What happens if you don't have a Will?
Without a Will, the law decides what happens to everything you've spent your life building — your home, your savings, your pension, even who looks after your children. These rules are called the Laws of Intestacy, and they rarely reflect what you'd actually want.
Here's what's at stake:
Your home may not automatically pass to the person you'd expect — particularly if you're unmarried, separated, or in a blended family.
Your children could end up in the care of someone you wouldn't have chosen, because you never legally appointed a guardian.
Your savings and bank accounts can be frozen, sometimes for months, leaving your family unable to access money when they need it most.
Your wishes — however clearly you've expressed them to family — carry no legal weight without a valid Will.
The good news? All of this is easy to fix.
Wills — straightforward protection for your family
A Will is a legally binding document that sets out exactly what you want to happen when you're gone. Who gets what. Who looks after the children. Who you trust to carry out your wishes.
At Clayton Reeds, we make the process simple. No jargon, no intimidating legal paperwork — just a clear conversation, a plan built around your family, and documents delivered within 48 hours of your instructions.
Single Wills from £250 | Mirror Wills from £395
Why You Need a Will
You've worked hard for everything you have. Don't leave it to chance.
More than half of adults in the UK don't have a Will. Most of them aren't irresponsible — they're busy, they've been meaning to get round to it, or they assume it's complicated and expensive. It isn't. But the consequences of not having one can be devastating for the people you love most.
A Will isn't about death. It's about the people you're leaving behind.
Bloodline Planning — keeping your estate in the right hands
Here's a situation that's more common than most people realise.
A husband leaves everything to his wife, assuming it will eventually reach their children. His wife later remarries. When she passes away, her new husband inherits everything — and the children from the first marriage receive nothing. This is called sideways disinheritance, and it happens to families across the UK every year.
It's entirely avoidable with the right Will. A simple property trust ensures your assets follow the bloodline you intended, no matter what happens after you're gone.
Trusts — an extra layer of protection
For some families, a Will alone isn't quite enough. A Trust gives you greater control over how your assets are managed and passed on — and can protect what you've built from a range of risks you might not have considered.
A Trust can help:
Protect your home from being used to fund care home fees
Ensure children from a previous relationship receive their inheritance
Support a vulnerable beneficiary without affecting their benefits
Shield your estate from a beneficiary's divorce or bankruptcy
Reduce or defer Inheritance Tax in certain circumstances
Trusts sound complicated — they really aren't. We'll explain everything in plain English and help you decide whether one is right for your situation.
Lasting Power of Attorney — plan for the unexpected
A Will deals with what happens after you die. A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) deals with what happens if you lose the ability to manage your own affairs while you're still alive.
An accident, a stroke, a serious illness — none of us plan for these things, but any of them could leave you unable to pay bills, manage your mortgage, or make decisions about your medical care. Without an LPA, your family would have to apply to the Court of Protection to act on your behalf — a process that can take months and cost thousands.
An LPA lets you choose, right now, exactly who you'd want to step in and help — and gives them the legal authority to do so quickly and without unnecessary stress.
We offer LPAs for both Property & Financial Affairs and Health & Welfare, at £250 each.
Document Storage — because a Will no one can find is no Will at all
Worryingly, over half of all Wills that are written can't be found when the time comes. They might be with a solicitor who retired, in a drawer nobody thought to check, or locked in a safe whose combination nobody knows.
Our secure document storage service means your executors will be able to locate your Will quickly and easily when it matters most — so your wishes are actually carried out.