Your family will deal with this admin at a difficult time. A few hours now can save them months 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. Intestacy is also typically slower and more expensive to administer.
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.
A will would have let Alex decide instead of the formula.
A will
A will fixes all of that: you decide who gets what, who looks after any children under 18 (a guardian), and who administers everything as your executor. A simple will can be drafted by a solicitor or, for simple estates, a regulated online service, and some charities offer free will-writing schemes in the hope of a legacy gift.
Two points. Marriage generally revokes an existing will in England and Wales. 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 review every five years is sensible. If your situation is complex, such as a business, a blended family or property abroad, use a solicitor.
Lasting Power of Attorney
A will covers death. A Lasting Power of Attorney covers 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 many people want both. Without them, your family cannot 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.
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: 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
Keep your beneficiaries current
Some assets do not pass under your will. 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. Log in or ring the provider, check the named beneficiary on every pension and policy, and update it. Our pension reality check includes this in its annual check.
Leave a map
Your family also needs to know what exists. An old pension, share account or fixed-term bond can be missed. 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 may help.
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.
Checklist
- List what you own and owe — accounts, pensions, policies, property, debts. This is the start of your record.
- 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.
- Know what protection you have. Our guide to income protection and life cover explains how they work.
- Finish the map and tell someone where it is.
Money coaching can help with the wider picture, and Buzz can point you to legal help for the drafting.