For many years there has been a call for will writing to become a regulated activity to ensure that consumer protection laws are followed. The Competition and Markets Authority have now decided to look into will writing, online divorce and pre-paid probate services to investigate whether all is as it seems. The areas of concern for wills and probate which they seem to be targeting are:- will writing - how costs are advertised and rapidly increase from the initial low cost advertised - unfair contact terms - pressure selling and coercion pre paid probate plans - pressure selling, lack of transparency and plans that are set to fail! You all know my position with these subjects. I advise my clients to never purchase a pre paid probate plan. You don't know now if you will need it in the future and you are not certain that your money will be safely looked after so it is there when needed. There are good and bad will writers but it is such a mixed bag you cannot be certain you will get a good one! I would love to advise everyone to only take advice from a regulated legal professional but there are those out there who will not. The best thing the industry can do therefore to protect everyone is to make sure that the same rules apply to those who are regulated or not. This can only benefit the client ultimately. As a Specialist Lawyer in wills and probate I have had to prove to a panel of independent assessors that I have the practical experience and knowledge over my career to advise my clients in my specialist area. You are able to grill your legal adviser in the same way if you are about to instruct them to do work for you. You research other purchases you make in your lifetime so do the the same when you are making your will or are looking at the administration of your estate in future. I really do not enjoy sending my clients bills which are higher than my charges to repair the damage of a badly drafted will and I certainly do not want to find myself in the position in future where I have to charge to administer an estate that someone has already paid for. Let's home the CMA do a good job and come up with some solutions to protect you!

Did you know that couples living together without getting married or entering into a civil partnership has increased from about 1.5 million to 3.6 million in the last twenty five years? Unfortunately, it does not mean the legal system has adapted and modernised to society at the same rate. Being an unmarried couple can put you at a disadvantage to a married couple or civil partners as far as inheritance is concerned. Huge strides have been made to put same sex marriages and civil partnerships on the same ground as mixed sex marriage but this has just not happened with cohabitees and it is unlikely there will be any change soon. So, what do you need to do if you cohabit. If you own a property with your partner make sure you have a cohabitation agreement which details who pays for what and who moves out if your relationship breaks down. Make sure you agree who owns Barnie the cocker spaniel. Do you really want shared custody of your dog, after all they are probably more important to you than your partner! Make sure you have a declaration of trust which records how much you put into the property you bought together. This will ensure you get your contribution back if everything goes wrong. Make a will. If you do not have a will the Rules of Intestacy will kick in. These are provisions, set down in law, which decide who has what on death if you do not have a will. A cohabitee does not receive anything under these provisions. I can hear you shouting at me now saying that all jointly held assets will pass to them as the co-owner. This is correct, but there may be significant assets which are not held in this way. Whatever you do, don't rely on the advice you received in the pub about what you inherit as common law husband and wife because it doesn't make the slightest difference. Many people think that a common law husband and wife is a legal thing. I am sorry to disappoint you but it simply does not exist as far as the law is concerned and it will not matter how many years you have lived together if your partner dies. There is no automatic acquisition of property , pensions, maintenance or other assets. If you are cohabiting with your partner doing nothing is really not an option. It is more important for you that you take steps to secure your interest and to protect not just your position but that of your children. Our team at Argo are experienced in advising cohabiting couples and would love to help you to plan and secure your future. If you are not sure where to start why not take advantage of our 15 minute first aid telephone call so we can talk through your worries and concerns. We can book a time which suits you when you can grab a cup of tea and a note pad!

If you are a deputy appointed by the Court of Protection you should have received a letter or email from the Office of the Public Guardian advising of a change to the surety bond service that is operated. Please do not worry as this change will not affect any existing deputy bonds, only those issued after 1 April 2023. When a person is appointed as a deputy by the Court of Protection, before an order is issued, it is necessary to put in place a surety bond. This is organised by the Office of the Public Guardian. A bond is necessary to protect the assets of the person whose property and affairs the deputy is managing. It is an insurance policy to cover the assets of the individual who is being looked after if things go wrong. The Court of Protection will not issue a deputyship order to the deputy until the bond is put in place. The bond is purely for the protection of the individual whose property and affairs are looked after. It does not protect the deputy. The amount of security is set by the Court according to the size of the individual's estate. If a deputy fails in their duties to manage and protect property and affairs the bond can be called in to reinstate the funds missing as a result of fraud or loss. Insurers do have the right to recover the amount they have paid out, plus their expenses from the deputy, a fact which deputies are not often aware of! The scheme up until now has been delivered by Howden UK Limited who have provided all bond arrangements for the Office of the Public Guardian. This contract ended on 31 March 2023. The Office of the Public Guardian have amended their rules and regulations for the providers of surety bonds which now means that there are three companies who can assist with the provision of bonds.:- Marsh www.arrangebonds.com Howden www.howdendeputybonds.co.uk Insync Insurance Solutions Ltd www.securitybonds.co.uk All companies are full members of the British Insurers Brokers Association or an equivalent association. You can change provider if you wish as long as the Public Guardian is satisfied that the governing requirements for the surety bond scheme have been met. There are many rules and regulations that a deputy has to follow. This is just one of them. If you are a deputy and you are not sure about what is expected of you please give us a call for some friendly advice and support. You can reach us by calling 01622 843729.

