At Will Protect, we understand that estate planning in 2025 is about more than just paperwork; it is about securing your legacy in a rapidly changing world. With significant shifts in legislation, digital processes, and tax rules this year, many families in Essex are asking how these changes affect their future.
From the new digital Powers of Attorney to the “stealth taxes” introduced in the Autumn Budget, this guide breaks down the essential landscape of estate planning in 2025 and what you need to do to stay protected.
Modernising Authority: Lasting Powers of Attorney
A core pillar of effective estate planning in 2025 is the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). This year has seen the full rollout of the Powers of Attorney Act 2023, transforming how these vital documents are created and registered.
The Shift to Digital
The Office of the Public Guardian has moved to a “digital-first” system.
- Faster Processing: Digital applications are now processing in approximately 4–6 weeks, a vast improvement over the old paper-based delays.
- Enhanced Security: To combat fraud, strict identity verification is now mandatory for donors and attorneys. You will likely need to prove your identity via a secure online platform.
Why Professional Help Matters
While the new system is faster, it is also more rigid. A simple data entry error can lead to immediate rejection, costing you time and the increased £92 registration fee. As part of our approach to estate planning in 2025, Will Protect manages this digital process for you, ensuring your ID checks are compliant and your forms are error-free.
The Wills Bill: A New Era for Testators
For nearly two centuries, the laws surrounding wills remained static. Estate planning in 2025 is finally catching up with the modern world through the proposed Wills Bill.
Marriage and Your Will
One of the most critical protections for vulnerable clients is the change to marriage laws. Previously, marriage automatically revoked an existing will.
- The Update: Legislation now proposes that marriage will no longer automatically cancel a will.
- The Benefit: This stops “predatory marriages” where scammers marry the elderly to inherit their estate. However, it means you must actively update your will if you remarry, as your new spouse may not automatically inherit as before.
Electronic Wills
The conversation around estate planning in 2025 also includes the controversial topic of Electronic Wills. While digital signing is being debated, we urge caution. A screen cannot replace the intuition of a face-to-face meeting.
We continue to advocate for physical witnessing to ensure no one is being coerced; a standard we uphold for all our clients.
Probate and Administration: What to Expect
If you are dealing with a bereavement, understanding the probate timeline is a crucial part of estate planning in 2025.
- The Good News: Wait times have stabilized. Digital probate applications are now taking around 6.3 weeks on average.
- The Caution: The system is heavily automated. Applications often “stop” due to minor discrepancies, such as staple holes in a will or mismatched inheritance tax figures.
To avoid these delays, we “front-load” our applications, ensuring every document is pristine before submission. This proactive approach is essential for preventing property sales in Essex from falling through due to administrative gridlock.
The Tax Landscape: Budget 2025 Impact
Fiscal awareness is perhaps the most urgent aspect of estate planning in 2025. The Autumn Budget has frozen thresholds and introduced changes that could erode family wealth if ignored.
The "Fiscal Drag" on Your Home
The Chancellor has extended the freeze on Inheritance Tax (IHT) allowances until 2030:
- Nil Rate Band: Frozen at £325,000.
- Residence Nil Rate Band: Frozen at £175,000.
With property prices in Essex continuing to rise, this “fiscal drag” means more families are crossing the threshold into the 40% tax bracket simply by doing nothing.
The Pension Trap (Coming 2027)
The biggest shock to estate planning in 2025 is the future taxation of pensions. From April 2027, unused pension pots will likely be included in your estate for IHT purposes.
- The Risk: Beneficiaries could face a “double tax”—paying Inheritance Tax on the pot and Income Tax when they withdraw the money.
- The Strategy: It may now be wiser to spend your pension during your lifetime or use it to make surplus income gifts, rather than saving it as a tax-free inheritance vehicle.
Your 2026 Action Plan
Moving forward from estate planning in 2025, 2026 requires action, not passivity. Here is how to protect your family this year:
- Secure Your LPAs: Do not wait for a health crisis. Use the efficient new digital channels to register your LPAs while you are well.
- Audit Your Will: If you have married recently or own digital assets (cryptocurrency, online accounts), ensure your will explicitly handles them.
- Review Your Pension Strategy: Speak to us about how the 2027 rules affect your retirement funds.
- Consider Professional Executors: With tax rules becoming more complex, appointing a professional can protect your family from personal liability.
FAQs Frequently Asked Questions
From April 2027, yes. In a major shift, the government is bringing most unused pension pots into the scope of Inheritance Tax (IHT). Previously, pensions were often a tax-free way to pass wealth to the next generation. Under the new rules, your pension could be taxed at 40% (IHT) and your beneficiaries might also pay Income Tax when they withdraw the money, creating a potential “double tax” scenario. We strongly recommend reviewing your pension nomination forms and estate plan now to mitigate this.
It depends heavily on how the application is made. As of 2025, digital probate applications are being processed much faster—often in around 4 to 6 weeks. However, paper applications remain slower, often taking over 12 weeks. The key to speed is accuracy; the system is now automated, so a simple error in your IHT figures or a missing document scan can cause your application to be “stopped,” adding weeks to the wait.
Yes, the Powers of Attorney Act 2023 has introduced a fully digital channel to make the process faster and reduce administrative errors. However, there are new strict safeguards: you (the donor) and your attorneys will need to pass identity checks to prevent fraud.8 Also, be aware that the registration fee increased to £92 per document in November 2025, so getting it right the first time is crucial to avoid paying twice.
This is changing. Historically, marriage automatically revoked a will, which allowed scammers to target vulnerable elderly people (known as “predatory marriage”) to inherit their estate. Under the reforms proposed in the Wills Bill 2025, marriage will no longer automatically revoke a will. This protects the vulnerable, but it means if you do get remarried, you must actively update your will to ensure your new spouse is provided for.
You might be wealthier than you think on paper. The Chancellor has frozen the tax-free thresholds (the £325,000 allowance and the £175,000 residence allowance) until 2030. Because property prices in Essex have continued to rise while these allowances stay static, many ordinary families who own a home and have some savings are being “dragged” into the 40% tax bracket. This is known as “fiscal drag.”
While the Law Commission has discussed electronic wills, we strongly advise caution. The law is moving towards allowing digital wills to reflect modern life, but proving that a digital signature wasn’t coerced is difficult. For now, the safest and most robust way to ensure your wishes are legally watertight is still a professionally drafted document signed in the physical presence of witnesses.
