Over the last four years we have been trying to evict Kelly from the office. You will be pleased to know that as of today she is now on leave for two whole weeks. She has fought hard and resisted well but has now succumbed to force and has been removed from the building. Her passcard has been put in the safe so she cannot access the office under cover in the middle of the night. For those of us who remain behind we are looking forward to two weeks of productive working! Kelly is away from the office from 23 August to 10 September.

We have recently posted on our facebook and social media about the current problems surrounding Universal Asset Protection and the advice provided to its clients. We thought we would let you know what the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners have to say about their current position and existing clients ....... "STEP has received an unprecedented number of enquiries regarding Mr Steven Long and the companies of which he is a Director, namely Universal Tax Solutions of Dencora House, 34 White House Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 5LT, which traded as Universal Wealth Preservation. Associated companies include Universal Asset Protection Ltd and Universal Trustees Ltd. Mr Steven Long, Mrs Melanie Long and Universal Trustees Ltd act as Professional Trustees. Universal assisted clients with drafting and managing trusts, wills and lasting powers of attorney (LPAs), as well as providing secure storage of original documents. STEP suspended Mr Long’s membership on 1 November 2017, and he was permanently excluded on 5 October 2018, subject to his right of appeal, following the completion of the disciplinary investigation into a number of the complaints received (updated 8 October 2018). Universal Asset Protection entered into compulsory liquidation in May 2018, with the business premises of Universal Wealth Preservation having closed several months previously. The company website has since been taken down. We understand that clients have experienced great difficulties in contacting Universal, with no responses to emails, letters or phone calls. We have been advised that some clients have been concerned about the management of their trusts, with delays in estate administration and payments from the trusts being made, in addition to being unable to ascertain the whereabouts of their assets, or retrieve original wills and LPAs held in secure storage. Universal clients now face the realistic prospect that they are unlikely to retrieve original documents or to recover cash assets. STEP is aware that Suffolk Constabulary is now investigating, and it has seized all documents that were held at Dencora House. What should you do now? STEP is advising Universal clients to: •Seek independent legal advice from an experienced trust and estate practitioner on your options, which may include how to make an application to the courts to replace Mr and Mrs Long/Universal Asset Protection Ltd as trustees, making new wills and LPAs •Check whether Lasting or Enduring Powers of Attorney have been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian – call the OPG on 0300 456 0300 •If not in possession of an original will, make a new one without delay. In situations where someone has already passed away, we understand that Probate Registries are aware of the situation with Universal and registrars will accept a Rule 54 application for a copy of the will to be used. In circumstances where the Universal directors are appointed as executors, registrars will accept a Section 116 application to appoint new executors. •Contact the Land Registry to ascertain in whose name your property is registered. Call the Land Registry on 0300 006 0411. We understand that the Land Registry is aware of the issues with Universal. •If appropriate, consider whether to make a report to Action Fraud quoting ‘Operation Ardent’ •If concerned by marketing information received or direct approaches from other firms advising you to use their services, consider taking advice from Trading Standards/Citizens Advice Bureau. •Many clients will require Universal Trustees Ltd to sign forms that release them as trustees. In such circumstances, clients’ legal representatives (solicitors and barristers) only can submit a written request for up-to-date contact details to be released to them. Such requests should be made through the data protection team at Suffolk Constabulary. Contact address is dataprotection@suffolk.pnn.police.uk " If you need any help or advice in relation to this company or are worried about documents or previous transactions please contact us for further help and support.

We take our client's safety and security seriously at Argo. As we visit you in your home it is important that you know we can be trusted. As part of the safeguarding procedures we have within the office we conduct enhanced Disclosure and Barring checks on or staff. These checks allow Argo to identify potential employees who may be unsuitable to work with elderly individuals or vulnerable adults and children. We have opted for the enhanced check as this is the highest level that can be undertaken and is commonly used within the health and personal care sectors. Well done to Kevin and Krissy for sailing through the process!

