Pending retirement is one of those milestones that changes people. It makes us look back at our lives to reflect upon achievements and sometimes failures. It makes us look forward to what is to come. It is no longer the case that someone who retires in their sixties is senior. There are more sixty years old than ever before travelling, sailing, skydiving and living an adventurous retirement. This is due to an increase in life expectancy and better healthcare. So what does pending retirement do to us. We reflect upon the here an now, our past and present as a whole. Depending upon our previous outlook in life we may choose to continue to progress, develop and achieve in our retirement, following a previous career or changing direction. We may look to spend more time with the family, looking after the grandchildren and enjoying the time with them that perhaps we could not do so much with our kids because we were working. We might want to travel and explore. But, whatever we choose to do it needs to be with sensible advice and planning behind us. There will be a reduced income as you will not be working. Your pension will need to be reviewed several years before you actually retire. This needs to be carried out by a pension's expert to make sure it is done in the right way for you. You may need to consider claiming state benefits if your income reduces considerably; pension credit, council tax benefit and housing benefit may be needed to help you make ends meet. It is an opportune moment to review where you live. Do you need a house the size you do or is it time to downsize and free up capital to make life easier for the future. Also, is your house fit for you for the next 30 years, as it has been for the last 30? Are you going to struggle with stairs in a two storey house? Is the garden too big? Do you need as much space? Retirement is an opportune moment for reviewing your will and preparing lasting powers of attorney, Particularly if you are looking at taking up adrenaline sports in retirement! It also about being aware of the what if, what if you become unwell and cannot live independently. Have you even thought about it? Whatever you choose to do in retirement make sure you do not blindly walk into is unprepared. It is, after all the next chapter in your life so why not live it well.

according to the Express newspaper. Kelly has recently spoken to Solicitors for the Elderly about difficulties professionals are experiencing with delays at the Court of Protection with the issue of Grants of Probate. Covid introduction the implementation of a new online probate application facility, removing the efficient, amazing service we have historically received from local Probate Registries. As with all modernisation updates they fail to rollout smoothly and this one has certainly had bumps! All administration has now been centralised in Harlow, the bulk scanning capital of the Probate world. This has resulted in lost applications, missing pages of wills, partly scanned documents and accusations that professionals are not sending in correct applications. There are online delays with the portal which works somedays and not others, crashes frequently and dislikes amendments! The telephone lines are not answered, nor are emails and we are not being told that updates to cases cannot be provided over the telephone. This is before you involve the new automated process for H M Revenue & Customs role in the process. As you will see from the article we are now being told that applications cannot be fastracked for the sale of properties or shares or other time critical sales. Historically this has never been a problem as we could always rely on the Probate Registry to have matters completed within three weeks, at the longest. However, what do you do when you are waiting for months? If you fancy a read of the article here is the link: https://www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/1370631/inheritance-tax-probate-grant-rule-asset-sales

I don't need a will or a lasting power of attorney. I am too busy enjoying myself, partying, travelling and living to think about old age and dying. How often have I heard that line in my career. Well the sad fact is you need both because it is not old age that is going to get you in your mid 20s but the unexpected. The unexpected accident, the unexpected mistake, the unexpected illness. Just because you are still young it doesn't mean you are superhuman. So here is why you need to plan for the future. It was not a happy day in my office when Mrs T came in to talk to me about making a will as her son had been unwell. Her son was full of beans, a go getter, the life and sole of the party. He had finished university and had been working for three years in London. He had recently purchased a house with his girlfriend. Things were really beginning to look good for his future. Mrs T was smiling and glowed when she spoke about her son and then she stopped. Her face changed. Her son had been out with his friends for a night out. He had a few too many beers. He had fallen and banged his head on the pavement. He had been knocked out and was taken, unconscious, to hospital. This is how he stayed for four months. As a result of his fall he had a bleed on the brain which caused brain damage. Mrs T no longer smiled and glowed. She had grown old in seconds. Her face was full of concern and worry. She explained to me how he had not been able to work, how his company had been good to begin with and had kept his job open but after six months things had begun to change tone in conversations. She told me how his girlfriend had struggled to pay the mortgage on their new home and to clear the bills. His salary and savings were in accounts in his sole name. She did not know how his recovery would go because it was unclear as to his capacity to make decisions and the level of capacity he might regain. She told me how there had been discussions about treatment and operations to relieve pressure in his head and whether he would survive. These conversations went on for several months. He was young and care free and have never thought about the what if. Had he thought about the what if he might have made a will when he purchased his house. If anything did happen to him his assets could have passed to his girlfriend. Now if anything were to happen to him they would pass to his mother and father. Slightly awkward as he has not seen his father since he was seven. His girlfriend would not automatically receive his assets unless they were held jointly. She would have to make a claim for provision under the 1975 Inheritance Act. Had he thought about speaking to an independent financial adviser he might have taken out life insurance to ensure that the mortgage payments were covered in the event of his death or a terminal illness. He may have put in place lasting powers of attorney for his financial affairs and his health and welfare. These would have allowed him to have someone make decisions on his behalf if he could not. Whatever age you are it is important that you have the right documents in place for the what if.

