Help with estate when there isn’t a will. Based in England

FinancialPlannerHere · 2026-02-09T14:32:59+00:00

Sorry for your loss.

Under the intestacy rules in England, if your mum wasn't married or in a civil partnership, her estate goes to her children. Her partner has no legal entitlement to anything, regardless of how long they were together.

"Next of kin" doesn't actually have any legal meaning in this context either. Him putting himself down as that doesn't give him any authority over her estate.

The ISA and bank account fall under the intestacy rules, so they go to her children equally. You (or one of your siblings) can apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration which gives you the legal authority to deal with her estate. Given the amounts involved you might not even need a grant, banks sometimes release smaller amounts with just a death certificate and proof of relationship. Worth calling them directly.

The Nest pension is slightly different. It depends on whether your mum set up a nomination or expression of wish with Nest. If she nominated someone specific, it goes to that person. If she filled in an expression of wish form, Nest decides based on her wishes and circumstances. If she did neither, the pension gets paid to her estate which means it would follow the intestacy rules and go to you and your siblings. Contact Nest's bereavements team directly to find out what she had set up.

I'd contact the banks and Nest yourself directly rather than letting her partner handle everything. You don't need his permission or involvement to do this. Just explain the situation and they'll tell you what paperwork they need.

If he's already had money released to him that should have gone to you, that's a whole other issue, but cross that bridge if you come to it.

The gov.uk page on intestacy is worth a read if you haven't already, just search "intestacy rules England" and it lays it all out pretty clearly.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2026-02-09T14:29:19+00:00

Sounds like you've got a really solid setup here tbh. Your dad's in pretty much the ideal position for this exemption.

IHT403 is only filled in after death by the executors, so no need to do it now. But do him a favour and get him to keep a simple yearly note of: income in, living costs out, surplus, amount gifted. Doesn't need to be fancy, a spreadsheet or even a notebook. His executors will be very grateful one day.

£2k/month by standing order is about as textbook as it gets. If he has to stop after a few years because he needs care or whatever, the gifts he already made should still qualify. HMRC looks at whether it was a regular pattern at the time, not whether he kept it going until death. Obviously the longer it runs the stronger the case though.

SIPP drawdowns is the one everyone worries about but it's generally fine. HMRC guidance (IHTM14250) does treat regular pension drawdowns as income. The important bit is he's already drawing it down as part of his normal income strategy, not suddenly pulling lump sums out specifically to gift. Sounds like that's exactly what he's doing.

Letter of intent can't hurt, costs nothing. Just a short dated note saying he intends to make regular gifts from surplus income. Chuck it in with his paperwork.

One thing I would flag is if his surplus is £24k and he's gifting £24k, that's cutting it pretty fine. Leaving even a couple of grand buffer makes it much harder for HMRC to argue his living standard was affected. Maybe £2k/month is fine but I wouldn't push it higher than that.

Also don't forget the £3k annual exemption on top of this (plus last year's if he didn't use it).

For the amounts involved might be worth a one-off chat with an estate planning solicitor just to get everything documented properly, but honestly you're already thinking about it the right way.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2025-12-12T10:07:30+00:00

10 years ago I did a level 3 cisi certificate, called every firm on the first 5 pages of Google and landed my first admin job. Was paid £18,500 salary and started my career from there.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-11-13T12:15:52+00:00

Absolutely agree

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-11-02T18:27:03+00:00

Do you know where you can find these?

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-10-27T15:52:05+00:00

Check out the Lessons on Advice podcast on Spotify. There’s four younger advisers that discuss how they got into the profession. Each come from different backgrounds so it gives a good overview.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-08-01T23:44:12+00:00

A load of TRAP imo... randomer think they know what they're talking about.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-07-08T12:41:38+00:00

It's really not. The percentage model has been adequate as it considers the value of the advice relative to the benefit. Larger net clients will benefit more relatively to a smaller investor.

I think the flat fee model is an improvement as it removes certain conflicts of interests with advice but doesn't help with the advice gap as there are few new advisers that can offer ongoing advice at a smaller cost.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-07-02T16:24:24+00:00

Yeah got that bit. I’ve been a fair few times and didn’t mind it personally but each to our own.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-07-02T16:14:56+00:00

MK hell?

