This is the topic everyone agrees is important and almost nobody does anything about — because it's uncomfortable, it feels distant, and there's always something more pressing. But the admin around death and incapacity is one of the kindest, most practical things you can do for the people you love, precisely because they'll be dealing with it at the worst moment of their lives. Getting it sorted is a few hours of effort now that saves them months of stress later.
What happens if you do nothing
Die without a will in England and Wales and the rules of intestacy decide who gets your estate — a fixed legal formula that takes no account of what you'd have wanted. A married partner or civil partner does not automatically get everything if you have children: they receive your personal possessions, the first £322,000, and half of anything above that, with your children sharing the rest. An unmarried partner gets nothing at all, however long you've been together, and stepchildren you never adopted aren't in the formula either. On top of who-gets-what, intestacy is typically slower, more expensive and more stressful to administer — at the worst possible time.
Illustrative figures, England & Wales. Alex dies without a will leaving an estate of £450,000 in his sole name, a partner, and two children.
- If Alex was married: his wife receives the first £322,000 plus his personal possessions. The remaining £128,000 is split — £64,000 to her, £64,000 shared between the two children. She ends up with £386,000; the children get £32,000 each, held in trust if they're under 18.
- If Alex wasn't married: his partner of twenty years receives £0. The children take the entire £450,000 — and if they're minors, their surviving parent may have to apply to court just to manage money that used to run the household.
Same family, same money — wildly different outcomes, none of them chosen. A will costing a tiny fraction of the estate would have put Alex, not the formula, in charge.
A will — even if you think you don't need one
A will fixes all of that: you decide who gets what, who looks after any children under 18 (naming a guardian is reason enough on its own), and who administers everything as your executor. A straightforward will is neither expensive nor slow — solicitor-drafted is the gold standard, regulated online services are a reasonable route for simple estates, and some charities offer free will-writing schemes in the hope (not the obligation) of a legacy gift.
Two triggers people miss. Marriage generally revokes an existing will in England and Wales — remarry and your old will is usually void without you signing anything. And divorce doesn't revoke one, but it changes how it's read, with your ex treated as having died before you for gift purposes. Any big life event — marriage, divorce, children, a house, a business — is the cue to redo it, and a five-year review is good hygiene even when nothing obvious has changed. If your situation is complex — a business, a blended family, property abroad — pay for proper drafting; a cheap template that fails is far more expensive than a solicitor who doesn't.
Power of attorney — the one people forget
A will covers death. A Lasting Power of Attorney covers the scenario people plan for even less: being alive but unable to make decisions, after an accident, a stroke or dementia. There are two types — property and financial affairs, and health and welfare — and most people want both. Without them, your family can't simply step in: they'd have to apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship, a route that is slower, more intrusive and considerably more expensive than registering LPAs in advance — and it lands mid-crisis.
The admin is more manageable than its reputation. You can make LPAs via GOV.UK, and registering costs £92 per document in England and Wales — so a couple doing both types each pays 4 × £92 = £368 for a complete set, with reductions on low incomes. Marriage gives no automatic rights here either, by the way: without an LPA, even a spouse can't operate your sole-name accounts if you lose capacity.
£92to register a Lasting Power of Attorney in England & Wales — the document families wish existed far more often than wills
Keep your beneficiaries current
Here's the one that surprises people: some of your biggest assets ignore your will entirely. Pensions and death-in-service benefits usually pass by nomination — the expression-of-wish form you filled in when you joined — and life insurance pays whoever the policy names. If you completed those forms years ago and life has moved on (new partner, divorce, children), the money can go to the wrong person no matter what your will says, and pension pots are often worth more than houses. Log in or ring the provider, check the named beneficiary on every pension and policy, and update it. Minutes of admin; genuine heartache prevented. Our pension reality check includes this in its annual MOT for exactly this reason.
Leave a map
Even with the legal documents in place, your family can't act on what they can't find. Estates routinely leak money and months because nobody knew about an old pension, a share account or a fixed-term bond. Leave a simple record: every account and provider (no PINs or passwords — just what exists and where), pensions including old workplace pots, insurance policies, debts, where the will and LPAs are stored, who the executors and key contacts are, and how to reach your accountant or adviser if you have one. Include the digital layer too — the email account that receives everything, and where your password manager's recovery details live. Tell your executor where the map is, and refresh it yearly. If talking about any of this with a partner feels awkward, our guide to money and relationships is the companion read.
Scotland and Northern Ireland. The figures and rules above are for England and Wales. Scotland has its own intestacy system (with ‘prior rights’ and ‘legal rights’ that work quite differently, including some protection Scottish law gives spouses and children against disinheritance) and its own Power of Attorney regime; Northern Ireland has separate intestacy shares and is still using the older enduring power of attorney system. The principles on this page — will, power of attorney, nominations, findable record — apply everywhere in the UK, but get documents drafted for the jurisdiction you live in.
The afternoon that sorts it: a checklist
- List what you own and owe — accounts, pensions, policies, property, debts. This is the start of the map, and it makes the will conversation ten times easier.
- Make or update your will. Name executors, guardians for children, and who gets what. Diarise a five-year review, and redo it after marriage, divorce or children.
- Start both LPAs at gov.uk/power-of-attorney — property & financial affairs, and health & welfare. £92 each to register in England and Wales.
- Check every beneficiary nomination — workplace and personal pensions, death-in-service, life insurance. Update any that pre-date your current life.
- Review your protection while you're at it — a will directs what exists; income protection and life cover determine whether there's enough for it to direct.
- Finish the map and tell someone where it is. A findable record plus a named executor turns months of detective work into a folder.
Nobody enjoys thinking about this, which is exactly why it gets left. But it's not really about you — it's about not handing the people you care about a mess on top of their grief. A few hours now is a genuine act of love. And if you'd like help getting the wider pieces in order first, that's exactly what money coaching is for — Buzz can also point you towards proper legal help for the drafting when you're ready.