Long-term, the forecasts are that charitable gifts will continue to grow, from £2.9 billion in 2019 to around £3.5 billion in 2024.

We have been hearing rumblings, shortly before lunch time today, that the stay on possession proceedings was being extended.

The probate service is under pressure due to the number of enquiries checking on the progress of cases and asking general questions. They had been in the middle of a restructuring when the pandemic hit, potentially adding to the current pressure on them.

Recent legislation has been introduced to relax corporate governance requirements, in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020.

In all cases, where a Deputy no longer wishes to act, the Court of Protection will consider what is in the persons best interests before making a decision as to whether the Deputy may step down from their role.

The Office for National Statistics have issued their latest analysis of the pandemic which states that the number of deaths involving COVID-19 registered in England and Wales in the week ending 24 July 2020 was 217. This is 2.4% of all deaths in that week, with a total of 8,891 deaths having been registered.

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has launched a digital ‘Use a Lasting Power of Attorney’ tool to help make attorneyship administration simpler and safer for those involved.

With the stay in possession proceedings ending on 24 August 2020 there is renewed uncertainty for the future.

As of Monday 27 July 2020, those attending Court buildings will be required to wear a face covering in the communal areas. This applies to lawyers, representatives of Landlords and to tenants.

Even though the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme runs until to 31 October, many employers are having to make difficult decisions about the future of their businesses which can include making redundancies. Now is the time to make these difficult decisions, whilst furlough funding is still available from the government which can be used towards notice periods.

Many of us believe that our next of kin will automatically be able to make medical decisions for us if something unfortunate were to happen, but this isn’t entirely true.

LPAs came into place in 2007, but before then Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) were available instead. There is no need to worry if you have an EPA, rather than an LPA, as correctly made EPAs are still perfectly valid.