Guides
Plain-English guides by a regulated solicitor — the questions people actually ask, answered without the jargon.
Who inherits your home if you die without a will in England & Wales? How ownership type, the intestacy rules and the £322,000 statutory legacy decide it.
Myth-bustingMarriage does not mean your spouse inherits everything — and getting married actually revokes any will you had. The five gaps every married couple should know.
Plain speakingDIY will kits fail in predictable ways: invalid witnessing, void gifts, vague wording and missing substitutions. What the box doesn't tell you — England & Wales.
ExplainerAn LPA lets someone you choose act for you if you lose capacity. What the two types cover, why spouses can't just step in, and why timing is everything.
Myth-bustingWrong witnessing ceremony, the wrong witnesses, and changes after signing — the three errors that quietly cancel homemade wills, and how each one works.
ExplainerThe intestacy rules of England & Wales decide everything when there's no will: the strict order of inheritance, who gets nothing, and why it goes wrong.
Plain speakingAnyone can call themselves a will-writer in England & Wales — no exam, no insurance, no regulator. What that means for you, and what a solicitor must have.
ExplainerThe two Lasting Powers of Attorney do completely different jobs. What each covers, when each can be used, and why most people need both.
Cautionary tale“My children” doesn't include stepchildren in law. How ordinary wills and intestacy quietly disinherit blended families — and the structures that prevent it.
Myth-bustingIf a beneficiary or their spouse witnesses a will, the will stands but their gift is void. The witnessing ceremony, who can witness, and how to get it right.
ExplainerThere is no common-law marriage in England & Wales. What actually happens to the house, the accounts and the pension when a cohabiting partner dies without a will.
Plain speakingWill-writing is not a reserved legal activity in England & Wales: no exams, no mandatory insurance, no ombudsman. What that means and how to check who you're using.
Behind the curtainThe document is the smallest part. Fact-find, capacity checks, advice, tested drafting, supervised signing — what a solicitor's will service actually involves.