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Getting your estate in order is one of the most practical things you can do for the people you leave behind. Here is the core estate planning checklist for England and Wales, covering every step you need to take:
The notes below explain each element in depth, including costs, legal requirements, and the traps that catch people out.
Estate planning is the process of deciding in advance what happens to your money, property, and personal affairs, both during your lifetime and after your death. It covers wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and increasingly, your digital legacy. Done properly, it keeps control in your hands rather than handing it to a court or the intestacy rules.
The consequences of having no plan are more disruptive than most people expect. If you die without a will in England and Wales, the intestacy rules determine who inherits, and those rules do not recognise unmarried partners, no matter how long the relationship. Your estate could pass entirely to relatives you would not have chosen. Beyond that, without a Lasting Power of Attorney in place, a family member who needs to manage your finances during a period of incapacity must apply to the Court of Protection, a process that is slow, expensive, and public.
Estate planning also protects your autonomy. LPAs and Advance Decisions allow you to specify who makes decisions on your behalf and what medical treatment you do or do not want, preventing state or court intervention at the most vulnerable moments of your life.
The key benefits of having a formal estate plan in place include:
Understanding what each document does, and when it takes effect, is the foundation of any sound estate plan. The table below gives a quick reference.
| Document | Purpose | When it takes effect |
|---|---|---|
| Will | Directs distribution of your estate after death | On death |
| Property and Financial Affairs LPA | Authorises attorneys to manage finances | On registration (or loss of capacity, if specified) |
| Health and Welfare LPA | Authorises attorneys to make medical decisions | Only on loss of mental capacity |
| Trust | Holds and manages assets for beneficiaries | On creation or death, depending on type |
| Advance Decision | Records refusal of specific medical treatments | On loss of capacity |
| Letter of Wishes | Guides trustees and executors non-bindingly | Persuasive from creation; not legally binding |
A will is the cornerstone of any estate plan. For it to be legally valid in England and Wales, you must be at least 18 years old and of sound mind when you sign it. Two witnesses must be present at the signing, both must also sign the document, and neither can be a beneficiary or the spouse of a beneficiary. If a witness is also a beneficiary, the will remains valid but that beneficiary loses their gift.
Your will should name your executor, identify your beneficiaries, specify what each person receives, and appoint a guardian for any children under 18. If you share a property with someone who is not your spouse or civil partner, have overseas assets, run a business, or have children from a previous relationship, you should take professional legal advice rather than relying on a template.
A trust separates legal ownership of assets from the benefit of those assets. The trustees hold and manage the assets; the beneficiaries receive the benefit. Trusts are particularly useful for protecting assets for minor children, for managing inheritance for a beneficiary who cannot manage money independently, or for reducing the value of your taxable estate. A discretionary trust gives trustees flexibility over how and when to distribute assets, which can be valuable in complex family situations.
There are two types of LPA. The Property and Financial Affairs LPA covers bank accounts, investments, property, and bill payments. The Health and Welfare LPA covers decisions about medical treatment, care home placement, and daily routine. Both must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before they can be used. An unregistered LPA has no legal force.
The legal requirements for creating an LPA include:
An LPA can be cancelled or replaced at any time while you retain mental capacity.
An Advance Decision (sometimes called a living will) is a legally binding document that records your refusal of specific medical treatments in specified circumstances. It must be in writing and signed if it relates to life-sustaining treatment. A Letter of Wishes, by contrast, is not legally binding but gives trustees and executors guidance on matters your will cannot formally address, such as who should receive personal items of sentimental value.
Working through this checklist in order gives you a complete, legally sound estate plan. Each step builds on the last.
Step 1: Draft your will. Decide who your executors and beneficiaries are, and whether you need to appoint a guardian for children. If your affairs are straightforward, a solicitor-drafted will typically costs a few hundred pounds. For complex estates involving business interests, overseas property, or blended families, professional advice is not optional.
Step 2: Register both LPAs. Registering each LPA costs £92 and takes 8–10 weeks if the application is error-free. Register them now, while you have capacity. Waiting until a health crisis is too late.
Step 3: Build your asset inventory. Executors typically manage between 10 and 50 financial relationships on behalf of an estate, covering bank accounts, pensions, life insurance, investments, and property. Consolidating these into a single accessible document cuts administration time significantly and reduces the risk of assets being overlooked.
Step 4: List your digital assets. Email accounts, cloud storage, domain names, and cryptocurrency wallets all form part of your estate. Without explicit instructions and recovery information, they can become permanently inaccessible. Note login credentials, recovery codes, and the location of hardware wallets in a secure document separate from your will.
Step 5: Review beneficiary designations. Pensions and life insurance policies written in trust pass outside your will entirely. If your designated beneficiary is an ex-spouse, the policy will pay out to them regardless of what your will says. Check and update these regularly.
Step 6: Plan for Inheritance Tax. The current nil-rate band is £325,000, with an additional residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000 when a main home passes to direct descendants. Gifts made more than seven years before death are generally exempt. Executors must pay any Inheritance Tax due within six months of death to avoid interest charges, and must report the estate value using form IHT400 within one year.
Step 7: Gather essential reference numbers. Your executor will need your National Insurance number, NHS number, passport number, driving licence number, Council Tax reference, and tax UTR to administer your estate. Store these alongside your asset inventory.