Life is hectic! It is hard to fit working, all the jobs, family visits, shopping trips and walking the dog into twenty four hours, so what better way to streamline life than have the family living together. Homes made up of retired parents, adult children and grandchildren are becoming more common but with these multi-generational families there are advantages and disadvantages. Baby sitting, the school run, someone to cook the dinner and mow the lawn are all significant advantages. And the benefits a grandchild will receive as a result of the daily interaction with their grandparents cannot be underestimated. The disadvantages are the practical things which cause all involved a headache. Multi generational living can be both financially and legally complex. Consideration should be given before jumping into such an arrangement and advice should be sought to ensure that all parties know where they stand. Attention needs to paid as to whether the financial contributions should be structured as ownership of a share of the property, a loan or a lifetime gift. When things are going well there is never usually a problem but what happens if an elderly parent needs nursing care or dies, or one of the children is made bankrupt or divorce? What happens to the share of the home owned by the grandparent? Whilst retired parents may have sufficient funds to contribute towards the purchase costs often some of the costs need to be obtained by a mortgage. Mortgages taken out by working age individuals are not usually troublesome but if one of the parties to the mortgage is approaching or just over retirement age a mortgage company may refuse to lend. The safest way for contributions to be protected is for all parties to appear as a legal owner at H M Land Registry on the title deeds. Without legal ownership the rights and interests of the each party are at risk. Sometimes it is not possible to record each party's interest at H M Land Registry. This is why declarations of trust are so important. This document will record in writing the contribution made by all parties together with the terms of ongoing occupancy. It can also detail what happens to shares in the property if one of the parties dies and document the contribution of each party to the daily running costs. Having provision in a will for what happens to a share in a property is also important. If a child dies before their parent the parent will wish to remain living in the home. This can be secured by way of a trust to ensure a stable home for the future. If, at any point, one of the family needs to claim benefits or needs care the share of the home could be considered a capital asset for means testing purposes if paperwork has not been properly completed to record ownership. Declarations of trust provide evidence to the local authority of the intention of an arrangement. Many clients decide to seek advice after the purchase has completed, money has changed hands and bricks laid. Would it not be easier to sort the sensible stuff before you all live together, just in case you change your mind or choose to proceed in a different way? If you need help with preparing a declaration of trust please get in contact.

Have you seen in the news that the Pension Service may have calculated your retirement pension incorrectly. If not have a look at the Financial Times report in June. The incorrect calculations mean that some individuals have seen an over payment of pension whilst some have been receiving too little. This, as always, does not affect everyone. The incorrect calculations have been highlighted by a review of the Pension Service which started in 2014 and will finish at the end of 2018. If you have received too much pension, once your calculations have been reviewed, you may receive a lower payment in future. You should not be asked to repay any over payment. If you have received too little you will be paid a lump sum to recompense you for what you have missed. You can forget about interest on top as this is not being paid! The errors have resulted in both under and over-payments so that some pensioners will see a fall in the amount they receive when the corrected figures are implemented (they will not have to repay any overpayments received) while others will receive lump sums representing the under-payments (although no interest will be paid). It is therefore important to seek advice to check whether this affects you. You can contact the Pension Service about this www.gov.uk/contact-pension-service or you can speak to your independent financial adviser. If you are already receiving state pension and are one of the individuals affected by this error the State Pension team will contact you direct.

If you are one of the lucky ones who funds their own nursing care you may be eligible for funded nursing care contributions to acknowledge the fact that the care you require has a nursing element to it. These have historically also been known as registered nursing care contributions. These payments are made by the Department of Health to nursing homes in respect of the nursing care they provided and have been paid since 2001. When a person moves into a nursing home an assessment should be carried out by the care home to determine eligibility. The resident will not receive any form of direct payment if they are considered eligible. Payment will be made directly to the care home. In 2016 the amount of the weekly payment was increased from £112 per week to £156.25. In future years it is possible that this amount will change again! Anyone now receiving funded nursing care should receive this higher rate. You should check with your provider to make sure. When the increase was introduced a number of complaints were made about how the care homes treated this increase. Residents thought that the increase should be passed on to them to reduce their weekly fees and, in effect, refund should have been backdated. It is important to look at your care home contract to work out what is going on with the funded nursing contribution as it is not always clear. You should always ask your care home whether your weekly fees are the gross or the net figure ie before or after the deduction of the funded nursing contribution. If it is ambiguous then you should make sure you query what the position is. If you move into a nursing home you may not initially receive funded nursing contribution. The assessment may take place several weeks later. You need to check whether your contract clearly states the weekly fee payable, to include the nursing care contribution you should check whether it is the practice of the care home to issue a new contract to record any change and/or notify the resident of the change in fees as a result of receiving the funded nursing care contribution. You will need to ask whether it is their procedure to backdate any award or increase as a credit to care fees. Perhaps the care home will issue a new contract with one months' notice as to the amended fees following any award or increase. It may be that your care home contract has been carefully worded to not pass on any increase in the funded nursing contribution. This can be accepted by the Ombudsman if a complaint to recover is lodged. If it is felt that the resident fully understood a clearly worded contract then it could be deemed that the resident accepted the terms and conditions. You should therefore receive from the care home:- 1. A clearly written contract setting out what happens to the funded nursing contribution 2. Notification of any care fee increase 3. Details of how to complain in the event that you feel you are not being fairly treated If you need any help with funded nursing contributions please give us a shout!

