Planning ahead

Nobody enjoys thinking about what happens when they're no longer here. But taking a few practical steps now can spare your family a great deal of stress, confusion and expense during an already difficult time. Most of these steps cost little or nothing, and once they're done, they're done.

This page covers the key things you can put in place today — from making sure someone you trust can manage your affairs if you lose capacity, to recording your wishes about medical treatment and organ donation.

Lasting power of attorney

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you choose someone you trust — your "attorney" — to make decisions on your behalf if you ever become unable to make them yourself. There are two types:

• Property and financial affairs — covers bank accounts, bills, pensions, selling property. This type can be used as soon as it's registered (with your permission), or only when you lose capacity, depending on how you set it up.
• Health and welfare — covers medical treatment, care arrangements, life-sustaining treatment decisions. This type can only be used when you lack the mental capacity to decide for yourself.

You can set up one or both. Each LPA costs £92 to register with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), so both together cost £184. Reductions and exemptions are available if you're on certain means-tested benefits or have an income below £12,000 (gov.uk — lasting power of attorney, verified March 2026).

Registration takes 8 to 10 weeks, and the LPA can only be used once it's registered — so this is worth doing well in advance, while you're healthy and have capacity. If you don't have an LPA and you lose capacity, your family may need to apply to the Court of Protection instead, which is slower, more expensive and more stressful. Having an LPA in place can also simplify matters during probate, particularly for the property and financial affairs type.

Writing a will

If you die without a valid will, your estate is divided according to the rules of intestacy — and those rules may not match what you'd want. For example, under intestacy, an unmarried partner inherits nothing regardless of how long you've been together. Children, stepchildren and close friends can also miss out.

A will lets you decide who gets what, name guardians for your children, and make the probate process much more straightforward for whoever has to deal with your estate. We cover this in detail in our wills guide.

Pre-paid funeral plans

A pre-paid funeral plan lets you pay for your funeral in advance, usually at today's prices, so your family doesn't face the cost or the pressure of making arrangements at short notice. Plans typically cover the funeral director's services, though extras like flowers and catering may not be included — always check what's covered.

Since 29 July 2022, pre-paid funeral plan providers must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means you're protected by the Financial Ombudsman Service if something goes wrong, and by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if your provider goes out of business (FCA — funeral plans: check your provider is authorised). Before buying any plan, check the FCA register to confirm the provider is authorised. If they're not on the register, your money has no regulatory protection.

For more on funeral costs and what to expect, see our funeral planning guide.

Advance decisions (living wills)

An advance decision — sometimes called a living will — lets you record which medical treatments you'd refuse in the future, in case you lose the capacity to communicate your wishes. It's legally binding under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and doctors must follow it as long as it's valid and applicable to the situation.

An advance decision can be made verbally or in writing for most treatments. However, if you want to refuse life-sustaining treatment (such as ventilation or CPR), the law requires it to be:

• in writing
• signed by you (or by someone on your behalf, in your presence)
• witnessed
• include a clear statement that the decision applies even if your life is at risk

It's worth discussing your advance decision with your GP and your family, so everyone knows your wishes. You can change or withdraw it at any time while you still have capacity (gov.uk — Mental Capacity Act: making decisions).

Organ donation

All four UK nations now operate an opt-out system for organ donation, meaning adults are generally considered willing to donate their organs after death unless they've recorded a decision not to:

• England — deemed consent since May 2020 (Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019)
• Wales — deemed consent since December 2015 (Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013)
• Scotland — deemed authorisation since March 2021 (Human Tissue (Authorisation) (Scotland) Act 2019)
• Northern Ireland — deemed consent since June 2023 (Dáithí's Law)

Even under opt-out, your family will always be consulted before donation goes ahead. The most helpful thing you can do is tell your family what you want — whether that's to donate or not. You can also register your decision (for or against) on the NHS Organ Donor Register. It takes two minutes and removes any doubt (NHS — UK organ donation laws).

Where to start

If you do nothing else, set up a lasting power of attorney and write a will. These two documents cover the vast majority of situations that cause problems for families — and both are straightforward once you sit down and do them. An advance decision and checking your organ donation preferences can follow, and neither costs anything.