More people than you think have estranged family members or are subject to significant family disagreements. Exercising care and caution when making a will which excludes a family member is really important. The law says that anyone can challenge a will or make a claim for provision from an estate. It is then up to a judge to decide whether the claim is valid or whether they should be provided for. Often people are not sure about how to make a will which excludes someone. The impact of this worry is unnecessary stress you do not need. It is more important to make a will if you wish to exclude a family member as soon as you can. If you do nothing they may inherit anyway. Regardless of whether the claim succeeds, there will be a significant cost implication on your estate as it is very possible that a claim could end up with a Court hearing. This will result in less money being available for those you really want to inherit. The solution is to think about why you do not want a particular person to benefit. What are your reasons and thoughts behind your decision, do you have evidence to support your thinking? If so write all of these things down in a letter which you can keep with your will. To prevent it from being argued that you lacked capacity to make the decision about excluding them get a capacity report to show that you were fully aware of what you were doing and the decisions you made when you made your will. Then place all of this information with your will and keep it safe. Cutting someone out of your will is no reason not to complete a will. Just think carefully about why you want to act in the way you do and do as much as you can to protect yourself, your will and your family. Also, give us a call to talk through your thoughts so that we can reassure you. After all it is your will and you should leave your estate to those you wish.

As lawyers we can tell you about the formalities for making and signing wills, ensuring the right things are included and making sure they are signed correctly, but we're not going to do that as these things are down to us, not you. And, we also don’t need to tell you that a will is a document that you have to sign to make sure things are divided out amongst those who are important to you upon your death. You know that already! We want you to make sure you understand how not doing things when making your will can impact upon you and your family’s future as this is more important and might be stopping you from taking that next step. It is important to ensure that you get the right advice. At some point we could all take advice from the man in the pub or pay expensive legal fees for advice. Making a will is important so it is not just about getting the document right but making sure you get the right adviser; someone who you can talk to and explain your worries to, someone who understands your circumstances and listens, someone you feel you can trust to talk about the secrets that are hidden away and someone who will tell you the best way to achieve your wants and wishes. The worst thing you could possibly do however is to do nothing. It is important that all of us over the age of eighteen who own houses, have savings, own cars, have children, have grandchildren or a dog make a will. It is thought that over half of the adult population in England do not have wills. For those individuals they are leaving the future of their estate and their family to chance. For those who have made wills they have peace of mind and security in knowing that their wishes can be carried out and their families are protected. If you think that you need to review or make your will why not give us a call or visit our website to start the process today https://www.argolifeandlegacy.co.uk/argoonlinewills

Did you know that if you employ a veteran you could be eligible for a National Insurance holiday for the first year they work with you? As always there are lots of special rules set down by HMRC but for further information click on the link below https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-national-insurance-contributions-relief-for-veterans-as-an-employer

You may have seen in the news that Bruce Willis is retiring from acting because he has been diagnosed with asphasia. You will know who Bruce Willis is but do you know what asphasia is? Sometimes you may come across people who have difficulty in speaking, understanding others, reading, writing and using numbers. They may have difficulty with having conversations, expressing emotions, asking questions or answering communications. They may have asphasia. Asphasia is a communication disability which is caused by damage or changes to the networks within the brain which control communication. These live in the left hand side of the brain. It is often a symptom of dementia, stroke or brain trauma. Whilst many people will think that aphasia is a condition for the older generations young children, teenagers and young adults can also be affected. Sometimes aphasia is temporary for example after a stroke but more often it is a progressive condition which will worsen over time. There is no cure for aphasia and treatments and their effectiveness differ for each person living with the condition. In a world where everything we do is dependant upon communication a diagnosis of aphasia can be devastating. Self confidence may be shattered, people may withdraw from the once active life they lead, work can be affected and personal relationships may alter. the simplest of tasks become problematic. Signing your name, understanding letters and speaking on the telephone may quickly become things which are no longer manageable. A diagnosis of asphasia is a prompt to review things, specifically whether anyone has the ability to assist with communication and decision making. In England no-one has authority to communicate or make decisions on behalf of another regardless of whether you are husband and wife or parent and child. Your family needs to have written authority to do this and that authority is in the form of a lasting power of attorney. These authorities can be completed to provide support and assistance with decision making for financial matters or health matters and will last whether someone has capacity to make their own decisions or not. They will allow your family to sign cheques, transfer money, speak to the bank or utility companies. They will also allow your family to discuss things with GPs, social workers and other clinicians, make decisions about where someone lives and, in the most serious of circumstances, make decisions about whether someone receives treatment to keep them alive. As long as you are over eighteen you can make a lasting power of attorney. Make sure it is not too late to ensure your family can help you when you need it. If you need to discuss your situation or preparing lasting powers of attorney please give us a call on 01622 843729 to make use of our free fifteen minute information call.

