Families & Special Situations FAQs

Yes, and it is essential. Without a will, an unmarried partner inherits nothing automatically. Name them clearly and consider how your home is owned.

Your existing will is revoked by the marriage. Without a new will, your new spouse may inherit most of your estate under intestacy, possibly at the expense of children from a previous relationship.

A life interest trust is a common solution: your spouse can live in the home or receive income for life, and the capital passes to your children afterwards.

A blended family includes stepchildren, children from previous relationships or half-siblings. Estate planning is important because the law does not automatically provide for stepchildren.

Yes. Civil partners have the same inheritance rights as spouses under intestacy, but a will lets you control who inherits and appoint executors and guardians.

Yes. Forming a civil partnership revokes an existing will in the same way as marriage, unless the will was made in contemplation of it.

Your former civil partner is treated as having died for the purposes of the will, so gifts to them and their appointment as executor fail.

You can leave an estranged child out of your will, but they may bring a 1975 Act claim. A statement of reasons and careful drafting can help.

A discretionary trust (or disabled person’s trust) lets trustees support the child without affecting means-tested benefits or local authority support.

Yes. A discretionary trust lets trustees provide for them over time rather than giving a lump sum outright, protecting them from overspending, addiction or financial abuse.

Fair does not always mean equal. Consider lifetime help already given, needs and care provided. A letter explaining your reasoning reduces the risk of disputes.

Yes. You can leave a gift to a carer. It is sensible to take independent advice and record your reasons, so the gift is less likely to be challenged.

Yes, but you should make a new will after divorce clearly stating your wishes, because gifts to a former spouse in an old will fail after divorce.

Yes. A will made expressly in contemplation of a particular marriage will not be revoked by it, so you are protected immediately after the wedding.

A prenup sets out how assets would be divided on divorce. It does not cover what happens on death, so you still need a will to match your intentions.

Same-sex spouses and civil partners have exactly the same inheritance rights and tax exemptions as opposite-sex couples.

Yes. Consider any foreign tax consequences for them and the practicalities of transfers. Your executors can pay abroad.

Their inheritance may need to be managed by an attorney or a court-appointed deputy. A discretionary trust in your will avoids this.

Executors must make reasonable efforts to trace them, often using tracing agents. They may take out missing beneficiary insurance or seek a court order (Benjamin order) before distributing.

Grandparents have no automatic right, but can apply to the family court for permission to seek a child arrangements order.

Yes, if they are over 18 when the appointment takes effect. Consider their age, maturity and circumstances.

Yes. As they are not your descendants, the gift will not attract the residence nil-rate band, but otherwise works like any other gift.

Your will can leave the house, or a right to live in it, to your partner. Without a will, an unmarried partner has no automatic right to stay.

If your children inherit and later die without a will, their other parent could inherit from them. A trust in your will can prevent this.

Owning as tenants in common with a will that gives your partner a right to live there, or leaving your share to them outright, ensures they are not forced out.

Consider tenants-in-common ownership, mirror wills with life interest trusts, and separate provision for each set of children to ensure fairness.

You cannot stop remarriage, but a life interest trust means your share passes to your chosen beneficiaries, not your spouse’s new partner.

Guardians care for the children, and trustees manage the inheritance until the age set in the will. Without a will, children inherit outright at 18.

Search their home, contact their solicitor, bank or will writer, search a will register such as Certainty, and check the Probate Service records. If there is no will, the intestacy rules apply.

If they still have capacity to make an LPA, act quickly. If not, you may need to apply to the Court of Protection to become their deputy. The bank may allow limited access in the meantime.

If you owned as joint tenants, the home is now yours. Update the Land Registry by sending a death certificate. If you owned as tenants in common, their share passes under their will.

You may be able to challenge the will’s validity or make a 1975 Act claim for reasonable provision. Time limits apply, so take legal advice promptly.

Your options depend on the will. You may have a 1975 Act claim, and if the will was revoked by marriage, the intestacy rules may apply. Take early legal advice.

You do not inherit automatically, but jointly owned assets as joint tenants pass to you. You may be able to claim under the 1975 Act if you lived together for two years or were maintained by your partner.

Ask in writing for information and a copy of the will. Once probate is granted you can obtain the will. Residuary beneficiaries can ask for estate accounts and, if necessary, apply to court.