Its that time of year again when the Government increase benefits and allowances that are relevant for those receiving care at home or in a care home. When a care calculation is made the local authority have to ensure an individual has a personal allowance. This is a spending pot that they can use for themselves which is not included in care calculations. This is rising from £25.65 to £28.25. The Government also sets a minimum income guarantee that an individual must receive to maintain a standard of living. Your circumstances will determine the amount of income you must receive. This figure is relevant when claiming benefits as your benefit total must ensure you have, at least, this amount to live on. If you are in receipt of care and have savings you are entitled to receive a savings credit in any care calculation that is made on your behalf. All of these amounts have increased from April 2023. It is important that you checked on your benefit update letters that the increase has been considered. It is important if you receive care that the local authority has taken these figures into account and adjusted your contributions. I have put the website link below for you to read. Make sure you check your letters and bills when you next receive one so you know you are getting all you are entitled to! After all, every penny counts! https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-care-charging-for-local-authorities-2023-to-2024/social-care-charging-for-care-and-support-local-authority-circular-lacdhsc20231

Those who know me are aware that I am a Legal Executive and not a solicitor. I am the new breed of lawyer who trains and studies whilst working and qualifies in a different way to a solicitor. My experience and knowledge is from the 20 years I have spent doing this job, not because of a qualification. My exams were harder to do. I studied in my specialist field for longer and had to prove to my regulators I had the skills and experience to do my job and set up my own firm. But, there are still many things that I am not allowed to do. Slowly our professional body is beginning to address some of these problems. I am however delighted to report that legislation to allow Legal Executives to certify lasting powers of attorney has sailed through its latest stage in Parliament this month. The legislation is a private member's bill which means one MP asked the government to look at a change in the law. There are some other amendments that are being made in this piece of legislation to allow lasting powers to be made and registered electronically and to facilitate a new paper process. New safeguards are being introduced to identify the identity of individuals involved in making the lasting power of attorney or named in the form along with changes to the objection process for registration and just allowing the donor to register rather than their attorneys. The changes will also allow a system for the future which registered the lasting power electronically which will be sufficient as evidence of proof of registration along with paper copies. Whilst all of these changes are fantastic the thing that makes me smile about The Powers of Attorney Bill is that it will amend the legislation to allow chartered legal executives to certify a copy power of attorney. This means I can certify your lasting powers of attorney, finally!! It has been somewhat bewildering to know that I can prepare them, register them, object to them, witness them and certificate provide on them but cannot do the bit that does not require any specialist legal skills!

Before 12 January 2023 it was necessary to send a death certificate to the Office of the Public Guardian to notify them of death. This is no longer the case. Whilst we need to write to the OPG to advise them of a death they will now verify the death through the Post Office Life Event Verification system. You will only be asked to send in a death certificate if there has been an issue with verification. You still need to return the original lasting powers, enduring power or deputyship orders for cancellation or amendment.

If you are a deputy or an attorney you may receive a telephone call from a Court of Protection Visitor asking to arrange an assurance visit. This may send you into a panic, after all for those who don't work in the law every day this would be no different to the Judge themselves visiting! You do not need to panic though. The Visitors are just human beings and are there to help you. The Visitor is a member of the Court of Protection team. They help the Court in making sure that deputies and attorneys are looking after the affairs of those they are appointed to look after. The Visitors help with supervising and supporting the Court. A Visitor will only want to talk to you about one person, the person you have been appointed to look after. Their visits are not short. They can take three hours to complete but this is because they go into detail about how things are managed. A Visitor will look at how often you see the person you look after, whether you speak to others about their needs and will make sure that you have accountability for decisions you make. They will want to make sure that you have informed everyone you need to about the existence of the deputyship order or power of attorney. They will make sure that you are aware of the benefits the individual you look should receive and may ask to look at insurance paperwork, details of investments, bank statements, contracts, invoices and other paperwork to document your actions. A Visitor will ask about past decisions and future plans for the individual you look after. This is to make sure you are considering their best interests and have some structure to the way in which you manage your appointment. The Visitor will not just want to meet you. They will want to see the individual you are looking after as well. This is to find out about them and to gain insight from their perspective into how they are being looked after. If you are lucky enough to meet a Visitor use it as an opportunity to extract nuggets of wisdom from them about how to do things, how to record decisions and to gain an insight into what the Court of Protection are looking for from their attorneys and deputies. If you have any worries or concerns about how your appointment as attorney or deputy is going we are experts in this field. We would be happy to talk to you about any issues you face and help as much as you need. Please call us on 01622 843729.

