What to Bring to an Estate Planning Meeting: The Complete Checklist

Planning for an estate planning meeting can feel overwhelming. Many people worry that they need to have everything organised before attending their first estate planning meeting. In reality, you do not need to have all the answers, but having key information to hand allows your adviser to provide tailored advice on wills, trusts, inheritance tax planning, succession planning and protecting your family’s future.

This estate planning checklist explains what information and documents to bring to your first meeting so you can make the most of the appointment and ensure your estate planning reflects your wishes, assets and family circumstances.

1. Create a List of Your Assets

Try to prepare a schedule of everything you own, including:

• Your home and any other properties
• Agricultural land and farm buildings
• Commercial property
• Savings accounts
• Investment portfolios
• ISAs
• Private pension details
• National Savings products
• Business interests, shares, or partnership interests
• Valuable personal possessions (jewellery, artwork, antiques etc)
• Life insurance policies

You do not need exact figures, but approximate values will help your solicitor .

2. Gather Recent Valuations

Where possible, bring:

• Recent property valuations
• Farm and agricultural land valuations
• Business accounts or business valuations
• Investment statements
• Pension statements
• Bank statements

The more accurate the figures, the easier it is to assess potential inheritance tax exposure and planning opportunities.

3. Understand Your Debts and Financial Liabilities

It is equally important to know what you owe.

Prepare details of:

• Mortgages
• Secured loans
• Personal loans
• Business borrowing
• Credit card balances
• Any personal or business guarantees you have given

4. Review Your Pension Arrangements

Pensions are becoming increasingly important within estate planning. Historically, many pension funds could be passed to beneficiaries free from inheritance tax, making pensions a valuable estate planning tool. However, Government proposals have now been introduced which may bring most unused pension funds and certain death benefits within the scope of inheritance tax for deaths occurring on or after 6 April 2027.

Bring copies of:

• Pension statements
• Death benefit nomination forms
• Pension provider contact details

If possible, find out:

• The current value of each pension
• Whether benefits stop on death
• Whether any spouse’s pension is payable
• Whether the pension is held under trust
• Whether you have completed beneficiary nominations

With proposed changes to inheritance tax treatment of pensions expected, ensuring that nominations are up to date and pension arrangements are understood has become more important than ever.

5. Bring Details of Existing Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning Documents

Provide copies of:

• Your current Will
• Any Codicils
• Trust deeds
• Letters of Wishes
• Lasting Powers of Attorney
• Previous estate planning advice

This helps avoid unintended consequences and ensures any new planning works alongside existing arrangements.

6. Prepare a Family Tree

Your lawyer will need details of your family circumstances, including:

• Full names of spouses, partners, children, and stepchildren
• Dates of birth
• Addresses
• Details of any vulnerable beneficiaries
• Information regarding any family disputes or estrangements
• Details of any dependants

This information often influences how a Will should be structured.

7. Think About Who You Want to Benefit

Consider:

• Who should inherit your estate.
• Whether young beneficiaries will require protection.
• Whether certain assets should remain within the family.
• Whether gifts should be made to charities.
• Whether gifts should be made during your lifetime.
• What should happen if a beneficiary dies before you.

8. Consider Who Should Act for You

Executors

Executors are responsible for administering your estate after your death.

Consider:

• Who would administer your estate?
• Are they capable and willing to act?
• Should professional executors be appointed?

Trustees

If trusts are involved, consider:

• Who would manage any trust funds for future generations?
• Do they have the necessary skills and experience?
• Would a professional trustee be more appropriate?

9. Gather Information About Farming and Rural Assets

For farming families and rural business owners, it can be particularly helpful to bring:

• Farm maps and plans
• Details of owned and tenanted land
• Partnership agreements
• Farming business accounts
• Details of diversification activities
• Succession planning documents

This can help identify Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) opportunities and ensure the succession plan aligns with the family’s wishes.

10. Bring Contact Details for Key Professional Advisers

Your estate planning lawyers may need to work alongside other professionals. Where relevant, bring contact details for any:

• Accountants
• Independent Financial Advisers (IFA)
• Wealth managers
• Land agents
• Rural surveyors
• Business consultants
• Existing solicitors

Having names and contact details available can save time and ensure advice is coordinated.

11. Review Lifetime Gifts

Lifetime gifts can have important inheritance tax implications.

Prepare details of:

• Significant gifts made in the last seven years
• Gifts into trust
• Financial assistance given to children
• Gifts of property or land
• Any regular gifting arrangements

This information allows your solicitor to assess whether any gifts remain relevant for inheritance tax purposes.

12. Consider Your Objectives

Estate planning is about more than tax.

Before the meeting, ask yourself:

• What are your biggest concerns?
• Do you want to reduce inheritance tax liabilities?
• Are you concerned about care fees?
• Do you want to protect family assets from remarriage or divorce?
• Are you looking to preserve a farm or business for the next generation?

Often, understanding your objectives is just as important as understanding your assets.

13. Lasting Powers of Attorneys

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you to appoint people you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so yourself. LPAs are an important part of estate and lifetime planning and can help avoid the need for a Court of Protection Deputyship application if capacity is lost. There are two types of LPA:

• Property and Financial Affairs LPA
• Health and Welfare LPA

Before the meeting, consider:

• Who would you trust to make decisions for you if you lost capacity?
• Should you appoint replacement attorneys?
• Should your attorneys act together or independently?
• Are there any specific preferences of instructions you would like them to follow?
• Do you have business, farming or other assets that may require separate consideration?
• Have you already made LPAs? If so, bring copies to your meeting.

Estate Planning Meeting Checklist

We have prepared a checklist to help you ensure you have everything you need in preparation for your estate planning meeting.

✅ Property valuations
✅ Bank statements
✅ Investment statements
✅ Pension information
✅ Existing Will
✅ Trust documents
✅ Lasting Powers of Attorney
✅ Details of gifts made within the last seven years
✅ Family and beneficiary information
✅ Executor and trustee preferences
✅ Farming or business documentation (where relevant)
✅ Professional adviser contact details

Final Thought

You do not need to arrive with every document or every answer. The purpose of the first meeting is to begin the conversation, identify priorities, and allow your adviser to guide you through the options available. However, the more information you can provide at the outset, the more focused and productive your estate planning discussions are likely to be.

Whether you are looking to make a Will, reduce potential inheritance tax liabilities, protect a family business, preserve farming assets, establish trusts or put Lasting Powers of Attorney in place, a little preparation can make your appointment considerably more productive.

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