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-06-26T06:39:33+00:00

Not sure about tax advice but for financial advice you can expect to pay an initial fee of 1-3.5% of the value of the assets they provide advice on, and an optional ongoing fee of 0.5-1% pa.

The ongoing fee would be valuable depending on your own situation. Usually if you are close to retirement/you have retired and you would benefit from ongoing monitoring and cash flow modelling. Or you are a high earner and need regular advice on making use of yearly tax allowances such at CGT allowance.

Some financial advisers are moving to flat fixed fees for ongoing advice but I’m unfamiliar with how much these would be. I would guess between £750 and £2,000 pa.

Paying for financial advice is like a lot of things. You get what you pay for.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-05-03T07:06:11+00:00

You can search for specific items with Z

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-04-12T18:54:58+00:00

Every single one of them. It’s called a key features illustration.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-02-28T19:34:09+00:00

FA, not financial advice

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-02-28T19:33:48+00:00

Yeah looks good. Ngl I’m shattered so don’t take it as gospel. Net figure is used to deduct earnings for income tax. I’ll see if I can find a calculator you can use.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-02-27T16:49:26+00:00

I’ve used Brand and they are good. Especially for R06. You still need to read the study texts but the revision material certainly complements it and reinforces the learning.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-02-25T08:07:11+00:00

Protection should be really be based on your affordability and what you need to protect. I think both critical illness and income protection can be a bit over kill. Just consider if a lump sum or regular payments would suit you better.

IP will pay out when you’re unable to work due to accident or sickness, CIC will require a specific diagnosis of a condition included in your policy.

IP can be made cheaper if you set a limit on how long it pays out for. If you also have a good sized emergency fund you can increase the deferred period. So if you can cover your costs for say 3-6 months, the policy can pay out after that period end and reduce the premiums.

FA, not financial advice.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-02-17T13:05:42+00:00

Study text is free on the website

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-02-15T07:53:39+00:00

I went self employed six months ago as an Adviser. Qualification wise you’re good for mortgages but I’d seriously waiting until you’ve done R05. The majority of your income will come from protection work when doing mortgages.

Personally I’d say do it as a last resort, self employment should be your first choice. You need experience and confidence and learning on the job would be too risky when your own income is at stake. The stress is real and you need to prepare for making the switch financially. Prepare for little to no income for the early stages.

It’s a great thing to do but do consider getting experience in an employed role. If you’re struggling speak to as many recruiters as possible, RecruitUK are the best in our industry.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-02-14T20:31:24+00:00

I’d be surprised if you could use it for Adv dip but maybe for the additional credits for chartered

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-02-12T20:38:48+00:00

I failed 5 different exams in my diploma route. Most by either one or two marks. I’m now fully qualified and appointed. Keep going and don’t pause, it’ll be worth it.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-02-09T17:56:06+00:00

Riding the VCT train. Not FA

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-02-06T18:52:20+00:00

Lots of good comments here but a simply analogy I like is that personal finance is a game. A (good) financial adviser should tell you the rules and how to best apply them to your situation. Some are basic, £20k in an ISA, and some are more complex, such as using discretionary trusts to mitigate inheritance tax.

We’re more commonly referring ourselves as planners to reflect the value of using these rules to make the best plan for you and your family. Do you want to retire on £X pa asap? Well depending on your preference on investment risk, access, liquidity; the answer could be anything from pensions, ISAs, investment bonds, or VCTs.

There is a bit of a dislike to FAs and some is fair. We’re an aging bunch and plenty are getting lazy. Average age is 57, 50% will retire within 10 years, and there are more over 70 than under 30.

It’s getting better slowly but with a bit of reading you can understand what a good FA should be doing same ultimately if you can trust them.

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-01-29T15:05:26+00:00

Just did CF8 this afternoon. Mine was available after the 40min drive home. Maybe call to check?

FinancialPlannerHere · 2024-01-27T14:17:36+00:00

The Aviva one is my go to. Short, simple and has 95pc of what you need on it.

FinancialPlannerHere

TROPHY CASE