Estate Planning

Estimate a UK Inheritance Tax bill (2025/26 England & Wales rules). Models the nil-rate band, residence nil-rate band and its £2m taper, spousal doubling, the 40% charge, the 2027 pension change, plus optional debts, charity rate (36% at 10%+), transferred allowances and business/agricultural relief. Illustrative only — excludes lifetime-gift history.

Show the Inheritance Tax impact of the April 2027 change that brings most unused pensions into the estate: the IHT before vs after, and the extra tax. Exposure only — models nothing about pension products or what to do with a pension (that is FCA-regulated advice).

Apply the England & Wales intestacy rules (dying without a will, rules from 26 July 2023): who inherits and how much. ALWAYS returns the warnings — e.g. a cohabiting partner inherits nothing, and jointly-owned assets usually pass outside these rules by survivorship.

Recommend which UK trust types are worth discussing for a goal, with an HONEST note that always accompanies the recommendation (e.g. no trust simply avoids care fees — deliberate-deprivation rules apply with no time limit). Each trust lists what it does NOT do. 'No trust may be needed' is a valid answer.

Score estate-planning readiness against a checklist. Pass `answers` as a map of item id → true/false (ids: has_will, will_recent, executors_named, guardians_named, lpa_property, lpa_health, wishes_recorded, assets_listed; advanced: pension_nominations, digital_assets, business_succession, foreign_assets, life_insurance_trust). Missing or false items count as gaps. Returns a band: covered / gaps / urgent.

Estimate the cost of probate in England & Wales: the HMCTS application fee (£300 where the estate is over £5,000; no fee at £5,000 or below — the same with or without a will), sealed-copy costs, and — on the professional route — typical fee ranges across the UK market (NOT the firm's fees; most professional fees attract VAT on top). Guidance, not advice.

Check whether a grant of probate (or letters of administration) is LIKELY to be needed in England & Wales, from what the person owned and how they owned it. Returns a guidance verdict — likely / maybe / unlikely — with per-asset reasons and next steps. Indicative only: every bank and institution sets its OWN probate threshold and decides asset by asset, so the honest answer always includes asking each one directly.

Calculate the Office of the Public Guardian fees to register Lasting Powers of Attorney in England & Wales: £92 per LPA (applications received from 17 November 2025), with a 50% remission where the donor's gross annual income is under £12,000 and a full exemption on certain means-tested benefits (both claimed with form LPA120). Registration fees only — nothing about drafting costs or whether an LPA is right for someone.

Project what care home fees could cost: typical self-funder weekly ranges (sourced 2026 estimates rounded from published averages) × 52 weeks × years, by region and care type. The educate-only means-test notes are ALWAYS included — England's capital limits and Wales's single limit are stated as facts for education; there is deliberately no 'how much could you protect' computation, because no arrangement simply avoids care fees.

Map lifetime gifts onto the 7-year-rule timeline: which taper BAND each gift sits in and when it falls outside the estate. An EDUCATIONAL timeline of the bands and mechanics only — NOT a personal tax computation: taper relief reduces the rate of tax, never the gift's value, and it only matters where total gifts in the 7 years before death exceed the £325,000 nil-rate band (used up oldest gift first). No personal tax figures are computed.

Check whether a deed of variation is available — guidance-only eligibility against the s.142 IHTA 1984 conditions: the hard two-year window from the date of death (HMRC does not extend it), adult beneficiaries with capacity, and the agreement of everyone whose share would reduce. Returns yes / no / depends with blockers, goal-mapped possibilities, and an honest note that ALWAYS accompanies the result. No tax outcome is promised — whether it helps depends on the whole estate.

Check residence nil-rate band eligibility and amount (England & Wales 2025/26): up to £175,000 per person where a home you own (or owned) passes to direct descendants, doubled for a married couple / civil partners, plus a late spouse's transferred allowance — capped at the home's value and tapered by £1 for every £2 the estate exceeds £2m. Illustrative check with plain-English reasons.

Look up plain-English definitions of UK estate-planning terms (IHT, trusts, LPAs, probate). Omit `term` to list all.

Search Simply Estate's estate-planning guides (wills, IHT, LPAs, trusts, probate) by keyword. Returns titles, URLs and excerpts to cite.

Return Simply Estate's frequently-asked questions and answers (fees, regulation, IHT, trusts, wills/LPAs/probate). Optional keyword filter.

Submit a request for a FREE, no-obligation estate-planning consultation on the user's behalf. Use only with the user's explicit consent and real contact details. Returns a reference id; the Simply Estate team follows up. Estate planning here is not FCA-regulated.