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

With Wix Blog, you’re not only sharing your voice with the world, you can also grow an active online community. That’s why the Wix blog comes with a built-in members area - so that readers can easily sign easily up to become members of your blog. What can members do? Members can follow each other, write and reply to comments and receive blog notifications. Each member gets their own personal profile page that they can customize. Tip: You can make any member of your blog a writer so they can write posts for your blog. Adding multiple writers is a great way to grow your content and keep it fresh and diversified. Here’s how to do it: Head to your Member’s Page Search for the member you want to make a writer Click on the member’s profile Click the 3 dot icon ( ⠇) on the Follow button Select Set as Writer

When it comes to design, the Wix blog has everything you need to create beautiful posts that will grab your reader's attention. Check out our essential design features. Choose from 8 stunning layouts Your Wix Blog comes with 8 beautiful layouts. From your blog's settings, choose the layout that’s right for you. For example, a tiled layout is popular for helping visitors discover more posts that interest them. Or, choose a classic single column layout that lets readers scroll down and see your post topics one by one. Every layout comes with the latest social features built in. Readers can easily share posts on social networks like Facebook and Twitter and view how many people have liked a post, made comments and more. Add media to your posts When creating your posts you can: Upload images or GIFs Embed videos and music Create galleries to showcase a media collection Customize the look of your media by making it widescreen or small and easily align media inside your posts. Hashtag your posts Love to #hashtag? Good news! You can add tags (#vacation #dream #summer) throughout your posts to reach more people. Why hashtag? People can use your hashtags to search through content on your blog and find the content that matters to them. So go ahead and #hashtag away!

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!

The Court of Protection will be increasing the application fees for a deputyship, statutory will or gifting application from £365 to £371 as of 30 September 2021. If you have an application in process make sure you submit it before 29 September 2021 to obtain the lower fee!!

If you are a trustee of a trust you will need to make sure you are familiar with the new rules in relation to the registration of trusts with the HMRC. There have been changes in recent years to ensure that HMRC is aware of all trusts within the UK. Certain trusts already need to be uploaded to the UK trust register. This has not included trusts which are non-taxable, until now. Until recently all trusts which did not generate income or capital gains, and did not require the completion of an tax return did not need to be included on the register. Now, trusts which do not generate income or capital gains and do not need a tax return must be registered on the trust register by 1 September 2022, unless they are specifically excluded. If a trust becomes registerable after 1 September 2022 there will be a 90 day window in which trustees must register the trust on within the registration system. The same window will apply if an amendment must be made to the trust details. This new change is going to make the ongoing work required by a trustee more complex and add an additional layer of compliance responsibility that must be observed to avoid falling foul of HMRC sanctions. If you are a trustee and do not know how these changes will affect any trust you have responsibility for and do not know where to begin please give us a call for more help and support.