n is what we commonly know as CPR. It is a procedure designed to restart your heart if you stop breathing and may involve chest compressions, electric shocks across the chest, attempts to ventilate the lungs and injection of drugs. As you can imagine it is a traumatic intervention which is only used as a last option. Most of the time it is unsuccessful with a survival rate of between 5 and 20% depending upon where CPR is received and often leaves damage such as broken ribs, punctured lungs and bruising. If you do not wish to receive CPR then it is possible for you to ask for a do not resuscitate order to be placed on your medical records to highlight your wish. This should be done as part of advance care planning. DNRs are designed to protect you from receiving treatment you do not wish to receive and to make sure that your wishes are taken into account by treating medics. It is important that a DNR is reviewed regularly and therefore when there is an admission to hospital or a care home the DNR conversation should be had and refreshed. If the individual receiving treatment lacks capacity a health and welfare attorney or close family members should be involved in DNR discussions to explore the thoughts, wishes, feelings and beliefs of the person affected. It is also possible for medical professionals to made DNR decisions and agreement should be gained, where possible, from the whole care team involved in care. Where a professional makes a DNR decision it should be made following a very careful assessment of the patient'sl situation and should never be governed by blanket policies. Decisions must be free from discrimination and not made on what the medic considers to be quality of life but that of the person they are treating. It is worth noting that if a professional has placed a DNR order on the records of a patient, with capacity, there is a legal duty on that professional to advise them what they have done. Since Covid there have been some worrying conversations and stories about people in care homes and on Covid wards having DNRs placed on them as part of blanket policies. This should never happen. If you are worried about whether there is a DNR on your medical record or that of a family member ASK! They can be removed as easily as they are put on. But not only that, make sure you have a health and welfare power of attorney in place so that if you reach a point when you are not able to make decisions about CPR someone is there, in your shoes, to make the decision for you. If you need any help or guidance following this article please give our team in the office a call on 01622 843729.

Principle three of the Mental Capacity Act says that "a person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision merely because they make an unwise decision" Haven't you ever made a silly decision before that you later wish you hadn't! And the reason you were not challenged on this, despite the good advice and words of wisdom you received, was because you had capacity to do so. We are all so very different. We have our own values, beliefs, preferences and attitudes and with this comes different perspectives about what is sensible and what is not. No-one has the right to judge a decision you make no matter how unwise. However, when a person has capacity issues an unwise decision may be an indicator of a bigger problem. To make a decision you need to fully understand what it is you are being asked. This requires not just an understanding of the question but also an understanding of the risks and benefits and the consequences of doing or not doing something. There may be a reason to question capacity if someone repeatedly makes unwise decisions that put them at significant risk of harm or exploitation or makes a decision which is obviously irrational or completely out of character. But this is not enough in itself to decide that someone lacks capacity. There needs to be further investigation into the individuals' past decisions, choices and expressions of wish and intent; could there be a medical condition such as paranoia that is causing impaired judgment, are they subject to undue influence or do they have all the information required to make the decision. So, from now on, let's not judge silly decisions as being unwise but take the time to look at the surrounding circumstances and the individual to see what is really going on as it may be a symptom of a bigger issue.

Somehow dealing with the funeral of an elderly relative who lived to a ripe old age, had enjoyed life and caused much mischief seems appropriate as "they had a good innings". Dealing with the funeral of a child or stillborn baby is not what any parent expects to have to deal with. At this time, the grief and feelings of loss that mum and dad go through can be compounded by the need to find fees to pay for the burial or cremation of their child. These costs cannot be pre-empted by a funeral plan and often come as a shock for those faced with the situation. Few know that the Children's Funeral Fund for England can help to pay for some of the costs for a child's funeral. It is not means tested, so is not impacted upon by your earnings and is not affected by your savings. The only stipulation is that the burial or cremation must take place in England and your claim must be lodged within six months of the funeral. The Fund can help to pay for burial fees, cremation fees, the costs of a doctor's certificate and a coffin, shroud or casket (up to the value of £300). Fees in relation to the burial or cremation can be claimed directly by the undertaker dealing with arrangements and they can also claim for some of the other funeral expenses. If you are not using an undertaker the burial or cremation provider can claim for the fees. Should you ever need this support you can apply online by using the following link https://www.gov.uk/child-funeral-costs

