England & Wales ONLY • Scotland & Northern Ireland differ • Plain English
This is general legal information, not legal advice.
Estate Planning Checklist (England & Wales)
Will validity • witnesses • intestacy • joint property • Inheritance Tax • probate • lasting power of attorney
Quick summary: estate planning in England and Wales is two jobs, not one — deciding who gets what when you die, and deciding who can act for you if you lose capacity while you are alive.
This checklist walks through both. It covers what makes a will legally valid, who inherits if you never make one, the assets a will cannot touch, the Inheritance Tax thresholds published by GOV.UK, when probate is needed, and how a lasting power of attorney fits alongside a will.
Specialty: England & Wales estate planning focused on the formalities that actually invalidate documents, the assets people wrongly assume their will controls, and the order in which to do things.
If you are writing a first will, updating one after a marriage or separation, working out whether your partner would inherit, or getting a parent’s affairs in order, this page tells you what to check and in what order.
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Will validity checks
Who inherits
Joint property
Capacity planning
Best for people saying:
- “I’ve never made a will and I don’t know where to start.”
- “We’re not married — would my partner inherit anything?”
- “We got married last year. Is my old will still good?”
- “Does my will cover the house we own together?”
- “Will my family have to pay Inheritance Tax?”
- “Mum is getting forgetful and nothing is in place.”
You can start with one paragraph. We’ll ask only what’s needed.
How this checklist works
Three steps — list it, protect it, review it.
1) List what you actually own
Property, savings, pensions, business shares, life policies, digital accounts, and debts. Note which items you own jointly with someone else — that changes everything.
Example: “House in joint names, one ISA, a workplace pension.”
2) Decide who, and who decides
Beneficiaries and executors for after death; attorneys under a lasting power of attorney for while you are alive but cannot decide. These are separate documents and separate people can hold each role.
A will does nothing for you while you are still living.
3) Sign it properly, then review it
Most failures are formality failures, not drafting failures. GOV.UK suggests reviewing a will every 5 years and after any major life change.
Source: GOV.UK “Make a will — updating your will”.
The estate planning checklist, in order
Work down it. Anything you cannot answer is the thing to deal with first.
1) Do you have a will at all?
If not, the intestacy rules decide for you — and they do not include an unmarried partner.
2) Was it signed and witnessed correctly?
Two witnesses, both over 18, everyone with a clear line of sight of the signing.
3) Did a witness receive a gift?
You cannot leave your witnesses — or their married partners — anything in your will.
4) Have you married since signing it?
Getting married cancels a will made before the marriage. This catches people out constantly.
5) How is the property held?
Joint tenants or tenants in common? One passes automatically; the other can be left by will.
6) Named executors, and do they know?
Executors named in the will apply for probate. Tell them where the will is kept.
7) Is the estate near the tax thresholds?
GOV.UK publishes £325,000, or £500,000 where a home passes to children or grandchildren.
8) Is there a registered LPA?
A will covers death. An LPA covers loss of capacity while alive. Most people need both.
What makes a will valid in England and Wales
These are formalities. Get one wrong and a perfectly sensible will can fail.
- You must be 18 or over, of sound mind, and making the will voluntarily.
- It must be in writing.
- You sign it in the presence of two witnesses, both over 18, and they each sign in your presence.
- The witnesses do not have to sign at the same time as each other — but you must see each of them sign, and everyone must have a clear line of sight of the signing.
- You cannot leave anything to a witness or to a witness’s married partner. This is the most common self-inflicted error there is.
Once a will is signed and witnessed you cannot amend it by crossing things out. A change is made by a codicil, signed and witnessed the same way, and there is no limit on the number of codicils. For a significant change GOV.UK says to make a new will that explicitly revokes all previous wills and codicils, and to destroy the old one.
Source: GOV.UK — “Make a will”, checked 8 August 2026. We deliberately quote no statutory section numbers here.
If you die without a will: the intestacy order
England & Wales rules. A fixed order applies and there is no discretion in it.
For deaths on or after 1 October 2014, where the person left children, HMRC’s published guidance sets out that the surviving spouse or civil partner takes the personal chattels, a fixed net sum known as the statutory legacy, and half of the remainder; the children take the other half. Where there are no children, the spouse or civil partner takes the whole estate.
The statutory legacy is £322,000 for deaths from 26 July 2023 onwards. With no surviving spouse or civil partner the estate goes to the children; with neither, it passes to other relatives in a defined order; and with no relatives at all it passes to the Crown as bona vacantia.
The point most people miss: that order runs spouse or civil partner → children → other relatives → the Crown. An unmarried partner does not appear in it, however long you have lived together. If you want a partner you are not married to to inherit, it has to be done by will.
Source: HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual, checked 8 August 2026. Figures change — re-check before relying on one.
Assets your will does not control
A will only distributes what is actually yours to give at the date of death.
Property held as joint tenants
GOV.UK is explicit: the property automatically goes to the other owners if you die, and you cannot pass on your ownership of the property in your will.
Property held as tenants in common
Your share does not pass automatically to the other owners, and you can leave your share by will. Tenants in common can hold different-sized shares.
Money or shares held jointly
GOV.UK notes these may pass automatically to the other holder — which is also why probate is sometimes not needed at all.
Pension scheme benefits
Ask your scheme what nomination paperwork it requires. Do not assume the will directs it.
If you own a home jointly and want your share to go to someone other than the co-owner, how the property is held is the first thing to check — before you write a line of the will.
Inheritance Tax and probate: the figures GOV.UK publishes
Checked on 8 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change — verify before relying on them.
- The Inheritance Tax threshold is £325,000, or £500,000 if a home is passed to children or grandchildren.
- The standard rate is 40%, charged only on the part of the estate above the threshold.
