17th December 2025

Future-Proofing for the Year Ahead: A Private Client Guide to Reviewing Your Affairs

As the busy Christmas period fast approaches, the “to-do” list has a habit of growing ever longer. The festive season – and the time spent with family – often prompts many of us to think about tackling some much-needed “life admin.”

With that in mind, here are a few key points you may wish to consider to ensure your affairs are up to date and in good order for the New Year:

Wills

If you already have Wills in place, that is great. Now is an ideal time to review them. It is generally recommended that Wills are reviewed every 3-5 years, or sooner if your financial circumstances have changed, a significant milestone or life event has occurred.

If you do not yet have Wills in place, the New Year provides a good opportunity to consider putting them in order.

Without a Will, your estate will pass according to rules set by the government (known as the Intestacy Rules).

The outcome may not reflect your wishes, and this can be easily avoided by making a clear, valid Will that sets out exactly how you would like your assets to be distributed after your death.

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)

It is worthwhile reviewing your LPAs to ensure that the details for both you and your Attorneys remain correct. For example, an Attorney may have changed address. Although this does not invalidate an LPA, you must notify the Office of the Public Guardian (the government body that oversees LPAs) so that they can update their records.

You may also wish to consider making new LPAs if you have decided to appoint different Attorneys or if, for any reason, your current Attorney(s) are no longer able to act.

Many people may also have the older style “Enduring Powers of Attorney” (EPAs) which were then replaced by the newer style LPAs. While EPAs are still valid, these only cover your property and financial affairs and not your health and welfare as LPAs do. Whilst you have mental capacity, you can use an EPA however if you start losing mental capacity, your Attorneys must register the EPA to act.  With LPAs, we advise registering straight away to avoid any time delay if your Attorneys need to act. You may therefore consider making LPAs and revoking an EPA.

Business LPAs

For both long-standing and new business owners, the busy Christmas period often brings into focus the day-to-day running of the business. It is worth considering what would happen to your business — and your employees — if you were suddenly unable to make decisions due to mental incapacity.

A Business LPA is an important document that allows you to appoint someone to make decisions and manage your business on your behalf. It also enables you to keep your business affairs separate from your personal affairs. For example, you may prefer your family to deal only with your personal finances and welfare, while appointing a colleague or co-director to manage business matters.

Please note that the appointment of director cannot be delegated to your Attorney as that is a personal appointment. Your decisions as a shareholder can be delegated to an Attorney.

Gifting and Knowing Your Allowances

The festive season is a popular time for making gifts, and certain gifts can help reduce the size of your estate for inheritance tax purposes. There are several allowances and exemptions available which many may not be aware of, including:

  • Annual exemption: £3,000 per year per person. Civil Partners or spouses can also combine their allowances and give joint gifts.
  • Small gift allowance: £250 per person
  • Wedding or civil partnership gifts:
    • £5,000 to a child
    • £2,500 to a grandchild or great-grandchild
    • £1,000 to any other person

Making use of these allowances can help you make gifts and reduce the size of your estate tax-efficiently.

In summary:

  • Ensure that your Wills are current and accurately reflect your personal circumstances and testamentary wishes.
  • Review your Lasting Powers of Attorney to confirm that all details remain correct and notify the Office of the Public Guardian of any changes.
  • Consider preparing new LPAs where your existing documents are no longer appropriate or sufficient.
  • If you are a business owner, consider putting a Business LPA in place to safeguard the continuity of your business.
  • Familiarise yourself with the available gifting allowances to ensure that you are utilising them in the most effective and tax-efficient manner.

If you would like to discuss updating or making new Wills, LPAs or would like discuss any of the contents of this article, please contact Samiha Begum on 01892 502 345 or sbegum@bussmurton.co.uk.

Samiha Begum

Samiha Begum
Solicitor