Yesterday we spoke about the first principle of the Mental Capacity Act being the presumption of capacity. Today we are going to look at the second principle. The Act says that "A person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision unless all practicable steps to help them to do so have been taken without success" but what does that actually mean? The Mental Capacity Act is an empowering Act. It provides support to people who have capacity issues by setting out steps that must be taken to ensure they are simply not written off and ignored. This principle aims to stop people from being automatically labelled as lacking capacity to make decisions by providing something practical that must be done to obtain evidence of lack of capacity. It is important to start with making sure that the individual who needs to make a decision has all the information they need. None of us can make a decision if we are only given half the facts. It is also necessary to make sure that the individual understands the choice involved in the decision, again we cannot make an informed decision if we are not provided with options and alternatives. We all need to know the consequences of decisions that we make. Consideration must be given to the timing of the decision. Is it urgent and cannot wait or can it wait until the individual is in a better place to make the decision for themselves. Is there a health issue impacting on decision making or a better time of day when understanding is better and clearer? Does the individual feel more at home in a particular location and is there anyone that could help them to express their view? Think about the circumstances around the person to maximise their chance of making a decision for themselves. The support that a person will need will vary, after all we are all different. For some this may mean communicating in a different way ie non verbal communication or providing information in a more accessible manner ie drawings, photographs. It may mean providing treatment for a health complication that is preventing the individual from making the decision there and then or it may take some time as it is necessary to teach someone a new skill to allow them to make decisions ie teaching the use of a speech board or computer. Doing everything practicable does not simply mean asking the question that needs to be answered. It really does mean everything! This may take time and effort but it is so important that a person feels in control of making their own decisions. If, after you have done everything you can, the individual can not make the decision that is required you can determine they are unable to make a decision for themselves. It is not then as straightforward as you making the decision for them. In law, no-one has a right to make decisions for others unless they have appointed someone to do so in writing. This is why it is so important to make a lasting power of attorney to ensure someone is there to make a decision when you cannot. The property and affairs lasting power will allow financial decisions to be made and the health and welfare power will allow health and welfare decisions to be made if you cannot make them yourself. If a power of attorney is not in place then you can appoint a Court of Protection deputy to make decisions. In the event that no-one has this authority a best interest meeting is necessary for the decision making process to continue. This could mean that a simple decision is made with the best interests of the individual at heart ie they are dehydrated so need a drink, or it could be something much more formal. If it is a complex decision then it may be necessary for those involved in the individuals care to meet to discuss what is to happen. This could be medical professionals, social care managers, lawyers and family members. A best interest meeting could also result in a decision that the individual would have been unhappy with. Do you want to end up with strangers making critical decisions about you or would you prefer to give that power to someone you love and trust?

The legislation is the legal framework for acting and making decisions on behalf of individuals who lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves. The Act is relevant to everyone who works with or cares for a personal with a capacity issues. It encompasses all historical pieces of case law and clarifies and improves upon the principles established by cases. It also improves upon the principles set down in case law and builds on good practice. The aim of the legislation is to balance the individual's right to make decisions for themselves with their right to be protected from harm if they cannot make the decision themselves. It does this by assisting and supporting people who may lack capacity and discourages those caring for them from being overly restrictive or controlling. Decisions covered by the Act are things like day to day matters and decisions about major life changing events. Things that are not covered by the Act are decisions such as consenting to marriage or sex, adoption or IVF treatment. The Mental Capacity Act is not relevant if someone is detained under the Mental Health Act. The right to vote cannot be delegated to another by the Mental Capacity Act and it does not permit in anyway any actions contrary to laws on murder, manslaughter or assisting suicide. This is a very important piece of legislation for those living in a world where capacity is problematic. If you do not fancy reading the Act itself why not have a look at the Code of Practice which sets out in easy terms the underlying principles and aims of the legislation. It is an essential read if you are involved with the care of someone living with impaired capacity.

