Wills
What a will actually does — and what it doesn't
Alan Mountford-Brown · 1 September 2026 · 2 min read
A will decides who inherits. It does not decide who looks after your children's money, and it does nothing at all while you are alive. Here is where the line sits.
Most people come to a first meeting believing a will does more than it does. That is not carelessness — it is what the word suggests. A will sounds like a plan for everything. In practice it is a narrow instrument, and knowing its edges is what stops families being caught out.
What a will does
A will takes effect on death, and it does three things well:
- It says who inherits what.
- It appoints executors — the people who deal with the estate.
- It appoints guardians for children under eighteen.
That is the whole of it. Everything else people expect from a will is either done by a different document or not done at all.
What it does not do
A will does nothing while you are alive. If you lose capacity — through illness, an accident, or age — your will sits in a drawer and your family has no authority to act on your behalf. That is what a lasting power of attorney is for, and it is the single most common gap we see.
It also does not control money left to someone who cannot manage it. Leaving a share outright to a child with a disability can cost them means-tested benefits and hand them a sum they are not equipped to hold. A trust is the tool for that, and it has to be written into the will deliberately.
A will names who inherits. It does not decide how, or when, or who steadies the money afterwards.
The practical test
Ask yourself what would happen tomorrow if you could not make your own decisions. If the answer involves someone needing to pay your bills, sell your house, or speak to your bank, a will will not help them. That is not a reason to skip the will — it is a reason not to stop there.
If you would like to talk any of this through, a first conversation costs nothing and usually takes half an hour.
