up and running we often forget those who are important to us. Us business owners all think we are superhuman and that the worst will never happen to us, but it does, and we want to make sure that our business colleagues know how to protect their husbands, wives and children should the worse happen. To book an appointment call 01622 843729.

Argo are delighted to be helping the Heart of Kent Hospice again this year with their revamped make a will MONTH! April 2019 will see Argo offering to make a free will in exchange for a donation to this Hospice on each working day of the month. We know that making a will can be a little scary. Superstition and being a super hero often means that the decision to do this is put to one side as the inevitable will "never happen to me". It is also sometimes daunting walking into a solicitors' office. To take the fear out of making a will we are holding an ask the expert "making a will" session on 6 March 2019 between 1pm and 3pm in our offices at the Business Terrace, Maidstone House, King Street. To book a space please log onto the eventbrite booking app by clicking on the following link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/heart-of-kent-hospice-make-a-will-month-pre-event-tickets-53432931336 Alternatively, give us a call on 016222 843729 and we will book you a place! We hope to see you there

Red tops call them a further death tax. Some say they are a further tax on bereaved families. Some just say the reforms are greedy. What are we talking about? The increase in Probate fees which were due to lack of parliamentary time in 2017 by the Conservative Government and substantial disquiet from the public. The fees have now been picked up from the long grass and firmly planted on the starting line and are due to come into existence in April 2019 as the Government clearly do not consider the significant disquiet as as defeat to their proposal. Unfortunately for executors these costs bear no correlation to the actual cost for the Probate Registry to issue a grant of probate but are being seen as a way to subsidise other courts and tribunals. The reintroduction of these proposals have again been widely condemned. At the moment a personal application for a Grant of Probate attracts a fee of £215 or £155 if a solicitor makes the application. The proposal is as before, a sliding scale of probate fees based on the value of an estate with seven bands running from zero to £6,000. For an exempt estate or estate under £50,000 there will be no probate application fees. For an estate between £50,000 and £300,000 fees will be £250. For an estate between £300,000 and £500,000 fees will be £750 and will then increase from between £2,500 to £6,000 for estates over £500,000 up to and in excess of £2million. This upper fee of £6,000 is a reduction from the first draft of £20,000 but still a potential headache for executors. There is a great deal of arguing and lobbying taking place behind the scenes to try and avoid this disproportionate change in regime from hitting bereaved families. Whilst we expect April 2019 to be kick off there is still a chance that the Government may change its mind. Watch this space for further updates.

Updates to the process for obtaining a Grant of Probate mean that the old fashioned swearing of an oath is no longer necessary. The Probate Service is a busy service dealing with some £270,000 applications each year. Of these £110,000 are made personally by executors with the remaining £160,000 being made by solicitors and probate practitioners. As the Probate Service tries to modernise and meet the needs of a changing world it is updating its procedures, and quite a lot faster than we thought they would! Without consultation the Probate Service has removed the need to swear an oath and replace it with a signed statement. At the moment an application for a grant of representation is supported by an oath sworn by the personal representatives. The new process involves a written statement of truth whereby the personal representative believes the facts referred to in the statement are true. It is also a requirement for the personal representative to confirm that making a false statement is contempt of court and punishable by a range of sanctions. However the exact wording of the statement of truth has not yet been determined and until such time as it is the oath can still be used.