For those of us who work in the area of capacity we know that nothing is black or white. Most of us work in a murky world of grey. For those that live with someone who has a capacity issue their world too is murky grey with some brighter patches and some dank dark patches. Capacity affects everything and there are so many decisions and so many different contexts in which capacity is relevant in daily life. The law relating capacity is now held within the Mental Capacity Act. There are five principles within the Act which are meant to act as a moral compass when dealing with people living with capacity issues. The starting point for looking at capacity is the first principle under the Act which states a person is presumed to have capacity unless it is proven otherwise. Just because there is this presumption of capacity it does not mean that you should not investigate the situation in relation to capacity any more than you should not investigate capacity if it is believed that someone does not have it. In simple terms you must investigate the position regardless of whether or not you believe capacity is present to demonstrate whether it is or whether it is not. After all, it is not for the person needing to make a decision to prove they have capacity but the person raising the doubt. So just to make it clear no-one should assume that someone does not have capacity to make decisions. And that is that. We just wanted to be absolutely clear to start with!

Around the world people have been celebrating the news that vaccines are on order for Covid 19. The government has published confirmation that a vaccine has been authorised. As anticipated the most vulnerable are on the top of the roll out programme. This includes people living in care homes featuring in group one of the vaccination programme. Aside from the logistical problems of storage and transportation we are being advised that vaccines will be available for 8 December 2020. Hospital hubs are being set up to manage the vaccination programme. Local authorities are being asked to compile lists of care homes and help the NHS fill vaccination slots and arrange transport to facilitate vaccinations. Care home staff are being asked to pull together staff lists, provide appropriate evidence they work in the care sector, keep records of vaccinations and allow staff to be released to ensure their staff can be effectively and efficiently vaccinated. The more complex issue revolves around the vaccination of care home residents. This is going to be a very complex exercise as each resident needs to give their consent to being vaccinated as each resident has to sign a consent form to receive the vaccination. At all times it will be necessary for care providers to follow the Mental Capacity Act and therefore the five principles of the Act, starting with the presumption that a person is presumed to have capacity unless it can be shown otherwise. The home will need to speak to each resident in turn and provide them with all information which is necessary for the resident to make a decision about vaccination. This means they need to be told what Covid 19 is, how the illness could affect them, what the vaccination is and how it could affect them, the good and bad points with the vaccination, who has prescribed the vaccination and how it is going to be administered to them, any side effects to having the vaccine and what happens if the do not have it. This information needs to be presented in a way that the resident will understand. It may be through sign language, pictures, use of different language. It is only once all practicable steps have been taken to provide information to that resident can be deemed as lacking capacity to make the decision themselves. This is in line with the second principle. For those residents who have capacity to make the decision there may be some who decide that they do not wish to receive the vaccine. Following the third principle of the Act a person with capacity can make an unwise decision if they wish. Just because the care team at the home may think not receiving the vaccination is unwise as long as the resident has capacity and has been presented with all the facts they can choose to refuse it. Of course, any vaccination must be in the best interest of the resident, in line with principle four of the Act. This could be the most difficult decision of all. How are the competing interests of different residents going to be viewed by the care home as it may not be in all resident's best interests to have the vaccine? And finally, the fifth principle of the Act involves action being taken in a way which is the least restrictive for a resident. Homes are going to need to speak to each resident and families of residents about the vaccination. They simply cannot go ahead and blanket vaccinate every resident. Where it is determined that a resident has capacity to make a decision about vaccination they will be able to sign their consent form as long as they have been provided with all the information they need to make an informed decision. Where a resident lacks capacity to make the decision about vaccination a whole different process has to be followed. If there is a health and welfare lasting power of an attorney the care home will need to consult with the attorney(s) to make the decision about vaccination. The attorney(s) will need to be provided with all the information about the vaccine, the process and the impact it will have on the resident to enable them to make the decision. Where a resident does not have capacity to make the decision then a decision will need to be made in their best interests. This will involve all involved with the individuals care discussing what it best. It would be safe to assume that the decision maker in this situation would be the nurse/care team dealing with medication. This throws up a number of questions which have not had to be be dealt with before as there has been no mass immunisation process in recent years. What happens if a resident or family member refuse consent to be vaccinated? Will no vaccination have an impact upon that resident's ability to stay in the are home? The vaccination decision has to be made in the best interest of each resident. How do you deal with conflicting best interests? Is there going to be pressure put on residents and families to agree to vaccination? How will the vaccination be administered to someone who is refusing an injection? Will we see care homes changing terms of occupancy to include a need for vaccination? As with everything that Covid 19 touches it has a profound impact on the way we live our lives and even with a vaccine it is clearly going to continue to do so. Whilst we may not know the twists and turns that are to come as a result of this virus we can do all we can to make sure that decision making power sits with those who know us best. At Argo we are always telling our clients how important it is to make sure that they have health and welfare lasting powers of attorney. Care homes, Covid and vaccinations just demonstrate once more how vital these documents are for future decision making. For those who cannot make a health and welfare lasting power of attorney it is important to consider the need for a health and welfare deputyship order through the Court of Protection. It is really important that you keep your voice and ensure that your thoughts, feelings and wishes are followed. The best way to do that is to take control and put in place measures to give the power to those you trust for a time when you cannot say what you want. If you would like to discuss the topic contained in this article please call the Argo team on 01622 843729.

