“My partner will automatically inherit everything.”
Not necessarily. In England and Wales, the intestacy rules decide who inherits if there is no will, and unmarried partners do not inherit automatically under those rules.
A calmer place to start
You've built something worth protecting. Have you actually protected it?
A home, savings, investments, a business, or simply more choice for the people you love — building wealth and protecting what happens to it are two different things.
Read on, at your own paceThis is for you if…
It feels close to home.
You do not need a complicated life to have questions worth asking. Most families are already making decisions with a lasting impact — often without realising it.
- You have children, grandchildren, or someone you want to look after.
- You own a home, savings, investments, property, or a pension.
- You are married, in a civil partnership, or live with a partner without being married.
- Your family is blended, changing, or has different needs to consider.
- You own or are building a business.
- You keep meaning to make or update your will — or assume your family will simply sort things out.
What most families assume
Reasonable assumptions. Different rules.
“Once I have a will, everything is sorted.”
A will is important, but it deals with what happens after death. It does not replace planning for incapacity, business ownership, lifetime gifts, or every tax and trust question.
“Trusts are only for rich people — and they always save tax.”
Trusts are legal arrangements that can be used for different reasons. Their tax treatment depends on the type of trust, the people involved, the assets, and what happens over time.
The cost of doing nothing
Doing nothing is still a decision.
This is not about fear. It is about making sure the default rules do not make more decisions than you intended them to.
Family
Outcomes may not reflect the people you would have chosen, or the timing you would have wanted for children and other beneficiaries.
Money
A gift, trust, pension, property, or business decision can have consequences that are easier to understand before it is made.
Time
Sorting an estate or stepping into someone else’s financial affairs can involve formal processes, documents, and decisions at an already difficult time.
Control
Without clear instructions, the default rules and the available evidence can make more of the decisions for you.
Protection is more than a will
Different tools answer different questions.
A will can be an important part of planning. It is not the whole picture. The right mix depends on your family, assets, plans, and the choices you want to preserve.
Will
Sets out what you want to happen to your estate after death.
Trust
Can set terms for how, when, and for whom particular assets are made available.
Lasting Power of Attorney
Lets you appoint people to make specified decisions if you cannot make them yourself.
Life assurance
Can provide money for the people left behind and may be part of wider estate-liquidity planning when appropriately arranged.
Business succession planning
Considers what happens to ownership and control if a business owner dies or cannot continue.
Tax planning and gifting
Uses the rules, exemptions, allowances, and reliefs that apply to your circumstances — with care for the wider picture.
None of these tools is automatically right for everyone. What matters is understanding the question before choosing an answer.
The things nobody explains properly
There is usually more to the story.
You do not need to learn every rule today. It helps to know which questions are worth asking before you act.
The seven-year idea is not the whole story.
Many outright lifetime gifts are treated differently if the person making them survives seven years, but trusts, exempt gifts, and gifts where a benefit is retained follow different rules.
Giving away a home is not always the end of the story.
If someone gives away property but continues to benefit from it, the inheritance-tax treatment can be different from what they expected.
Some regular gifts may be treated differently.
Regular gifts made from income can be exempt in some circumstances, but the conditions matter and records are important.
Pensions are changing too.
From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits are due to be brought within the value of an estate for inheritance-tax purposes, subject to the detailed rules and exceptions.
More plain-English guides are being prepared.
It is not one tax. It is how they interact.
The right question is rarely, “How do I avoid this tax?”
Giving something away might change inheritance-tax exposure, but can also create a capital-gains question. A trust may help set terms around capital, while bringing its own tax and administration considerations. A company, pension, trust, and individual are not always treated in the same way.
“What happens to the whole picture if I do this?”
Why Heirs & Order exists
Families work hard to build something. Yet estate planning, trusts, wills, and wealth structuring are too often presented as though they belong only to people who already understand the system.
Heirs & Order exists to make the information easier to understand and the document-preparation process more accessible.
Understand first. Act second. You deserve enough clarity to ask better questions about your family, your assets, and the future you are building.
— Michaela Lior, Founder
Start with understanding
You do not need to decide today.
Start by understanding what may apply to your family, your assets, and your plans. Go deeper only when you are ready.
Not sure where to start?Guides
Guides are coming soon
A dedicated plain-English guide library is being prepared.
Dictionary
Look up a term
Clear explanations for the words that often make this area feel closed off.
Articles
Read the latest thinking
Explore practical perspectives at your own pace.
The Vault
Explore the Vault
See the existing member-learning space when you are ready to go further.
Heirs & Order provides UK-focused informational content and document-preparation tools, not personalised legal, tax, investment, or FCA-regulated financial advice. Consider a qualified solicitor's review where appropriate before acting or executing documents.