Today was the first memorial service to mark the death of Prince Philip. So much can happen to a family in a year! Even the Royal family have deaths, marriages, divorces, scandal, fall outs and estranged family members, so remember, if any of these apply to you, these things happen to all of us!! Last September I reported how every will made in the UK is a private document until after a Grant of Representation has been issued by the Probate Registry. This is unlike Prince Philip's will which has been sealed for 90 years. Only when this time has passed can a conversation take place about whether it is appropriate to release the terms of his will into the public domain. https://www.argolifeandlegacy.co.uk/post/prince-philip-duke-of-edinburgh-his-will-and-family-privacy Should Prince Philip have been minded to detail his inner most thoughts about his family in his will, to document why they may not have been included as beneficiaries, any scandal or character assassination would remain carefully protected for years to come. What an interesting lawyer / client conversation that would have been! It is likely that by the time his will is considered suitable for the public domain those who would have been most affected by any negative comments would have died. This is not so however for the ordinary man on the street. If you are not minded to include a family member as a beneficiary of your will this is entirely up to you. After all, it's your will! Just be wary of providing detail in your will as to why they are not included. Whatever is written in your will becomes public record once the Grant of Representation has been issued. This means that the person you have eloquently disinherited will be a party to everything written, and, even worse, will be aware of what was written even if things have changed and rifts have been healed. A good lawyer, such as that which Prince Philip would have had, would advise that It is much safer to write a separate letter to your executor documenting why you have made the decisions you have as this letter remains private between you and your executor. Should your estranged family member choose to challenge your will the letter can be produced to the Court as evidence of your wishes, if necessary. In this letter you can provide as much detail as you wish, evidence situations and examples of behaviour. attach documents which support the decision you have made and keep it safely with your will. It is our job at Argo to make sure that you have the emotional support you need when making a will because many people find it a very difficult exercise to complete. It is also our job to ensure that those you leave behind are not subjected to any catastrophic fall out as a result of what was said at a time of emotion. You can rely on us to keep the level head! If you have been putting off making a will for this exact reason put it off no more! Not having a will is worse than putting your thoughts on paper, even if it is difficult for you to do. If you want to discuss how disinheriting a family member could impact upon your will take advantage of our FREE 15 minute first aid phone call to put your mind at rest. Give the team a call on 01622 843729 for reassurance and peace of mind.