Before you say yes to acting as an attorney do you really know what is involved and what this could mean for you? Saying yes and signing the forms is the easy bit! It may not be as simple as you think. The duties of an attorney appointed under a lasting power of attorney are set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005. They state that an attorney must:- assume that a donor, the person making the lasting power of attorney, has capacity to make their own decisions unless it is established the donor cannot do so not treat the donor as unable to make decisions unless all practicable steps to help the donor have been taken without success not to treat the donor as unable to make decisions because the donor makes an unwise decision make decisions and act in the donor's best interests when the donor is unable to make a decision consider whether the decision which needs to be made can be made in way which is less restrictive of the donor's rights and freedoms whilst achieving the same purpose These five rules and the governing principles which should underpin any decision or action you take as an attorney. It is extremely important that you get to know the person you are looking after in respect of their assets and liabilities, their wealth and their thoughts and feelings in relation to their personal welfare. You may be asked to act as a financial attorney or in relation to health and welfare decisions. If you do not know what assets and liabilities the donor has or what they want to happen to them you will not be able to make an informed decision. It is key that you consider the donor's past and present wishes, feelings, religious beliefs, cultural, moral or political views when exercising your judgment. You should make sure you are aware of anyone close to the donor that you may need to speak to when considering a decision which needs to be made. You may also need to argue your reasoning behind a decision if it is challenged or there is a disagreement. You will owe a duty of care to the donor in respect of the decision you make and must ensure that you are not in a position of conflict or find yourself in a situation which could be construed as taking advantage of the donor. Think carefully about any situation which could impact on you acting in the best interest of the donor before signing the lasting power of attorney. If you think this may arise it might be better for you to decline the appointment. You will not be able to delegate any functions you must undertake. This means that you have to make all decisions and cannot ask anyone to make decisions or take actions on your behalf. There are some purely administrative tasks which may be limited exceptions to this rule. Your role as attorney will begin once the lasting power of attorney has been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. However, this may not mean you have to act. Whilst a donor has capacity to make decisions in relation to their financial affairs they can continue to do so, although they may ask you to help with certain things. You will not be able to act as a health and welfare attorney until the donor has lost capacity. You will therefore need to have an awareness of how to assess capacity and how capacity varies for different decisions which need to be made. All of this is even before you start to act. When you do act there are certain things that you cannot do. You cannot ignore guidance or instructions included in the lasting power which appoints you. You cannot ignore the thoughts and feelings of the donor which have been communicated to you. You cannot mix assets that belong to you and the donor. You cannot make gifts, deal freely with investments, make a will for the donor or act in their shoes as a trustee. You are not able to consent to marriage or d ivorce, exercise the right to vote, consent or refuse treatment for a mental disorder or be a party to the restriction of liberty of the donor. Apart from this it should be all plain sailing! Or should it? Acting as an attorney can become a full time job. Some of the issues which come up during a person's life are very complex and may take considerable time and energy to resolve. Even the lodging of the lasting power of attorney with the asset and liability holders can take an enormous amount of time to complete. You should think about acting as an attorney as a job, either part time or full time. It can put undue pressure on your family relationships and your professional work life so make sure you find out exactly what is involved before you say yes. If you do choose to act then remember Argo is always here to help in your role as attorney or to provide advice and support as you go. You only have to ring!

This is often the situation we are faced with when we walk into a client meeting. An exhausted 40 or 50 something who is pulled and pushed between their parents and children. These guys are also known as the sandwich generation and often feel as if they don't know where to turn. As we age, we find the burdens of family life increasing and our ability to cope decreasing. There are only a certain number of hours in the day and in addition to children and parents people have to work, maintain a house and a life. So, what are we to do to avoid exhaustion and spreading ourselves too thin? Many of us have an ageing parent or grandparent who refuses to accept help from anyone other than us. They will not have "help at home" or do anything that takes away their independence. Stubbornness is sometimes not helpful, even if it is what keeps them going! In these circumstances it is about talking and gently introducing change. Any change that is made needs to be slowly and must not deviate too far from what that parent or grandparent is used to. Find someone to help who shares common interests, if you are trying to employ the services of care at home. Take the carer with you when you visit so they can have a cup of tea and a chat whilst you are busy reducing list of things to do. Overtime a relationship will build and then you will wonder how you ever managed without them. Try to get a regime of support in place to ensure that you can rely on those people who make up part of the "team" who are looking after mum or dad, that way you will know who is where an when and who is doing what and when. It will also help your parents to feel more secure in what is going on. It is important to share the burden with other family members. Do not take everything on your shoulders. Split roles if you are able to between you and your siblings. Can one of you deal with daily visits to the house, another medical appointments and a third financial matters? Are there grandchildren who are of an age that would happily spend time with their grandparent to give you a break. It is surprising how much the younger generation can cheer and revitalise and older relation. Seek professional support and assistance as it can make your life a lot easier. Are your parents, grandparents on the correct benefits? Are their finances working as well as they can for the? Do they have lasting powers of attorney for support and assistance with their financial affairs and health and welfare? Use the services of the local authority adult social care team to assess their needs for support and assistance at home. Make use of kit and equipment that is out there as this can help with tracking movements, watching out for falls and can provide an emergency call facility in the event of an accident. It is not just one thing that will help to ease the worry of ageing parents. It is a combination of tools that you have in your armoury that work together and compliment each other which result in success. It is also important that you get the support you need not just your parent or grandparent. You are the forgotten person in this situation. The carer, the child, the parent, the organiser, the authoritarian, the source of anger and frustration. .You are also entitled to help and support to ensure that you do not go under. There are far too many things to put in writing that could help and support. What we can offer is an ear to listen and advise. Our life support team at Argo are experienced in supporting families who find themselves in this exact situation; overworked, underpaid and at the end of their tether. We are always able to help whether it is claiming benefits, arranging care or managing financial matters. We are only ever a telephone call away.