We all know that local authorities have to protect our vulnerable clients but how far does this actually go? In the recent Court of Protection case of SR v A Local Authority & Anor [2018] EWCOP 36 (06 June 2018) a local authority took a case to the Court of Protection to restrict a husband's access from his wife because of their concerns about his opinions on euthanasia. She was 83, residing in a care home and living with late onset Alzheimers which was of a moderate to severe intensity. The couple had been married for over 50 years and family provided evidence to show they were a devoted couple who spent all their time together. The husband visited his wife twice a day in the care home spending more than three hours a day with her. Her family had objected to her move into a care home which was instigated by the local authority. Repeated requests to return her home had been ignored and and she frequently expressed her wish to be with her husband. Over the course of a number of years through frustration and desperation her husband had expressed the wish to end both of their lives stating that we would put animals to sleep if they were in the situation his wife found herself in. There was no evidence put before the Court to indicate that he had ever or would ever harm his wife. The local authority sought to prevent the husband from taking his wife out of the care home alone without another family member or member of staff from the care home. They also requested that he should not be allowed to take his wife out in a car on his own just in case she became agitated or her behaviour became challenging. It was clear that the local authority worried that her husband would harm her. Unfortunately, this situation is not uncommon and this is not the first time I have seen reports of cases like this. The increased stress that this situation causes to an already stressed family is enormous. The eroding of confidence to family members and the inferences that are made to the family in cases like these cause significant damage. So, what was the outcome? The Court dismissed the application from the local authority on the grounds that it was neither justifiable, proportionate or necessary. What could have helped with avoiding this situation would have been a signed health and welfare power of attorney. The health and welfare power would have enabled the family to keep SR at home and provide care. Yes, of course, safeguarding concerns would have to be addressed but more power would have been retained by the family in respect of the decision making process. Of course, Courts have to hear cases like these as there would be uproar if something happened and no action had been taken. There really needs to be a way forward where the local authorities can work with families and understand the pressures they are under rather than simply looking and rules and regulations in isolation without truly understanding what is going on. What our families need is support. If they had the support we may be able to avoid the desperate conversations where families no longer feel able to cope. If you are struggling please telephone us for help and support because we can get things working again!

An expected rise in families relying on the assistance of foodbanks marks a worrying trend in financial poverty for our most vulnerable. In 2017 159,388 families had to rely on a three day emergency food supply according to the Tressel Trust. The trust blames the increase on cold weather and insufficient benefits, saying families are left unable to cope with the increased living costs in winter, such as heating. Benefits do not cover essential living costs of families in the cold season, the charity says, and the minimum five week wait for a first Universal Credit payment, experienced by those moving onto this system, has only exacerbated the situation. This problem is not just limited to young families but our elderly neighbours too. At this time of year with surplus food, drink and an abundance of festive spirit perhaps we could all consider delivering a small parcel of festive goodies to our elderly neighbours to help with difficulties caused by rising fuel bills.

Do we ever really think about users of care home services as "consumers"? The government does. They believe it is important that care homes treat users of their services as consumers and have issued guidance as to how these consumers should be treated. Why not have a sneaky peak at the government's guidance and guidelines which have been issued......... https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-homes-consumer-law-advice-for-providers

Research states that about 470,000 people die in England each year and that this figure is expected to increase 20% in the next 20 years. Having a healthy end of life is not always possible but it is possible to have an organised end of life. Most people think that the practical side of dying is just making a will but there is so much more than that. This is one thing we want to make our clients very aware of as we take the initiative and respond to our clients needs and wishes rather than just simply what we feel they should be told. Making a will is just one element of end of life planning. If this is done in isolation by a lawyer, a fantastic opportunity for collaborative planning could be missed to maximise all tools available through legal, accounting and financial means to protect funds and save tax. We encourage all of our clients to allow us to speak to and work with their accountants and individual financial advisers so we can achieve the best outcome for their needs. After all, the best way forward may not be the legal way forward!! We work with benefit and debt advisers to manage income and outgoings if advice is needed and we help our clients to manage their budgets so they can live within their means. We also review income to see whether they are missing some vital piece of income that could help to make a financial difference. Argo does not just adopt this approach to the sensible things that involve planning and paperwork. We also consider the health and welfare needs of our clients and for this reason have a social care team who work alongside our legal team to help support our clients. We strive to achieve what is in the best interests of our clients. We regularly speak with GPs and medical professionals to assist with managing an individual's medical appointments. We work with opticians, dentists and chiropodists, physios and occupational therapists to find out what extra needs individuals have which would benefit from improvement. Argo works very closely with families and care teams to provide the best care and support for our clients which enables the return to the mother-daughter, father-son relationship from the banker, builder and carer relationship. Most importantly we enable husbands and wives to be just that. We build care packages with professionals that work for the family which use the best care teams around. We make sure that you can have a lay in and each lunch at 1pm and not be put to bed at 5pm. We encourage shopping, long lazy lunches, holidays away and fun because we know that if our clients are happy they will be healthy, whatever their circumstances. If you would like to know a little more about our social care team please give Kevin Collier a call on 01622 843729 for further details.