The deputyship application fee for the Court of Protection is to decrease from £400 to £385. This means that you will be £15 better off if you ever need to make an application. The better way to proceed is still to put in place Lasting Powers of Attorney which will eliminate your involvement with the deputyship process altogether. We protect our homes and cars against the what ifs - why do we not protect ourselves??

Does your solicitor advertise the costs that they charge on their website? We do. At Argo we believe in complete transparency with everything we do. We have no qualms about publishing our prices. We review our charges at the end of every year and publish the updated figures on our website. We understand that customers want to be able to shop around and we want to give our them the option to compare services by costs if that is important to them. The Solicitors Regulatory Authority recently conducted research with customers purchasing legal services. Of those they surveyed only 15% of customers were able to obtain information on pricing without having specifically ask for it. The SRA found that presenting price information would allow customers to make good financial decisions. When prices were readily available for services 62% of customers selected the best option for them between firms. As a customer you should be advised on costs before you undertake any work with a lawyer. Charges should be written down and confirm in a terms of business letter. You are also allowed to negotiate. If you think the charge being made by a lawyer is to much ask them to look at the different ways in which services could be provided ie by the hour, on a fixed fee, on a percentage fee, and see what works best for you. You are the customer after all!!

In 2015 172 attorneys and deputies were removed from their appointed position because of financial mismanagement or theft. This is a 150% increase on the previous two years. Although this is a small number when you look at the number of lasting powers of attorney registered and deputies appointed it is still far from ideal for those individuals who are at the end of the abuse. More often than not those individuals suffering at the hands of financial abuse are elderly or have capacity issues which means they cannot necessarily report the abuse when it happens. They may be isolated socially and geographically which means no-one is watching out for them. Abuse can be calculated and deliberate or justified as a reward or recompense for all the attorney or deputy has done. It can be small or significant but however it occurs it is wrong. Unfortunately, statistics show that it is family members who are most likely to be the abuser with friends and carers following closely behind. The Court of Protection is able to remove attorneys and deputies but very few cases actually end up before it for consideration. This means that there may be many more cases when attorneys or deputies should be removed where financial abuse is continuing. You should never be afraid to report concerns to the Office of the Public Guardian. They will investigate the allegations made thoroughly . If an attorney or deputy has acted properly and in accordance with their duties the Office of the Public Guardian will say so. Where abuse has occurred they will report to the Court of Protection and make recommendations as to the course of action they feel should be followed. Lawyers also have power to deal with abuse of vulnerable clients. We can advise on provisions in lasting powers of attorneys such as including accountability to third party clauses for the review of accounts and duties to consult with professional advisers. Advice to attorneys can cover their role and responsibilities to include what their powers are and what they can and cannot do. We should also be advising on the suitability of attorneys and deputies. It is also important that we look for capacity issues, undue influence and persuasion and coercion in our clients and take steps to ensure that our clients are carrying out their wishes rather than those of a potential abuser. If you are ever asked to wait outside whilst a lawyer meets their client this is so we can speak to our client and provide evidence to support their autonomy when making decisions. We all need to look out for each other. If you ever suspect abuse is occurring report this to the Office of the Public Guardian, Social Services, the Police or a lawyer who will know what steps to take.

Argo prides itself on thinking differently when advising our clients. We take a fresh approach to client needs by thinking about the whole situation rather than one particular issue. We believe in working collaboratively with other services to ensure our clients receive a joined up solution to their problem. We believe we lead in the way in which we provide our services to our clients and stand out from the crowd. The UK Department of Health and Social Care's 2016 policy paper "Our commitment to you for end of life care" states that 470,000 people die each year in England and it is anticipated that this figure will increase by 20% over the next 20 years. Planning for the future is not going to go away. Death is one of life's certainties and therefore planning for a long and happy old age is vital for all of us. We need to make sure that we are having the difficult conversations that are no go areas and discuss the sensitive subjects. These do not just need to be had within a family but also with professional advisers. We need to know about your assets, your liabilities and your tax position but we also need to know about you, your vulnerabilities and your worries. Retirement planning is simply not about money. It's about you and your family. Your finances and your health. It is no longer acceptable for lawyers to advise clients in isolation about a will or power of attorney. All areas of end of life overlap. Lawyers already work with accountants and financial advisers but they also need to be working with care home providers, healthcare professionals, therapists and social services. You simply cannot advise in respect of a will without understanding how care needs will impact on planning. You cannot advise on lifetime planning without understanding how capacity can affect what you intend to do. without considering these issues proactive planning can just fall apart. When you are looking for an adviser you need to make sure they know the answers to your problems. You need to make sure they know about care not just tax. They need to know about end of life planning not just tax planning. They need to know about what happens if you become unwell and cannot remain at home. They need to understand the financial burden this places on a family and what can be done to mitigate this. You need to make sure they have the experience to advise you. Never be frightened to ask them about past cases they have advised on, the type of clients they act for. Ask whether they are members of Solicitors for the Elderly or the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Ask whether they will see you at home because travelling to the office is hard for you. Ask whether they work on fixed fees rather than hourly rates. Most importantly find someone you can have a relationship with and feel comfortable having sensitive and difficult conversations with. You and your lawyer should have a long term relationship not a one off transaction relationship.