Depriving someone of their liberty by placing them in a care home is something that must be done carefully and with the correct authorisation. Kent County Council have recently been reprimanded by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for placing a lady in a care home against her wishes. Mr C decided to complain to the Ombudsman in respect of the decision by Kent County Council to place his late partner in a care home. He complained that there had been inadequate arrangements for a best interests meeting, a lack of consultation before placing his partner in a care home, the appointment of an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate, authorisation to deprive his partner of her liberty and failure to apply to the Court of Protection for approval. Ms D was admitted to hospital following a stroke in 2019. Prior to her stay in hospital Ms D had been living with Mr C and had been cared for by him as she had suffered brain damage. No help or support was provided to them from the local authority. When it was agreed Ms D should be discharged from hospital it was recommended that she was moved to a rehabilitation unit in a community hospital. The rehabilitation unit made the referral for a social care assessment to Kent County County and suggested that Ms D may need care at home after rehabilitation and that they were worried about Mr C's ability to care for Ms D. The rehabilitation unit acted correctly and obtained the correct authorisation to keep Ms D with them, enacted the formal procedure to extend their urgent authorisation and applied to put in place the standard authorisation required for Ms D to stay with them. The official assessment of the deprivation of Ms C's liberty did not take place by Kent County Council until six weeks later in September 2019 and failed to approve an extension to the urgent authorisation to for Ms D to remain in the rehabilitation unit. At the time for the official deprivation of liberty assessment in September 2019 it was determined that Ms D did not have capacity to make decisions about her care and accommodation. She was therefore referred to an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate who would work with Ms D to determine her wishes and feelings. The Independent Mental Capacity Advocate stated she would support a move home with additional support to the support already provided by Mr C. A best interests meeting was scheduled but failed to go ahead to determine the next steps but a discussion was had with Mr C over the return home of Ms D. It was only in November that the best interests meeting took place at which it was decided it would be in Ms D's best interests to move into a nursing home Kent County Council then moved Ms Dfrom the rehabilitation centre to a nursing home at the end of November 2019. Ms D eventually returned home with a care package just before Christmas. Sadly she became unwell and died in April 2020 at home. The Ombudsman found that Kent County Council had not done enough to communicate with Mr C during the process nor had they given him sufficient opportunity to express his views. It was also found that the couple's right to a private and family life under the Human Rights Act had not been given due regard and the least restrictive option for her care had not been considered. The Ombudsman said "because of the failings I have found in this case, the couple lost valuable time in their last few months together" and "because the council did not refer the dispute to the Court of Protection, the couple were also denied the opportunity to have their case considered by an independent body". As a result of this case Kent County Council have been instructed to review a number of its practices to ensure proper authorisations are in place within the legal time frames and has to review past cases and ensure future cases are dealt with appropriately. The review of historic cases is to take place from January 2019 where deprivation of liberty assessments had not been completed or were not completed within the time scales. If you would like to review the full report of this complaint here is the link https://www.lgo.org.uk/information-centre/news/2021/sep/kent-couple-lost-valuable-time-together-because-of-council-errors Deprivation of liberty cases are not straightforward and things often go wrong. If you think you may have a case to be considered due to a placement in a care home or a deprivation in a private home since January 2019 let us know as we may be able to help.

If you are used to collecting your benefits or state pension from your Post Office Card account you may find, in the not too distant future, that you cannot access your funds any more. The Post Office Card account is to close, for good, on 1 December 2021 and the Department for Work and Pensions has advised all account holders to close their accounts. This change is happening because the government's contract with the Post Office for the service will end on 30 November 2021. Over 900,000 have made use of this service to collect their pension and benefit payments. You should have been notified during the last three years of the change to the system by the Department for Work and Pensions. The letter you should have received will detail all options available to you. If you have not responded to this letter you will be written to again before November 2021. If you have not made changes to your payment don't worry because your pension and benefit payments will not stop and the payment dates will not change. The only difference will be that you cannot use your Post Office card account to withdraw your cash. If you are still using your Post Office account to collect your benefits you should notify the relevant government department, as soon as possible, with the new account details into which you wish your benefits or pension to be paid. If you do not have an account you need to open one with a bank, building society or credit union. If you are unable to open an account contact the government department dealing with your benefits for further assistance. And, don't forget, to close your Post Office Card account. You can complete a closure form at your local post office or call 0345 722 33 44