As we are looking out the window at snowy scenes I thought I would break from my theme of care and look at cold weather payments. These are important for our elderly and vulnerable communities as they provide extra funds to help with increased heating costs during our coldest times. We all know that at the moment they will not deal totally with the increased heating costs but there is extra help available. These fuel related payments do not include the cost of living payments which have been introduced by the Government, which are in addition to the help available for fuel costs. Winter Fuel Payment If you were both before 26 September 1956 you may be eligible for a winter fuel payment. The winter fuel payment is paid to those living in the UK, but there are some circumstances where the payment is made to those living abroad. If you are living in your own home or in a care home you should receive this payment. There may be some exemptions if you live in a care home and are receiving certain benefits, so it is important you check eligibility. To qualify for the payment this year you need to have been living in the UK during the week of 19 to 25 September 2022. This is called the qualifying week. If you are eligible a letter should have been sent by the DWP in October or November telling you the amount you should receive. This year payments will range between £250 and £600 depending upon your personal circumstances. This increased amount will take into account the additional pensioner's cost of living payment of between £150 and £300 announced by the Government. If you have not received a letter but think you might be eligible check by telephone on 0800 731 0160 which is the number for the Winter Fuel Payment Centre. Cold Weather payment If you receive pension credit, income support, income based job seekers allowance, income based employment support allowance, universal credit or support for your mortgage interest you may be able to receive a cold weather payment. For every 7 day period of cold weather between 1 November and 31 March you will receive a payment of £25. This should be credited to your bank (the same one as your pension or benefits) within 14 days. Warm Home Discount If you receive the guarantee credit element of pension creditor are on a low income and have high energy costs you may be able to claim the warm home discount. This is a one off discount on your electricity bill for the year. Funds are not paid to you. A discount is applied to your electricity bill between October 2022 and March 2023. If you have a pay as you go meter or live in a park home there is a slightly different way of claiming the discount available under the scheme. Energy Bill Support Scheme This scheme provides a £400 non repayment discount to eligible households to help with the payment of energy bills for the 2022/2023 year. All households with a domestic electricity supply in England are eligible for the discount. You do not need to do anything to claim this support other than check your electricity bill. The discount will be applied to your monthly household electricity bill for 6 months starting in October 2022. You will receive £66 in October and November and £67 in December, January, February and March. If you pay by direct debit this payment will be deducted from your monthly payment or credited to your bank account. Different arrangements are made for those who use prepayment meters, payment cards or pay your electricity as part of your rent. Household Support Fund If you are struggling with your heating costs each local authority has a household support fund which can provide further assistance with hearing costs. This has to be claimed via the local authority covering your home. If you have any difficult with any of these payments or know someone you think should be able to claim but isn't please give us a call as our team can help to make sure those who need this help the most can benefit. Our number is 01622 843729.

