Roughly half of UK adults don't have a valid will. It's easy to see why — it means sitting down and thinking about your own mortality, and it never feels urgent until, suddenly, it is. The paperwork itself, though, is usually simpler and cheaper than people expect.
Why a will matters more than people think
A will does three things: it says who gets what, it says who's in charge of making sure that happens (your executor), and — if you have children under 18 — it says who looks after them. Without one, none of those three things are your decision anymore; they're decided for you by a fixed set of rules.
It matters most in situations that feel completely normal today but that the standard rules don't handle well: unmarried couples, blended families, wanting to leave something to a stepchild or a friend, or simply wanting to leave more to one person than another for reasons that make sense to you but aren't reflected in a generic formula.
What happens if you don't have one
Dying without a valid will is called dying "intestate," and England and Wales have fixed rules — the rules of intestacy — that decide who inherits, in a strict order, regardless of what you would have wanted.
- A spouse or civil partner inherits a fixed statutory amount plus a share of the rest — but if the estate is large enough, children can also inherit a share, sometimes surprising a surviving partner who assumed they'd get everything.
- Unmarried partners inherit nothing under intestacy rules, no matter how long you've lived together — this is the single most common and most painful surprise families run into.
- Stepchildren who weren't legally adopted have no automatic entitlement at all.
- If there's no surviving family that the rules recognise, the entire estate can pass to the Crown.
Being "common-law husband and wife" has no legal standing in England and Wales. Unmarried partners have no automatic right to inherit from each other, however long the relationship, unless there's a valid will.
Lasting Powers of Attorney
A will decides what happens after you die. A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) decides what happens if you're still alive but unable to make decisions yourself — after a stroke, an accident, or a condition like dementia. There are two kinds, and most people benefit from having both:
- Property and financial affairs LPA — lets your chosen attorney manage your bank accounts, pay bills, and handle property or investments on your behalf.
- Health and welfare LPA — lets your attorney make decisions about your medical care and daily living, including, if you specify, decisions about life-sustaining treatment.
An LPA can only be set up while you have the mental capacity to understand what you're signing. It cannot be arranged after the fact — if capacity is lost first, your family's only route is a much slower, more expensive court application (a Deputyship Order) instead. This is the single biggest reason to do it well before it feels necessary.
Trusts, in plain terms
A trust is simply a legal arrangement where assets are held and managed by someone (a trustee) for the benefit of someone else (a beneficiary), on terms you set. They're not just for the wealthy — common, practical reasons people use one include:
- Protecting an inheritance for children until they're old enough to manage it responsibly
- Providing for a vulnerable family member without affecting their means-tested benefits
- Keeping assets for your children from a first marriage separate from a new spouse's estate
- Ring-fencing the value of your home from certain future care-fee assessments, in specific circumstances
Trusts add complexity and cost, so they're worth setting up deliberately for a clear reason — not as a default.
Inheritance tax, briefly
Most estates in the UK don't pay any Inheritance Tax, because of the tax-free thresholds available — particularly the additional allowance when a main residence is left to children or grandchildren. Where it does apply, it's currently charged at 40% on the value above the available thresholds. Because thresholds, reliefs and rules change, this is genuinely one area where checking your specific numbers with an adviser is worth far more than a general rule of thumb.
Common questions
Can I write my own will?
You can, but DIY wills are one of the most common sources of disputed and invalid estates — small errors in wording or witnessing can invalidate the whole document. Given how much rests on it being right, professional drafting is usually the cheaper option in the long run.
How often should I update my will?
Review it after any major life event — marriage, divorce, a new child or grandchild, a house move, or a significant change in what you own. Marriage automatically revokes an existing will unless it was written in contemplation of that specific marriage.
Who should I choose as my attorney or executor?
Someone you trust completely, who is organised enough to handle paperwork under pressure, and — ideally — who you've actually asked first. It's worth naming a backup in case your first choice is unable to act when the time comes.
Wills, LPAs and trusts on retirement-planning.co.uk are handled by Jackson Giles, with the same calm, plain-English approach throughout — no pressure to decide anything on the first call.
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