Step 8: Document funeral wishes. Your will may not be read until after the funeral. A separate document or a note to your executor stating your preferences avoids family disagreements at an already difficult time.
Step 9: Store documents securely. Keep your original will with your solicitor, your bank, or the national probate registry in Newcastle. Store copies of LPAs and your asset inventory in a fireproof location at home or with a trusted person. Tell your executor exactly where everything is.
Step 10: Inform your executor. Your executor needs to know they have been appointed, where your documents are, and who your professional advisers are. A conversation now saves considerable confusion later.
Statistic callout: An executor typically manages between 10 and 50 financial relationships on behalf of an estate. A single consolidated asset list can cut the administration period by weeks.
LPA registration costs £92 per LPA, so registering both types costs £184 in total. Solicitor fees for drafting a will vary considerably depending on complexity, but a straightforward single will typically costs between £150 and £300; a mirror will for couples costs more. For estates with trusts, overseas assets, or business interests, legal fees will be higher, and the cost of getting it wrong is higher still.
Probate itself carries a court fee of £300 for estates over £5,000 (as of the current fee schedule). Factor in these costs when planning, and consider whether a trust structure might reduce the overall burden on your estate.
Your executor carries legal responsibility for administering your estate from the date of death until all assets are distributed. Choose someone who is organised, trustworthy, and willing to take on the role. A professional executor, such as a solicitor, can be appointed if your estate is complex or if family relationships make a neutral party preferable. You can appoint up to four executors, and it is sensible to name at least two in case one predeceases you or is unable to act.
Trustees for any ongoing trust need similar qualities, plus the ability to make financial decisions over a potentially long period. For a trust holding assets for minor children, the trustees may be in post for 18 years or more.
Standard will templates rarely account for the realities of blended families. If you have children from a previous relationship and remarry, your new spouse inherits under the intestacy rules ahead of those children. Even with a will, leaving everything to a surviving spouse risks your children from a first marriage receiving nothing if the spouse later remarries or changes their own will. A life interest trust, which gives the surviving spouse use of assets during their lifetime while preserving the capital for your children, is a common solution. It requires careful drafting and should not be attempted without professional advice.
Clear communication within the family about your intentions, while not a legal requirement, reduces the risk of disputes after your death. Contested wills are expensive and distressing for everyone involved.
Pro Tip: Store your original will with a solicitor or the national probate registry rather than at home. A will destroyed in a house fire is treated as revoked, even if you can prove its contents.
An estate plan is not a document you sign once and forget. Life changes, and your plan needs to keep pace. Estate planning documents should be reviewed every 3–5 years or after any significant life event to avoid administration delays and unintended outcomes.
The triggers that should prompt an immediate review include:
Outdated documents create real problems. A will that names a deceased executor causes delays at probate. An LPA that names an attorney who has since lost capacity or died may leave you without cover at a critical moment. An asset inventory that has not been updated for a decade will send your executor on a lengthy and frustrating search.
The consequences of neglecting reviews extend beyond inconvenience. An outdated will may result in assets passing to unintended beneficiaries, trigger avoidable Inheritance Tax liabilities, or generate disputes among family members that end up in court. Reviewing your plan costs far less than resolving those disputes.
The consistent message from solicitors who work in wills, trusts, and probate is that the combination of a professionally drafted will and registered LPAs is the minimum a responsible adult should have in place. Neither document alone is sufficient. A will without LPAs leaves you unprotected during any period of incapacity before death. LPAs without a will leave your estate distribution to the intestacy rules.
The risks of DIY wills for complex estates are well documented. Standard templates frequently miss necessary clauses for business interests, overseas properties, or complex family structures, increasing the risk of disputes and unintended tax liabilities. A will that appears valid on its face can still be challenged if the circumstances of its execution are questionable, or if it fails to make reasonable provision for dependants under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
Digital legacy is an area where even recently drafted wills often fall short. Cryptocurrency held in a hardware wallet is worthless to your estate if no one knows the wallet exists or has the recovery phrase. The UK has recognised cryptocurrency as personal property, which means it forms part of your taxable estate, but it requires explicit planning to ensure it can actually be accessed and transferred. The same applies to domain names, online businesses, and subscription services with monetary value.
The practical advice from professionals is consistent: start with the basics, get them done properly, and review them regularly. The cost of professional legal advice at the drafting stage is a fraction of the cost of rectifying a defective document after death, when the person who signed it is no longer available to clarify their intentions.
Putting together a sound estate plan means getting several moving parts right at once: a valid will, registered LPAs, a clear asset inventory, and a tax position that does not leave your family with an avoidable bill. Ali Legal Ltd works with individuals and families across the UK to get each of those elements in place correctly, with fixed fees and plain-language advice rather than hourly billing that escalates as questions arise.
Where estates involve property, the picture gets more complicated. Jointly owned property, buy-to-let portfolios, and overseas real estate all affect how your estate is structured and taxed. Ali Legal Ltd’s wills, trusts and probate service covers the full range, from straightforward single wills to trust structures for blended families and business owners. For property-specific questions, the team’s UK property law guidance addresses the ownership and transfer issues that affect estate planning directly.
To get a clear picture of what your estate plan needs and what it will cost, speak to a solicitor at Ali Legal Ltd today.
This article provides general information about estate planning in England and Wales and does not constitute legal advice. Tax rules, fees, and legal requirements change, and you should confirm the current position with a qualified solicitor or the relevant government authority for your specific circumstances.