Sometimes being a legal executive regulated firm is hard. There are many things that cause us more trouble than the conventional solicitor firms. Some days are really difficult because of the challenges we face but others are amazing. Like yesterday .......... Argo had been approached by an elderly gentlemen at an information event we attended. He advised us his partner of ten years had died in June and that the executors of her will had issued eviction proceedings to force him to leave his property. After three solicitor letters and no contact from his "stepchildren" to help him find alternative accommodation he was scheduled to attend an eviction hearing yesterday. This gentleman is 92 years old, an Armed Forces Veteran and he lives with mobility and health problems. He has little savings and lives on his state pension and war pension. He had approached another solicitor for advice who had charged him £1600 for one visit and provided a quote for further work to challenge the estate of his late partner. He had received no advice or support and they had not listened to what he wanted to do. He wanted to leave the house and start again so he could be happy somewhere for the remainder of his life. He applied to go on the housing register for accommodation but was told there was a three month delay in processing applications. He did not know how to prepare a defence to possession proceedings nor could he afford to employ someone to argue his case. We said we would help him. You may not know that legal executives cannot represent their clients in Court because we are not given automatic rights of audience like solicitors. We have to complete extra qualifications to be able to do this or qualify as a solicitor. Not all legal executives have qualified as litigation experts but that does not mean we cannot argue for what is fair and just. We received the Court bundle from our client on Thursday to review. The executors of the estate were claiming £6800 in rent for the period from the death of his partner and the solicitors they instructed were claiming costs of just under £10,000. Some positives! Our client had been in contact with the Royal British Legion to see whether they could assist with accommodation as he was a Veteran. Not everyone knows that the Legion can help with accommodation. He was lucky. They had an available property. He had been able to sign a tenancy agreement and the Legion did as much as they could to make sure the keys were available for him to move into as soon as possible. He was giving a moving in date of 5 December. Our client was able to arrange assistance from a fabulous removal company who helped him to pack and move his home. We were able to arrange a fantastic clearance company who removed all items he could not take to him new home to sell at auction. We went to the Court hearing on his behalf. So, what happened at the hearing? Whilst we could not provide evidence, the Judge asked us the position with our client. We told her the facts. It was very clear from the conversations that took place in the Court the Judge was not happy with the case sat before her. It must have been another sad and desperate case for her which could have ended up so differently. The Judge decided there was to be a 75% reduction on the claim for rental income by the executors and a reduction the executors' cost to £1500. A fantastic and fair result for our client. What did we learn from this? Argo needs to continue to stand up for those clients who do not have a voice, whether through illness or lack of finance. We always knew that legal executives are worth their weight in gold and are an equal to solicitors despite what others may say. You do not have to be a solicitor or work in a traditional solicitors firm to make a difference. It is about you, the adviser, your approach and the difference you make. If you are an executor that needs to gain possession for a property you need to make sure that you do as much as you can to help the evictee to find alternative accommodation. Don't just simply expect to go to Court and get what you ask for. We knew anyway that when we advise clients who are not married or are on their second or third marriages, that there needs to be significant discussion about what is to happen when one of them dies to avoid this exact situation from arising. Unfortunately, these events are all too common because of badly drafted wills and lack of thought. They can be avoided. These are the days that the team at Argo get out of bed for!

Do you know there are different pathways under which individuals are discharged from hospital? Pathway zero is simple. There is zero need for help! Following a stay in hospital a patient is discharged the their usual place of residence. They are fully independent upon discharge and do not require any further support. Pathway one is where a patient is discharged to their usual place of residence but needs interim support. This could be with a new package of care or with tweaks to their existing package. They may receive reablement support to help maximise their independence along with some therapy or equipment to held them. These individuals can be left safely alone between calls and overnight. Pathway two will see a patient transferred to a non acute bed setting to receive rehabilitation and assessment until they are safe to return home. The placement will be short term and may or may not involve reablement and assessment. There may be some element of specialist rehabilitation but these individuals will be unsafe if they are left alone between care calls or overnight calls. Pathway three is the term which is all the rage with hospital discharges at the moment. Lots of patients with dementia , complex or long term health conditions are discharged under pathway three. There may have been life changing health care needs as a result of illness or accident or complex end of life or mental health needs. This pathway can also be used if there are completed housing and homeless needs, Patients are transferred to new long term beds, outside of the hospital environment, usually for assessment, as they have complex needs which require professional input from multiple sources and a high need for a package of care. Pathway three is paid for by the Integrated Care Boards (the NHS) rather than the individuals. It is important to understand what pathway you or your family member are being discharged under as this has knock on consequences for funding and future support. Argo are care experts and can help navigate the care minefield. If you want our help give us a call on 01622 843729.

If your child was lucky enough to receive a child trust fund from the Government you need to make sure they are claiming their entitlement when they turn eighteen. There is a potential £2,100 which may be there for them to claim. Trust fund accounts were set up for every child born between 1 September 2022 and 2 January 2011. A payment of £250 was made for each child with the account maturing when they are eighteen. If no account was opened by their parent HMRC automatically opened an account for them. The scheme no longer exists as it was closed in January 2011 and was replaced with a junior individual savings account. If you have a child born between this period and you know the child trust fund provider they should be contacted directly or you can visit www.gov.uk and complete an online form to find out where the trust fund is held. Here is the link should you need to investigate further. https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/find-a-child-trust-fund

The team at Argo just want to wish you all a Happy Halloween but wanted to remind you to watch out for your elderly neighbours. Whilst Halloween is fun for children it can be a particularly scary time for our elderly and vulnerable neighbours. Trick or treating and knocking on doors can frighten those who are not expecting visitors. People can feel panic and high amounts of stress at this time of year and may be suffering with samhainophobia, a fear of Halloween. If your neighbourhood is planning a trick or treating event just let your vulnerable neighbours know or perhaps just check to make sure they are doing okay and take them something nice instead!