The skills needed to draft a will are a dark art practiced by individuals who have studied the law for decades, but is all that about to change? The Law Commission closed its consultation period in relation to modernising wills on 10 November 2017. For those of you who don't know a will has to be in writing, signed by the persona making the will and witnessed by two witnesses who are in the presence of the maker of the will when he or she signed. It is not just about the signing however, you need to have capacity to understand what you are doing too. The legal test for whether you can make a will or not has been in existence since 1870. To have capacity to make a will you must understand what assets you have, understand the relationship with your family members and whether they should be recipients, understand what a will is and when it is effective and understand the consequences of your decisions if you make a will or do not make a will. One of the proposals being discussed is to combine this test with the test laid down to determine capacity in the Mental Capacity of Act of 2005 to determine whether someone has capacity to make a will. In the legislation it must be determined whether there is something that affects your mental capability to understand information, weigh up information and communication decisions. Capacity decisions about ability to make a will can be challenging and life changing so anything to help with these process must surely be an improvement. It is not just the capacity test which is being considered Discussion is also taking place around the need to modernise what a will actually is. Do we need to have a formal will which is written and signed and witnessed or would a text message be sufficient? With many of us owning an i-pad and being used to signing and writing on screen will we see a situation where we can prepare and sign and electronic will? As with everything in life change happens. As soon as we know any more about the modernisation of wills you will be the first to know!

Back in the day it was usually a spouse and children who decided what happened to your remains after you died and there were very few arguments. Today, with split and separated families living thousands of miles apart arguments are flaring about what to do with the remains of those they loved. A recent case resulted in a court dispute as to which side of the Atlantic the remains of war veteran were to be buried. Mr M had been married to his American wife and had two children before his divorce. Following the divorce he returned to the UK and married his first and true love whom he met and initially married during the war. Some may say that romance survives all but that was not the thinking of Mr M's America daughter who wanted her father's remains returned to America for burial. There is clear case law on what happens in these circumstances. No-one has a right of ownership of a body and any instructions placed in a will do not amount to the disposal of an individual's own body. It is recognised by law however that there is a legal right to possess a body in order to arrange a cremation or burial. This right is held initially by the executors if the deceased left a will or if no will was left the Non Contentious Probate Rules 1987 (section 22) provides an order to whom this right passes. In Mr M's case whilst his executors had the right to deal with his funeral wishes following death the High Court, in these circumstances, supported the American daughter in preventing the funeral. After twelve months of dispute the love of Mr M's life agreed for his remains to be returned to America. If there are individuals who all have the same level of right to make funeral arrangements ie children, the High Court have said that the deceased's wishes must be taken into account, the wishes of the family and friends must be taken into account, the place in which the deceased was most connected must be taken into account and the practicalities of arranging a funeral are all factors of key importance. So, not much clearer then! These are just the problems faced with burials! What happens if there is a dispute over cremation? An executor or near relative over the age of 16 can apply to have a body cremated. The Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008 state that ashes can only be given to the person applying for the cremation or the person nominated by the applicant. All of this is clear as mud. So what can you do to try and make it just a little easier? A will can help to deal with potential arguments. You are able to include in your will specific wishes in relation to your funeral and what you want to happen to your remains. Do you want to be cremated (or cream tead as my autocorrect often puts!) or buried. Do you want to be put in a rocket or a firework to made into a diamond ring? Who do you want to have the responsibility of making your funeral arrangements? These wishes are not instructions to executors as to how your body is to be disposed but an expression of your wishes for your executors and family to follow. A funeral plan will also help to prevent dispute as you are in charge of making the arrangements you want at a time when you are able to do so. Funeral plans take away difficult decisions for families at a time when emotionally they really cannot make any decision at all. The funeral director will then have clear instructions about where roles and responsibilities lie. As I always say to clients, you absolutely must discuss this subject with your family. Making decisions about my gran's funeral was one of the hardest things I have had to do. Even though I do this for a living we had never discussed what she wanted after death because we were too busy making sure she enjoyed her life.