- There is normally no Inheritance Tax if everything above the threshold is left to a spouse, civil partner, a charity or a community amateur sports club.
- A reduced rate of 36% applies where 10% or more of the net estate value is left to charity.
- The higher threshold applies where the home goes to children (including adopted, foster or stepchildren) or grandchildren, and where the estate is worth less than £2 million.
- Inheritance Tax must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the person died. HMRC charges interest if it is late.
The cash-flow trap: GOV.UK states you usually need to make a payment towards Inheritance Tax before you can get a grant of representation — so the tax can fall due before executors can reach the estate’s money. It is possible to ask to postpone payment in some circumstances.
Probate gives the legal right to deal with someone’s property, money and possessions. It may not be needed where the person only had savings, or held money, shares or land jointly so that it passes automatically. If there is a will, the executors named in it apply; if there is no will, the closest living relative applies. Check with each bank individually — each has its own rules — and do not make financial plans or market a property until probate is granted.
The half of the plan that works while you are alive
A will is worthless the day you have a stroke. This is the part people leave too late.
A lasting power of attorney (LPA) lets you choose who acts for you if you cannot decide for yourself. It must be signed by you, by your attorneys, by witnesses and by a certificate provider — the person who confirms you are making it by choice and understand what you are doing.
Signing is not enough. GOV.UK is blunt: you must register your LPA or your attorney will not be able to make decisions for you.
Registering an LPA costs £92; registering both a personal welfare LPA and a property and affairs LPA costs £184. Registration takes 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes, and anyone named as a “person to notify” has 3 weeks to raise concerns with the Office of the Public Guardian. Build that lead time in.
Fees and timescales fetched from GOV.UK on 8 August 2026.
Five mistakes that cost families the most
None of these are exotic. All five are ordinary and avoidable.
- A witness, or a witness’s spouse, is named as a beneficiary. That gift fails.
- Marrying and assuming the old will stands. Marriage cancels it.
- Assuming the will controls the house. A joint tenancy passes to the survivor.
- Assuming a long-term unmarried partner inherits. They are not in the intestacy order.
- Amending a signed will by crossing things out. It takes a codicil or a new will.
Where this page applies — and where it does not
Read this before you use any figure above.
This page is written for England and Wales. The will formalities, the intestacy order, the £322,000 statutory legacy and the lasting power of attorney rules and fees set out above must not be applied to a Scottish or Northern Irish estate. We do not state here which of the tax rules apply elsewhere in the UK — check GOV.UK or take advice for an estate outside England and Wales.
- Scotland has separate succession law. For capacity planning it uses a continuing power of attorney and a welfare power of attorney, registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) — not an LPA. Take separate Scottish advice.
- Northern Ireland has separate succession law and uses an Enduring Power of Attorney overseen by the High Court’s Office of Care and Protection.
- Ireland, the United States, Australia and Canada are separate systems again. Nothing here transfers to them.
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Long FAQ (estate planning, England & Wales)
Tap to expand. Plain English, England and Wales only.
1) What is the minimum a valid will needs?
You must be 18 or over, of sound mind and acting voluntarily; the will must be in writing; you must sign it in front of two witnesses aged 18 or over; and each witness must sign in your presence with a clear line of sight of the signing.
2) Can my daughter witness my will if I’m leaving her the house?
No. You cannot leave anything in your will to a witness or to a witness’s married partner. Use two witnesses who gain nothing from the will.
3) Do my two witnesses have to be in the room together?
GOV.UK says the witnesses do not have to sign at the same time as each other, but you must see each of them sign, and all parties must have a clear line of sight of the signing.
4) I got married last year. Is my old will still valid?
Getting married cancels a will made before the marriage. If you married after signing it, treat yourself as having no will until you make a new one.
5) My partner and I aren’t married. Would he inherit?
Not under the intestacy rules. That order runs spouse or civil partner, then children, then other relatives, then the Crown. An unmarried partner is not in it. If you want them to inherit, it must be done by will — and you may want advice on the whole picture.
6) How much does a spouse get if there’s no will?
Where there are children, the spouse or civil partner takes the personal chattels, a fixed net sum of £322,000 for deaths from 26 July 2023, and half the remainder; the children take the other half. Where there are no children, the spouse or civil partner takes the whole estate.
7) Can I leave my half of the house in my will?
Only if you hold it as tenants in common. As joint tenants the property automatically goes to the other owners and you cannot pass on your ownership in your will. Check how the property is held before you draft anything.
8) What is the Inheritance Tax threshold?
GOV.UK publishes £325,000, or £500,000 where a home is passed to children or grandchildren and the estate is worth less than £2 million. The rate above the threshold is 40%, reduced to 36% where 10% or more of the net estate is left to charity. Figures were checked on 8 August 2026 and change over time.
9) When does Inheritance Tax have to be paid?
By the end of the sixth month after the person died, and HMRC charges interest if it is late. You usually need to make a payment towards it before you can get a grant of representation, so the money may be due before the estate is accessible.
10) Do we always need probate?
No. GOV.UK says probate may not be needed where the person only had savings, or owned shares or money jointly so that it passes automatically, or held land as joint tenants. Every bank and organisation has its own rules, so check each one.
11) Does a will cover me if I lose capacity?
No. A will only operates on death. For decisions while you are alive but unable to make them, you need a registered lasting power of attorney — and you can only make one while you still have capacity.
12) How often should I review my will?
GOV.UK suggests reviewing it every 5 years and after any major life change. For a major change, make a new will that explicitly revokes all previous wills and codicils, and destroy the old will.
13) Can I speak to a solicitor before I decide anything?
Yes, and you should where the estate is large, the family is blended, a business or farm is involved, capacity is in doubt, or someone may contest the will.
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This is general legal information, not legal advice.