We have had deprivation of liberty safeguards in for a number of years but these have recently been overhauled and are due for implementation in April 2022. The new liberty protection safeguards will protect individuals over the age of sixteen who need to be deprived of their liberty in order to enable their care or treatment to proceed. These individuals must lack capacity in line with the Mental Capacity Act to consent to care or treatment. For example those living with conditions such as dementia, autism and learning disabilities could need the protection of the liberty safeguards. The safeguards may be required to keep someone in hospital who is receiving treatment or keep a person in a care home who continually wants to leave. Under the new scheme there will be three assessments which form the basis of the authorisation. These are a capacity assessment, a medical assessment and a necessary and proportionate assessment. The first is what it says. It is an assessment to see whether the individual has capacity to make decisions about their care and treatment. The medical assessment is necessary to confirm whether the personal has a "mental disorder" and the final assessment is to make sure that the arrangements do not cause harm to the individual and that arrangements are proportionate in relation to the likelihood and seriousness of the potential harm. Once these assessments have taken place a decision will be taken as to whether it is necessary to deprive the individual of their liberty or not, and whether any deprivation needs to be legally authorised. If authorised this is not forever and there are strict rules in relation to when a deprivation has to be reviewed. The responsible bodies (the local authorities and NHS) will organise the assessments and ensure that there is sufficient evidence to justify a deprivation. Assessments cannot be completed without consultation of those caring for the individual who lacks capacity and those involved in their welfare. There is the opportunity for a family member to be appointed as an appropriate person to represent the person lacking capacity throughout the process so that there is a voice for the individual needing support. Where it is reasonable to believe that a person lacking capacity would not wish to live or receive care in a hospital or care home an Approved Mental Capacity Professional will also need to be involved in the assessment process to provide an additional level of protection for the incapacitated individual. Deprivation of liberty is not the same as being detained under the Mental Health Act which is something completely different. If you, as a family member, are being told that a deprivation of liberty safeguard authorisation has to be put in place this is not something to worry about. This is to help keep your family member safe. There may be circumstances however when you do not agree with what is happening. In these circumstances you should take legal advice on the way in which you can object to a deprivation of liberty. If you do need some help with this give us a call for further advice.

You may have heard this described as end of life care or palliative care, but do you really understand what it means? End of life care is help for people who are in the last few months or years of their life. However, when death will happen is not an exact science, even if there is a medical expectation. With effective planning, decisions can be made before end of life care is necessary to make sure an individual receives the care and support they wish. Every individual has a right to express their wishes about where they want to receive end of life care ie at home, in a hospice or in hospital.The use of powers of attorney and advance directives can ensure that people close to you can make decisions and express your wishes on your behalf. The preparation of a personal care plan is often the best way to make sure that wishes are in one place and regular review ensures that wishes are kept up to date according to changes in health. When talking about end of life care most people consider this to be "switching off the machine" but it is so much more than that. Care at end of life is tailored to the individual needing it. It therefore goes without saying that the person needing care should be at the centre of all decisions. End of life care can involve treatment for people who have an incurable illness, are frail, have existing conditions which are crisis driven or have a life threatening acute condition caused by a catastrophic event. Palliative care is part of end of life care which makes an individual as comfortable as possible if they have an illness that cannot be cured. Palliative care will involve pain management, psychological, social and spiritual support not just for the person at the end of this life but their family. As end of life care is so important experts have agreed that there are five important priorities for care and support that a person and their family should receive in the last few days and hours of life:- Patients should be seen by a doctor regularly. If they believe death is imminent the individual and their family should be told Staff involved with care should speak sensitively and honestly to the individual and family members Patients and family should be involved in decisions about treatment and care, if that is what the patient wants The needs of family and other people close to the patients should be met as far as possible An individual care plan should be agreed with the patient and delivered with compassion End of life planning is not something that should be left until the end of life. As we age and experience different things we develop wishes and feelings about what should happen to us if we become unwell. End of life should not automatically be considered as something that affects the older generations. The unexpected happens and end of life can come at any age. If you would like to have assistance with end of life planning for the future please give us a call as the team are happy to help.