Why a Will and Lasting Power of Attorney form part of my fact-finding process

When I first start working with a client, there are a lot of questions to ask. 

We need to understand their circumstances, their financial position, their plans for the future and what they want to achieve. 

That naturally means conversations about things such as pensions, investments, savings, income and retirement. 

But there are also two questions that can sometimes catch people by surprise: 

 

Do you have a Will in place? 

 

Do you have a Lasting Power of Attorney? 

 

I ask these questions as part of understanding the whole picture. I'm not asking them because I want to provide legal advice, or because there is a particular answer I'm looking for. 

 

They're simply important areas to be aware of when looking at someone's wider financial circumstances. 

And the statistics suggest that there is still a significant gap when it comes to both. 

 

 

Research published by the Money and Pensions Service in January 2025 found that 56% of UK adults aged 18 and over do not have a Will. 

 

That figure was 53% among people aged 50–64, while 22% of people aged 65 and over did not have a Will. 

 

So, although having a Will is something we might associate particularly with later life, the figures show that a substantial proportion of people approaching retirement age still don't have one. 

 

A Will is essentially a legal document setting out what you would like to happen to your estate after you die. 

 

Your estate can include things such as property, savings, investments and other assets, although exactly what happens to different assets can depend on how they are owned and the circumstances involved. 

 

A Will can also deal with other matters, such as who you would like to act as executors and, where relevant, arrangements concerning children. 

 

Without a valid Will, the distribution of an estate is generally governed by the rules of intestacy rather than simply following someone's personal wishes. 

 

There can also be additional considerations depending on someone's family circumstances, the way assets are owned and the size and nature of their estate. 

 

That's why I think it's useful to ask the question. 

 

Not because I am suggesting what someone should do, but because knowing whether a Will exists is part of understanding their circumstances. 

And then there is the Lasting Power of Attorney 

A Lasting Power of Attorney, or LPA, is different. 

 

This is where I think there can sometimes be confusion. 

 

A Will is about what happens after you die. An LPA is about decisions that may need to be made during your lifetime. 

An LPA is a legal document that allows an individual, known as the donor, to appoint one or more people they trust, known as attorneys, to make certain decisions on their behalf. 

 

There are two types of LPA in England and Wales. 

Property and Financial Affairs LPA 

 

This type of LPA relates to decisions concerning someone's financial affairs and property. 

Depending on the authority given, this can include matters such as bank accounts, bills, property, investments, pensions and benefits. 

 

The Government's guidance explains that a property and financial affairs attorney can make or help make decisions about money, tax and bills, bank and building society accounts, property and investments, pensions and benefits. 

Health and Welfare LPA 

 

The other type relates to decisions about someone's health and welfare. 

 

This can cover areas such as day-to-day care, medical treatment and where someone lives. 

 

Importantly, the two types of LPA are separate. Someone can choose to have one type, or both. 

 

The important point is that an LPA is something that must be considered while someone still has the mental capacity to make the decision to appoint an attorney. 

 

If someone loses the capacity to make certain decisions and hasn't put the appropriate arrangements in place, family members don't simply automatically acquire the legal authority to deal with everything on that person's behalf. 

 

That can potentially mean a more complicated process is required. 

 

Again, this is an area where appropriate legal guidance is important, rather than something I would try to advise a client on myself. 

 

The figures around LPAs are quite striking. 

 

A 2022 survey of 2,000 UK adults found that 78% had not registered a Lasting Power of Attorney, including 77% of those aged over 55. 

That is not a current 2026 survey, so I think it's important to be clear about the date rather than presenting it as if it were. 

What we can say is that the use of LPAs has continued to grow. 

Office of the Public Guardian figures show that around 1.33 million LPAs were registered during 2025. 

 

That doesn't tell us how many people currently don't have an LPA, because registrations in a particular year aren't the same thing as the total number of people who have one. 

But it does show that this is an area receiving increasing attention. 

 

 

This is really why these questions appear on my fact find. 

When I'm looking at someone's financial circumstances, I'm not just looking at what they have today. 

I'm trying to understand the circumstances around their financial plans. 

For example, if someone has built up pension savings, investments, property or other assets, it is useful to understand whether they have considered what would happen to those arrangements if they died. 

 

And equally, there is a different question around what would happen if they were alive but unable to make certain decisions themselves. 

 

That's where the distinction between a Will and an LPA becomes particularly important. 

They deal with different circumstances. 

 

A Will concerns someone's wishes after death. 

 

An LPA concerns decision-making during someone's lifetime if they are unable to make certain decisions themselves. 

 

Neither document is a replacement for the other. 

 

This isn't about telling people what they should do 

 

As an Independent Financial Adviser, my role is not to provide legal advice. 

 

When these questions come up during a fact-finding meeting, I'm interested in understanding whether these arrangements have been considered and whether there are existing documents that I need to be aware of when looking at the wider financial picture. 

If someone doesn't have a Will or an LPA, that doesn't automatically mean there is something wrong with their financial planning. 

There can be many reasons why someone hasn't put these arrangements in place. 

 

Perhaps they've never got around to it. Perhaps they haven't understood the difference between the documents. Or perhaps they simply haven't felt that they were relevant to them. 

 

It's worth being aware of what these documents are and the different roles they play. 

 

If you want to understand your own position, the appropriate place to start is with reliable legal information or a suitably qualified legal professional who can explain the position based on your individual circumstances. 

 

For general information about Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney, the Government provides guidance through GOV.UK. 

 

For me, asking about these things during an initial meeting is simply another part of looking at the whole financial picture. 

 

Because good financial planning isn't only about preparing for the future you expect. 

 

It's also about understanding the arrangements that sit around that future.