Do you know any Dunkirk veterans? If so you need to read this article! We have just discovered the existence of a special pot of money held in a charitable trust called the 1940 Dunkirk Veterans Association. Although this fund was closed in June 2000 it has now been transferred to the 1940 Dunkirk Veterans Memorial Trust Fund. It is administered by the Royal British Legion and the trustees have to manage it as a ring fenced pot. This means they can only use it to assist Dunkirk Veterans ie • Ex service personnel who served in the British Expeditionary Force in France at Dunkirk, the adjacent beaches or other ports of evacuation between 10 May 1940 and 30 June 1940 • Royal Navy personnel who took part in the evacuation and their widows, widowers or dependants • Royal Air Force personnel who took part in the evacuation and their widows, widowers or dependants The pot of money is to be used to alleviate the need, hardship or distress of any of these the Dunkirk Veterans. In addition to grants a widow or widower would be eligible to receive a one of widow/er’s grant of £75, following the death of their spouse, if a death certificate can be provided to the Royal British Legion. The pot of money the Royal British Legion has does need to be spent and the number of people who can benefit from this pot is falling. If the specific fund is not used for Dunkirk Veterans it will fall into the Royal British Legion general funding pot on a specified date. If you know of Dunkirk veterans it would be worth contacting the Royal British Legion to see whether they could use these funds to provide financial support. With the falling numbers and the balance of funds available they may be able to assist in circumstances that previously would have been refused. To contact the Royal British Legion you can call them on 0808 802 8080 or email them on info@britishlegion.org.uk. Ask to speak to the grant funding team. Please share this article as far as you can to make sure we reward those veterans who did the unthinkable.

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We’ve made it quick and convenient for you to manage your blog from anywhere. In this blog post we’ll share the ways you can post to your Wix Blog. Blogging from Your Wix Blog Dashboard On the dashboard, you have everything you need to manage your blog in one place. You can create new posts, set categories and more. To head to your Dashboard, open the Wix Editor and click on Blog > Posts. Blogging from Your Published Site Did you know that you can blog right from your published website? After you publish your site, go to your website’s URL and login with your Wix account. There you can write and edit posts, manage comments, pin posts and more! Just click on the 3 dot icon ( ⠇) to see all the things you can do. #bloggingtips #WixBlog

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I knew that university was not the right choice for me when I was working out what I wanted for my future. I knew I wanted to practice law so had to find a way to achieve my dreams that was not conventional and different from the norm. Looking back this seems to sum up my career quite nicely! In 1995 I started a job as a legal secretary and discovered a new way to qualify as a lawyer. I could become a Legal Executive which meant qualifying whilst I worked. This was perfect. I started my studies in 1999 and qualified as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Executives in 2005. Not bad for someone who didn't attend grammar school, whose mum picked fruit in the school holidays and dad was a builder! Following qualification I have run a trust department and an elderly and vulnerable department in large regional practices, was made an associate in a law firm and became the first partner in that firm who started life as a secretary. I have also obtained my law degree to prove to myself I could. In 2014 I started my own legal practice, and was one of the first three Legal Executives in the UK to obtain my Probate Practicing Rights enabling me to establish my own practice, free from supervision of a solicitor (which I might add I had not had for many years and did not need!) During my career I have seen the glass ceilings crumble for female lawyers, lawyers who did not come from the right background or attend grammar school or university. All of them were fantastic at their jobs. Our careers have not been without struggles however. For some reason, even though our training is longer and more in-depth than solicitors upon qualification, we have practical experience to add to our theoretical qualifications and have a huge amount of empathy and warmth, Legal Executives are still viewed as an inferior lawyer within the legal profession. The Legal Services Act 2007 paved the way for Legal Executives to be viewed as equals to solicitors and barristers allowing us to achieve partner status, own a share in a legal firm or even own our own firm. In practice this has not happened and is reflected in the recent Chartered Institute of Legal Executives journal which reported it's findings from a recent survey of the membership. It saddens me that a large number of Legal Executives "feel good about their position" but "think that the wider legal profession looks down on them". We should not be feeling that we are "lesser lawyers". We are revolutionaries and part of the changing face of the legal profession. The report goes on to say "that barriers that all CILEX members face are compounded further if you are female, ethnic minority or went to a non-selective state school". I ticked two of those boxes. It is such a shame that along with problems of race, gender and disability those of us who wish to make a difference to the world, in a different way, also have to deal with incorrect perceptions of the value of Legal Executives. Most of us are proud to be Legal Executives and have the drive and ambition to go further in our careers. This is why Argo is different! Argo is regulated by the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives. As company director I am a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives. I have 22 years of experience in my job. Argo only employs lawyers who are qualified Legal Executives or individuals who want to train to become Legal Executives. We take on young adults who do not want to go to university but want to be lawyers and train them as they progress. It does not matter where you begin but where you end up and what happens along the way. Argo is proud to be a firm staffed by Legal Executives and reg ulated by Legal Executives. We are proud of the experience and knowledge we hold and the benefit we bring to you as a client. If you know anyone who may be interested in a career in law but does not feel that university is the right way forward, or perhaps wants a change of career, please contact us on 01622 843729 or email us at info@argolifeandlegacy.co.uk.