If you have not dealt with the estate, you can renounce using form PA15. You can also appoint a professional to do the work while remaining executor.

Read the LPA, understand the Mental Capacity Act principles, keep records, keep the donor’s money separate and only act within your authority. The OPG publishes guidance for attorneys.

Make a new will straight away, as your spouse can still inherit until the final order. Review your LPA, pension nominations and life insurance beneficiaries too.

Make or update your will to appoint guardians and set up a trust for your child, review life insurance and pension nominations, and consider LPAs.

Yes. Check how you own the property, consider a declaration of trust, and make wills so your partner and any children are protected.

Update your own will, and check whether the money affects any means-tested benefits. If you would like some of it to go to someone else, such as your children, the beneficiaries can agree a deed of variation within two years of the death.

Check whether your will is valid there, consider a local will, and check whether your LPA will be recognised. Tell your executors and attorneys.

It is a sensible time to make one, along with a will. Surgery carries risks, and an LPA ensures someone you trust can act if needed.

A will that deals with your business, a business LPA, and a shareholder or partnership agreement that says what happens if an owner dies. Business Relief rules changed in April 2026, and the lifetime limit for Business Asset Disposal Relief on selling a business falls from £1 million to £500,000 from April 2027, so please speak with us to review your position.

Anyone you choose: family, friends, godchildren or charities. Without a will, distant relatives or the Crown may inherit.

Consider a discretionary or disabled person’s trust in your will, a letter of wishes explaining their needs, and talk to your local authority about future support.

Only if you are willing. Executorship can be time-consuming. You can always renounce later if you have not started dealing with the estate.

The grant may need to be revoked and a new grant issued based on the later will. Contact the Probate Registry and take legal advice straight away.

The gift usually lapses and falls into residue, unless the will names a substitute, or the deceased beneficiary was the testator’s child or descendant who left children.

Yes. Their unused nil-rate band can be claimed on your death, even if they died before the transferable allowance was introduced in 2007. Your executors will need details of their estate.

Potentially up to £1 million: your nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band plus any unused allowances transferred from your late spouse, subject to the £2 million taper.

It reduces by £1 for every £2 the estate is worth over £2 million. If your estate is around this level, it is worth speaking with us.

Leave their share in a discretionary trust, so it does not automatically form part of their assets on divorce.

A discretionary trust or disabled person’s trust can provide for them without the money counting as their capital for means-tested benefits.

Yes. Record your reasons and use an independent professional so the gift is less likely to be challenged.

You can leave your estate as you wish, but adult children may make a 1975 Act claim. A statement of reasons and careful drafting can help.

A gift of a home has legal and tax consequences. If your parents keep living there rent-free it is likely to stay in their estate for inheritance tax, capital gains tax may apply if it is not their main home, and the property could be exposed to your own divorce or bankruptcy. Please speak with us before going ahead.

It forms part of your estate for inheritance tax. There is no capital gains tax on death, but if you gift or sell it during life, capital gains tax may apply.

Very little by law. Make wills, consider how your home is owned, name your partner on pension nominations and life insurance, and consider LPAs.

The law is the same for all married couples and civil partners. Make sure both parents have parental responsibility and appoint guardians in your wills.

If the property is jointly inherited, discuss options first, such as a buy-out. If no agreement, an application to court under the Trusts of Land Act may be needed.

Ask for an inventory and estate accounts. If concerns continue, a court can order an executor to provide an inventory and account, or remove them.

Gifts are reduced in a set order (abatement). Usually the residue is used first, then general cash legacies proportionately, then specific gifts.

Not personally, unless you were a joint account holder. The debt is paid from the estate. If the estate is insolvent, some creditors will go unpaid.

Cash is part of the estate. Record the amount, bank it in an estate account and include it in the estate values.

Request the will file from the solicitor who prepared it (a Larke v Nugus request) and any medical records. Take legal advice promptly about a challenge.

A request to the solicitor who prepared a will for information about the circumstances in which it was made, such as instructions, capacity assessments and who was present.

Digital assets include online bank and investment accounts, cryptocurrency, email, social media, photos, domain names, online businesses, loyalty points and digital content you have bought.

Yes, where you own them, such as cryptocurrency or domain names. Many services only grant a licence that ends on death. Your will can appoint someone to deal with your digital estate.

