If you do not make a will then the intestacy rules apply on your death. These rules contain a pecking order of who can inherit based on your family situation. This can mean that those who you wish to benefit from your estate could lose out and it could cause considerable hardship to them.

The law decides who inherits under the intestacy rules. This might mean people you care about are left out. For example, unmarried partners do not inherit without a Will.

Family members won’t be able to make key decisions straight away. Someone may need to apply to the Court of Protection to become a Deputy - a slower and more expensive process than having an LPA in place.

After 12 months (the 52-week disregard), your compensation could be counted as savings. This may reduce or even stop your benefits, or mean you pay your own care fees.

Children are often next in line to inherit and apply for Letters of Administration. You’ll need to gather information about the estate and check whether probate is required.

If you were not married or in a civil partnership, you do not automatically inherit under the intestacy rules. You may still have rights (for example, a dependency claim), and we can talk you through them.

The estate is shared under the intestacy rules. These decide who inherits and who can apply for probate. Unmarried partners and step-children usually receive nothing unless provided for separately.

Their estate follows the intestacy rules, which decide who can inherit (the beneficiaries) and who can apply to deal with the estate (the administrators). They are sometimes the same people.

If no relatives can be found, the estate may pass to the state under “bona vacantia”. This is rare. Relatives can often be traced. We can help you explore the options.

All POAs end automatically when the donor dies. We can release them to the executors if required for estate administration.

NB: Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) are usually given to the donor once they are registered and we do not normally store them or clients. Old-style (pre-2007) Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) which may not have been registered may be stored here.

Debts are paid from the estate, not from your own money. Executors and administrators should keep clear records of what has been paid.

Money owed becomes part of the estate and may need to be collected by the executor or administrator.

Most online accounts can be closed or memorialised. Policies differ between platforms, so check each provider’s guidance for their process.

If the property was in their sole name, it forms part of the estate and is shared under intestacy rules. If it was jointly owned, it may pass automatically to the surviving joint owner if they were ‘joint tenants’. We can explain how this works for your home.

When the life tenant passes away, the trust ends. The trustees then pass the property or other trust assets to the ultimate beneficiaries named in the will.

You should search the home, speak to local solicitors, contact the person’s bank and consider a will search. If no will is found, the estate is usually treated as intestate.

If a firm closes, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) arranges for all stored Wills and Deeds to be transferred safely to another regulated firm or archive. You can contact the SRA to find out where yours is held.

A coroner may be involved when a death is sudden or unexplained. They will explain what happens next and guide you through the process.

It is a document that amends, but does not replace, an existing will. It can add or remove a clause or clauses in the original will.

A Deed of Variation is a legal document that lets a beneficiary change or redirect their inheritance after someone has died. It can adjust who receives what, helping families make fair or tax-efficient decisions within two years of death.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which allows a person (the donor) to appoint someone or more than one person they trust (attorneys) to make decisions for them when they no longer have the mental capacity to make the decisions themselves. An LPA has to be made while the donor still has the mental capacity to give their consent to it.

A life interest trust will includes a trust which comes into being when the testator (the person whose will it is) dies by putting something (usually a share in a property) in trust for the ‘life tenant’ (usually their partner). The life tenant can benefit from it during their lifetime without legally owning it but the settlor leaves it to the ‘ultimate beneficiary’ (usually their children) in the end and names people to manage the trust (the ‘trustees’, who are usually the same people as the executors of the will).

It’s a will that places part of your estate (often your share of a property) into a trust. Your partner can use or live in the property for life, and when they die, it passes to your chosen beneficiaries, such as your children.

A limited Grant allows someone to deal with only part of the estate — for example, selling a property while other issues are still being resolved. It’s used in more complex cases.