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Wills and estate planning

56% of UK adults do not have a will. Without one you hand the decision to the rules of intestacy, and they were not written with your family in mind.

People say it is too complicated, or too expensive, or that they will get to it, or that they would rather not think about it. Every one of those is understandable.

What happens instead is that a fixed set of rules decides who gets what. An unmarried partner of thirty years gets nothing. A step-child you raised gets nothing. A brother you have not spoken to since 1994 might do rather well.

Where the default rules go wrong

If you live with a partner and are not married
You may be treated as single and the surviving partner can receive nothing, however long the relationship. This is the most damaging gap we see and the easiest to fix.
If you are married or in a civil partnership
Do not assume your other half receives everything. Parents, brothers and sisters may have a claim, and if you have children they may have a right to part of the estate.
If you are a parent
A will is where you appoint a guardian. Without one the Court decides who raises your children, which matters most for single parents and unmarried parents living together.
If you are on a second marriage
With children from a previous relationship, your new partner may receive all or most of the estate. A trust inside the will can ring-fence your share so it reaches the children.
If you are single
You may want your estate divided between friends, relatives or charities in proportions you choose. Without a will none of that is in your hands.
If you made one a while ago
Marriage generally revokes an existing will in England and Wales. Divorce, a birth, a death among your beneficiaries or executors, or a significant change in assets are all reasons to look at it again.

Source: Money and Pensions Service.

Lasting power of attorney

An LPA appoints someone to manage your affairs if illness, accident or age means you cannot. There are two kinds: a Property and Financial Affairs LPA covering money, property and financial arrangements, and a Health and Welfare LPA covering decisions such as medical care, life-sustaining treatment or a move into a care home.

You can only appoint an attorney while you still have the mental capacity to do it. Leave it too late and your family has to apply to the Court for a Deputyship Order, which is slow, stressful and costly at an already difficult moment, and bank accounts and jointly held assets can be restricted while it runs.

Put them in place at retirement, if not sooner

Without an LPA you do not get to choose who makes decisions for you, and the Court could appoint somebody you would never have considered.

Questions people ask us

What happens if I die without a will?

Your estate is distributed under strict intestacy rules that take no account of your intentions. Unmarried partners typically receive nothing, step-children receive nothing, and assets can pass to relatives you had no wish to benefit.

Can I just write one myself?

You can, and a badly executed homemade will is one of the most common causes of contested probate. The failures are usually mechanical: improper witnessing, ambiguous wording, gifts of things that have since been sold, executors who have died. None of them show up until it is too late to ask you.

How does this fit with the financial advice?

The will decides where things go and the financial plan decides what there is to go. Pension expression-of-wish forms, beneficiary nominations and policies written in trust sit outside the will and need to point the same way, which is the part that most often gets missed.

Who does the legal work?

Wills, trusts and probate need a qualified solicitor. We handle the financial side and work alongside your solicitor, or introduce you to Buzz Legal, so the legal documents and the plan agree with each other.

When should I update it?

After a marriage, a divorce, the birth of a child or grandchild, a death among your beneficiaries or executors, a significant change in assets or a house move. A quick review every five years is sensible even when nothing obvious has changed.

Wills, trusts and probate are provided by qualified legal professionals rather than by Buzz Financial Services. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate will writing, trusts or some forms of estate planning.

Start with a free conversation.

Tell us what is on your mind: a pension you have lost track of, a fixed rate ending, a will you keep meaning to write. We will tell you honestly whether we can help.