We are already ahead of the game! We have been doing this since we started!! Law firms face a tight turnaround to publish price and service information for consumers and small businesses, the Law Society of England and Wales warned as the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) published guidance on regulations that will come into force in December this year. “Many firms that provide legal services to consumers and small businesses will be required to act quickly to comply with these new rules,” Law Society president Christina Blacklaws said. The key requirements include: Firms must publish price and service information on their websites for the following areas of law: individual customers: residential conveyancing, probate, immigration (except asylum), road traffic offences, and employment tribunal claims (unfair/wrongful dismissal) business customers: employment tribunal claims (unfair/wrongful dismissal), debt recovery (up to £100,000), and licensing applications for business premises. Firms will be required to publish the total cost of services (or the average costs or range of costs), the basis of charges, services included in the price for key stages, any likely costs (and whether they include VAT) and the experience and qualifications of anyone carrying out the work. Where a firm does not have a website, it must make price-related information available on request. All firms, regardless of area of practice, must publish regulatory and complaint-related information on their websites. “These new rules will provide opportunities as well as initial burdens,” Christina Blacklaws said. “Clients are likely to change gradually the way they search for, assess and engage the services offered by solicitors’ firms. “Having the right information at the right time will help clients make informed choices about how they solve their legal problems. They will be able to balance considerations, not just price but also other important factors such as service quality and client protections.”

Many wills leave people with a right to occupy a property. Attached to the right to reside is often an ongoing responsibility for repair, maintenance and insurance. At the time of creation everyone gets along, has capacity and it could not be more perfect but what happens if things go wrong. Trusts which only contain properties, without the foresight for a cash reserve, run the risk of having significant trouble in the future. Those with the right to reside made become ill and unable to manage the repairs or themselves, they may run out of funds, a tenant could give notice with no new tenant being found. If something goes wrong the responsibility for maintaining the property rests with the trustees, a job that will be made even harder if there is no cash reserve to call on. Negotiations to solve the problem may be unsuccessful if those ultimately receiving the property refuse to help. An uninsured property is the worst of all worlds! So, in order to prevent problems arising make sure you leave a capital reserve within any property trust for the what ifs. This reserve can make sure insurance is paid, repairs are carried out and standards are maintained. Also leave a letter of instructions to your trustees about what you want to happen in certain circumstances. These are your wishes after all why not make them crystal clear!

If you are one of the many millions who have insurance with BUPA it might just be worth checking the security of your date. BUPA Insurance Limited have been fined £175,000 by the Information Commissioner for a data breach because a BUPA employee collected personal data for 547,000 customers and offered it for sale on the "dark web". This is about one third of the 1.5 million customers held within their database. Companies are required under Data Protection laws and the new GDPR legislation to take effective measures to prevent your personal data from being accessed inappropriately. They also have a duty to protect your data. If you have any concerns about the data a company holds about you, you can ask them to confirm the nature of the records on their system. Every company should now have a privacy statement which is available for you to see to provide you with details of the measures which are being taken to look after your information. If a company holds data that you no longer want them to have you can ask "to be forgotten" and removed from their system. Where ever possible Argo tries not to forget their clients! We do however have strict privacy rules within which we operate and are happy to provide you with copies of our privacy statement if you wish. We write to our clients to confirm what we do with their data and will remove sensitive data from our records at your request. We are bound by our governance regulations to retain client files for seven years but there are some exceptions to this which we inform you about. If you do want Argo to "forget you" we will, of course, be sad but promise not to take it personally!

When we report the value of personal items in Inheritance Tax returns it is always difficult to truly know how much things are worth without a professional valuation. Our personal things around us are part of who we are and when valuing without professional assistance items are often considered to be more valuable then they really are. It is a sad fact that most general household items are of very little value when you look at valuing for resale purposes. Heavy old furniture is no longer fashionable, sofas do not have the correct fire safety certificates but there are those items which do have value. For estates which are taxable, and those which are not, HMRC have recommended that items which are believed to be in excess of £500 are professionally valued. HMRC has amended its guidance to advise that professional valuations are now sought when items are believed to be worth more than £1500 or where values are unknown. They want valuations to still be at market value and not for insurance replacement or other purposes.