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Bees & Co Wills,Trusts LPAs and Estate planning

Expert advice on the construction of Wills, Lasting Power of Attorney and the effective use of Trusts. Expert Financial guidance which comes FREE of charge.

15/06/2026

It’s the season for gap years, festivals, summer jobs abroad and first big adventures. If you have a son or daughter heading off, you will no doubt, have thought about travel insurance, vaccinations and a working phone.

But there’s one most families never consider. Once your child turns eighteen, you no longer have an automatic right to act on their behalf. If they were in an accident overseas and could not make decisions for a while, you could find yourself locked out of their bank, unable to deal with insurers, and potentially facing a slow, costly court process just to help your own child.

A Lasting Power of Attorney solves this. It lets your young adult choose, in advance, someone they trust to step in if they ever cannot act for themselves. It’s not morbid, it’s just sensible, like the insurance.

It takes one short conversation and a bit of paperwork, and then everyone can relax and enjoy the trip. https://beesandco.com/contact/

13/06/2026

I’ve been in the wills and probate business a long time, and the law governing wills has barely changed in my lifetime. In fact, it dates back to 1837, the year Victoria came to the throne (to clarify, that’s the law not me!).

That may be about to change. In May 2025 the Law Commission published a major report recommending reforms, including allowing electronic wills, giving courts more power to recognise a person's genuine intentions, and scrapping the rule that marriage automatically cancels a will. The government is considering its response.

I welcome a sensible look at all of this. The rule on marriage in particular has been used to exploit vulnerable people, something we should all want to see stopped.

But none of this is law yet. Until it is, the current rules apply in full. So, if you‘re relying on a homemade or electronic arrangement, or you assume marriage has not affected your will, please don’t. Take advice based on the law as it stands today, not as it might be tomorrow.

If you are unsure where your will stands under the current rules, I’m always happy to talk it through with you. https://beesandco.com/contact/

08/06/2026

A big pension change is coming in April 2027, and now is the time for families to plan ahead.

Here is a change that I think more people need to know about, because it could impact a great many families.

From 6 April 2027, most unused pension pots will be counted as part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes. For years, pensions have sat outside the estate and could often be passed on tax free. That is coming to an end.

Now, before anyone panics, the vast majority of estates will still pay no inheritance tax at all. The government estimates that around 10,500 estates a year will become liable as a result of this change, which is roughly 1.5 per cent of deaths. But if you have a decent pension pot and a home, it is worth understanding where you stand.

The point of mentioning it now, well over a year ahead, is simple. The families who plan calmly tend to fare far better than those who are caught off guard. There is time to look at this sensibly, and that is exactly what we are here for.

If you’d like to understand how this might affect your own plans, do get in touch for a free initial chat. https://beesandco.com/contact/

04/06/2026

Wedding season is upon us, so here’s what you need to remember:

In England and Wales, getting married or entering a civil partnership automatically cancels any will you made beforehand, unless that will was specifically written in expectation of the marriage.

So, if you tied the knot last summer and have not made a new will since, you might not have a valid will at all, without realising it.

The good news is that it is a quick thing to put right.

If you plan to get married or have married recently, drop me a message, and I'll help you sort it out. https://beesandco.com/contact/

29/05/2026

A conversation I find myself having more and more is about how long probate actually takes.

Most families assume it is a matter of weeks. The reality over the past 12 months is that a straightforward estate typically takes six to twelve months from start to finish, and complex ones longer. According to recent figures reported by the Ministry of Justice, more than two thousand probate applications took over a year to be granted in the year to April 2025.

Why the delays? Inheritance tax queries with HMRC, property valuations, missing pension details, and the rising number of digital assets that nobody thought to write down.

There are two practical things you can do for your family while you are still around. Keep a clear list of what you own and where it is, including online accounts. And make sure your will is up to date and properly drawn up.

It will not eliminate every delay, but it will save your executors weeks of detective work.

If you’d like help drawing that list together, let me know.

24/05/2026

A word of warning. Trust scams are on the rise. Fraudsters are using legal-sounding language, fake credentials, and even cloned websites to part decent people from their money.

Three red flags to watch for:
Guaranteed returns and 'no risk' promises.
Pressure to act today, or before the end of the week.
A request to pay by an unusual method, or to keep things 'between us'.

A genuine professional will never push you, never promise the impossible, and never mind you taking a few days to think.

If something feels off, it usually is. Ring us, ring Citizens Advice, or report it to Action Fraud.

If you want a second pair of eyes on something, get in touch.

21/05/2026

A question I am asked quite often is 'Aren't Lasting Powers of Attorney just for the elderly?'

The honest answer is no. An LPA matters from the age of 18 onwards.

Think about it. Once your child turns 18, you no longer have an automatic right to step in if something happens to them. A serious accident, a sudden illness, an incident on a gap year abroad, and the bank, the hospital, even the university, may not be able to speak to you about their affairs.

With exam season underway and many young people heading off this summer to work, travel, or start university, this is a good time for parents and young adults to have a quiet conversation about it. It is not a morbid one. It is a practical one.

If your son or daughter is heading off this summer, it is worth a five-minute conversation.

17/05/2026

There’s something I still find a lot of families still don’t know: since September 2024, every single death in England and Wales must be reviewed by a Medical Examiner before the death certificate is issued.

Medical Examiners are senior doctors. Their job is to look over the medical records, speak to the treating clinicians, and, where appropriate, speak to the family, before confirming the cause of death.

For families, this means two things. First, you will likely be offered a conversation with the Medical Examiner. It is a chance to ask questions, raise concerns, or simply understand what happened. Many people find that genuinely helpful.

Second, the process can add a few days to the timeline before you can register the death and arrange a funeral. Knowing this in advance takes some of the surprise out of an already difficult time.

It is a significant change, and one that all families I’ve spoken to about this appreciate.

14/05/2026

You’d be surprised how often I hear 'I'll get round to my will next year".

Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, and more recently, Liam Payne, all died without one. None of them planned to. None of them thought it was urgent. Their families spent years, in some cases decades, sorting out the consequences.

You do not need millions in the bank for it to matter. If you have a home, savings, children, or someone you would want looked after, then you have an estate worth protecting.

Half an hour now can save your loved ones months of worry later.
Get in touch if you’d like a friendly chat about getting a will started.
https://beesandco.com/contact/

11/05/2026

Right, I owe you all an apology.
A little while ago, I told you I had taken leave of my senses and signed up to throw myself out of an aeroplane on 28th June for Hope for Tomorrow, the wonderful charity that runs mobile cancer care units bringing treatment closer to people who need it.

What I did not do, because I am told I am 'not very digital', is share the actual link enough times for anyone to find it. The grand total currently sits at just £70. My grandchildren are quietly enjoying my technological shortcomings.

So here it is, the link to sponsor me is:
https://lnkd.in/e-K7N9AW

Even a fiver would help and would take some of the sting out of my impending freefall.

A few things you should know:
The jump is really happening. I have not found a graceful way to back out.

The cause is genuinely brilliant. Hope for Tomorrow take cancer care to people in their own communities, often saving them long, exhausting trips to hospital. Every pound goes to the charity, not to me. I am providing the entertainment for free.

If you have already donated, thank you, you are a saint and I shall wave at you on the way down. If you have not, the link is here and in the comments. You can’t miss it. I have made sure of that this time.

More updates to follow.

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