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Who can help me organise my affairs before I die?

Several people can help, and each does a different job. A solicitor or regulated will writer draws up your will and can help with lasting powers of attorney. A regulated financial adviser helps with pensions, savings and tax. Your family need to know where everything is. And a practical organiser, like me, helps you gather it all together, decide what you want and get ready for those professional appointments. I'm Caro Syson of Your Final Matters in Hertfordshire, and this guide explains who does what.

The short answer

Organising your affairs is usually a team effort. Most people need:

  • A solicitor or regulated will writer for your will, and often for lasting powers of attorney (LPAs).

  • A regulated financial adviser if you want advice on pensions, investments, care costs or inheritance tax.

  • The Office of the Public Guardian, which registers LPAs in England and Wales.

  • Your family or the people you trust, who need to know your wishes and where to find things.

  • A practical organiser to help you pull it all together and keep it up to date.

Nobody has to do all of it at once. The trick is knowing which job belongs to whom.

What a solicitor or will writer does

A solicitor gives legal advice and drafts legal documents. For later-life planning that usually means your will, lasting powers of attorney and, in more complex cases, trusts or advice on blended families, property abroad or a business.

You can make a will yourself, but GOV.UK recommends getting advice if your affairs are complicated, for example if you share property with someone who isn't your husband, wife or civil partner, or you have a business. If you'd like to find a solicitor, the Law Society runs a free search.

You'll save time and money if you arrive with your information already gathered: a list of what you own, who you'd like to benefit, and who you'd like as executors and attorneys.

What a regulated financial adviser does

A regulated financial adviser can recommend what to do about pensions, savings, investments, equity release, care funding and inheritance tax. Check that any adviser is on the Financial Conduct Authority register before you go ahead.

If you'd like free, impartial guidance first, MoneyHelper (backed by the government) covers wills, pensions, care costs and what happens to money when someone dies.

What your family can do

Your family can't make legal or financial decisions for you just because they're related. If you lose mental capacity, someone needs a registered lasting power of attorney to manage your money or make health and care decisions for you.

What your family can do is listen, write down what matters to you, and agree where important information lives. That conversation is often the hardest step, and it's the one that makes everything else easier.

Where I fit in

I'm not a solicitor or a financial adviser, and I don't give legal or financial advice. What I do is the practical groundwork that sits around that advice.

In my workshops and one-to-one sessions I help you:

  • work out what you've got and where it is,

  • think through what you want before you see a professional,

  • organise your documents, accounts, passwords and wishes in one place,

  • turn good intentions into a short list of next steps.

I started Your Final Matters after helping my own mum in her 90s get her paperwork in order, and seeing how many strands there were to pull together. If you'd like specialist advice, I'll point you to the right kind of professional.

See my workshops →Ask about one-to-one support →
Do I need a solicitor to organise my affairs?

Not for everything. You can gather your information, write down your wishes and organise your paperwork yourself or with an organiser. A solicitor is the right person for legal documents such as a will, especially if your situation is complicated.

Can my children manage my money if I become ill?

Only if you've given them the legal authority, usually through a registered lasting power of attorney for property and financial affairs. Being next of kin doesn't give that authority on its own.

Is Your Final Matters a legal service?

No. Your Final Matters offers education and practical organisation. It isn't legal or financial advice, and I'll always suggest you speak to a solicitor or regulated adviser for advice on your own situation.

Please note

This guide is general education to help you get organised. It isn't legal or financial advice. For advice on your own situation, speak to a solicitor or a regulated financial adviser.

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