It is unfortunate for the government to have discovered a data breach as reported in the newspapers today, particularly of such sensitive information. It will be interesting to see how the Information Commissioner treats the breach and that action which is taken as a result! Managing data is a complicated affair. For those of us who have to hold personal information as part of the work we do for you we have to make sure that it is securely held. Argo is subject to the rules which are set down in the Data Protection Act 2018. We are not allowed to share your data, keep inaccurate data and cannot use it for any purpose other than which it was collected for. In the event of a data breach we have internal company procedures which we must follow to investigate and put measures in place to prevent the breach from happening again. You are able to obtain information about the data we hold about you by making a subject access request and you can also ask us to erase the information we hold about you on our system. We have very strict rules within Argo about data protection. Clients papers are only retained in the office and not removed. We do not have paper files. All data is held electronically. Our electronic data is managed on secure encrypted servers. All deeds and documents are held securely in locked cabinets. We use a secure shredding facility to make sure that no waste paper leaving the office finds its way to somewhere it should not be. If you would like to receive further information about our data protection policies please contact our Data Protection lead, Kelly Duke, for further information.

Every will made in the UK is a private document and should not be discussed with anyone either before or after death, unless the individual making the will chooses to. It will remain a private document unless and until a Grant of Representation has to be obtained to deal with the administration of an estate. A Grant of Representation is the Court order which the Probate Registry issues to confirm those entitled to deal with the estate administration and to allow the administration to proceed to completion. The Grant of Representation will take the form of a Grant of Probate, if there is a will, or a Grant of Letters of Administration if there is no will or for some reason a Grant of Probate is not the appropriate document. Statute states that once a Grant of Representation has been issued the will any any other document relevant to the Grant becomes a public document and can be viewed by anyone who wishes to see it. It is the case that a will of the King or Queen does not need to be proved by a Grant of Probate. It will therefore remain a private document but this is not the case for other members of the Royal Family, so an application must be made to the Head of the Probate Registry for the executors of a senior member of the Royal Family to seal a will. The first member of the Royal Family, whose will was sealed on direction by the President of the Probate division, was His Serene Highness Prince Francis of Teck, the younger brother of Princess Mary of Teck who married King George V and became Queen Mary in 1910. The most recent wills to be sealed were Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother and Her late Royal Highness The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. These sealed wills are now held by the President of the Family Division in a safe which purports to contain over 30 envelopes. An application has been made, and granted, to seal the will of His late Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The sealing of this will has marked a change in proceedings to seal wills however. It has imposed a duration for the sealing process which has been applied to all other sealed wills held by the President of the Family Division. From now on, from the date of the issue of a Grant of Probate, a time period of 90 years will pass. Upon expiration of this 90 year period the sealed will is to be opened in private, at the direction of the President of the Family Division, to enable inspection of the will by the Sovereign's Private Solicitor, Keeper of the Royal Archives, the Attorney General and any of the deceased's personal representatives who may be available. If it is deemed appropriate for the will to be unsealed at time steps can be taken to do this. If it is deemed appropriate to maintain the sealed status for a further period of time steps can be taken to maintain the status quo. His late Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh influenced many things throughout his lifetime and still continues to do so!