Cryptocurrency forms part of your estate. If no one can access the private keys or recovery phrase, it can be lost forever. Record secure access instructions, but not in the will itself.

No. Your will becomes public after probate. Use a secure password manager with a legacy feature, or a sealed note kept with your will, and review it regularly.

Family can ask Meta to memorialise or delete the account. You can choose a legacy contact in your settings in advance.

Google offers an Inactive Account Manager, and Apple offers a Legacy Contact. Setting these up lets trusted people access your data.

Access depends on the provider’s terms. Set up legacy contacts, keep backups on devices your executors can access, and leave instructions.

Only if the provider allows it. Many providers have policies for deceased users. Executors should not simply log in using your password.

Executors should cancel subscriptions and notify providers. Keeping a list of regular payments makes this easier.

Yes. Websites, domain names, e-commerce stores and intellectual property can be left in your will. Record how to access and operate them.

PayPal can close the account and transfer the balance to the estate once it receives the death certificate and proof of the executor’s authority.

Someone you ask to deal specifically with your digital accounts and data. They can be named in your will alongside your main executors.

Many schemes cancel points on death, but some allow transfer. Check the terms and include them in your asset list.

Balances in online wallets such as PayPal or e-money accounts form part of your estate. Executors need to contact each provider.

You generally cannot transfer ownership, but you can nominate legacy contacts or ask for accounts to be memorialised.

Encourage them to make LPAs with trusted attorneys, set up notifications on accounts, involve more than one family member and report concerns to the bank, the OPG or the local authority safeguarding team.

Scams include fake heir-hunter letters, fraudulent claims of unclaimed inheritances, fake solicitors requesting fees, and fraudulent probate applications. Always verify contacts independently.

A genealogist who traces relatives entitled to unclaimed estates, usually for a percentage fee. Check the terms carefully; you could make the claim yourself.

Search the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s register or the Law Society’s Find a Solicitor. Be wary of emails changing bank details.

The OPG has safeguards, including notifying donors, and the Powers of Attorney Act 2023 introduces identity checks. If you suspect fraud, contact the OPG immediately.

Sign up for the Land Registry’s free Property Alert service to be notified of activity on your title, or request a restriction if you are at higher risk.

Domicile is broadly the country you consider your permanent home. It can affect which country’s succession law applies to your estate. For inheritance tax, a residence-based test has replaced domicile since 6 April 2025.

It is often advisable. UK property is subject to UK inheritance tax and probate. A UK will covering UK assets can simplify matters, coordinated with your foreign will.

Sometimes, but multiple wills, each dealing with assets in a specific country, are often more practical. They must be carefully drafted so they do not revoke each other.

Rules in some countries, such as France or Spain, that reserve a portion of an estate for children or other relatives regardless of the will.

Brussels IV allows people with assets in participating EU countries to choose the law of their nationality to govern succession. UK nationals can use it to choose English law in many cases.

The death must be registered in the country where it happened. You can also register it with the UK authorities. Repatriation of the body can be arranged through a specialist funeral director.

No. Wills, intestacy, probate, LPAs and inheritance tax follow the same laws in Wales as in England. Some devolved areas, such as land taxes and housing law, differ.

Yes. You can apply for probate in Welsh online or on paper, and HMCTS offers a Welsh-language service.

Yes. LPA forms and guidance are available in Welsh, and the OPG offers a Welsh-language service.

Land Transaction Tax is the Welsh equivalent of stamp duty. It does not normally apply to property inherited under a will.

Since December 2022, most tenancies in Wales are occupation contracts. They have their own succession rules for family members after the contract-holder dies.

No. Scotland has its own laws of succession, its own wills formalities (only one witness is needed) and uses confirmation instead of probate. Inheritance tax is the same UK-wide.

Spouses, civil partners and children have legal rights to a share of the deceased’s moveable estate in Scotland, regardless of the will.

Not automatically. Scotland uses its own powers of attorney. An English LPA may be recognised for some purposes, but a Scottish power of attorney is advisable if you have significant Scottish assets or live there.

Yes, if validly made. Northern Ireland has its own probate process and intestacy rules.

Yes. Members of the armed forces on actual military service can make a privileged will, which can be made under 18 and need not be witnessed.

A will made by a member of the armed forces on actual military service or a mariner at sea. It can be oral or written, unwitnessed, and made under 18.