The Essential Guide
The foundation guide. Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, intestacy, property ownership, the basics of inheritance tax, and how the decisions fit together when you're thinking about the people who come after you.
Written by an experienced practitioner for a reader who wants to understand their position before they decide whether to pay for advice. Full workbook with reflection questions and practical checklists, not a leaflet.
What's inside
Estate planning is not complicated when you take it a decision at a time. The Essential Guide walks you through the core decisions that every estate plan needs to make, in the order that makes them easiest to think about.
01
Why estate planning matters, what it actually covers, and where the common misconceptions sit.
02
The intestacy rules in plain language. Why assuming "it'll go to my spouse" is often wrong.
03
Executors, guardians, legacies, residue, and the three main Will forms available to you.
04
Property and financial affairs, health and welfare, the differences that matter, and the cost of not having them.
05
Joint tenants versus tenants in common, why the distinction is load-bearing, and how to check your own position.
06
The nil-rate band, residence nil-rate band, transferable allowances, and the traps most readers don't see coming.
07
Why you might include a trust in your Will, what kinds exist, and where the line sits between helpful and overcomplicated.
08
The rules as they actually are (not as the internet claims), and where long-term care planning genuinely helps.
09
The practical things that don't live in the Will but make an enormous difference to the people sorting things out.
10
A reflection structure for working out whether you're self-prescribing, need a diagnostic, or need a full consultation.
Who wrote it
If you want professional help
The guide is everything you need before you decide whether to instruct a solicitor. It will help most readers either sort things out themselves through a clear execution route, or arrive at any advisory conversation already knowing what they want from it. If, after reading, you decide to engage professional help, these are the routes through Arvéla's chosen legal service provider. Prices are agreed up front.
An Arvéla service. All prices exclude VAT and court fees. Regulated legal work delivered by Arvéla's chosen legal service provider. See Your Legal Services for provider details.
Individual Wills and LPAs are priced at £350 + VAT each. Prices exclude VAT and court fees. The regulated legal work is delivered by Arvéla's chosen legal service provider under their own engagement terms, provided at the point of instruction. See Your Legal Services for provider details.
If you have read what you need and would like to engage, the configurator works out the price and sends your instruction. Fixed fees, no hidden costs.
Also available
The Essential Guide is one of four titles in the Arvéla planning library. Together they cover the core territory that most readers need to understand. The Planning Companion sits alongside them as an interactive environment for holding your own position, modelling decisions, and asking the questions a reader cannot ask of a PDF.
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All four titles: Essential Guide, IHT and Your Family, Blended Families, and Business Owners. Reduces the cost of the set by 10.5% against buying individually.
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An AI assistant trained on the guides you own, a scenario modeller for IHT and asset migration, an asset register, an IHT indicator, and a gift tracker. More than a template.