Readiness decays. Not dramatically, just steadily. Attorneys move house. Beneficiary nominations name an ex-partner. The person you told about the will has forgotten. Insurance that was right four years ago covers half of what it should.
None of this announces itself. It just sits there being quietly wrong until someone needs it.
Here are twelve checks. Put an hour in the diary once a year and work through them.
1. Is the will still right?
Not just whether one exists. Whether it still reflects reality after any births, deaths, marriages, separations or house moves. Marriage revokes a will in England and Wales unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage, which surprises a great many people.
2. Does everyone know where the original will is?
A will nobody can find causes the same problems as no will. Your executor should know the location, not just that one exists.
3. Is the lasting power of attorney registered?
Signed is not enough. In England and Wales an LPA must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used, and registration takes weeks. If yours is sitting signed but unregistered, it does not work when you need it.
4. Are your attorneys and executors still the right people, and still contactable?
People move, fall out, become unwell or predecease you. Check they are still willing and check you have current contact details.
5. Are pension beneficiary nominations up to date?
This is the single most commonly out-of-date document in British households. Pension death benefits are usually paid at the scheme’s discretion, guided by your expression of wish form. That form is held by the scheme, not in your will, and an old one naming a previous partner causes real distress.
6. Does your life cover still match your circumstances?
Check the sum assured against the mortgage and against what your household would actually need. Check whether it is written in trust. Check whether your employer’s death-in-service cover has changed.
7. Is your buildings insurance rebuild cost realistic?
Construction costs have risen sharply. A sum insured set several years ago is very likely short, and underinsurance can reduce a claim proportionally even for a small loss.
8. Are your renewal dates recorded?
Every insurance, contract and subscription, with the date it renews. This is the check that pays for itself, because auto-renewal at a loyalty penalty is the most reliable way to waste money in a UK household.
9. Can someone else reach your accounts if they need to?
Not passwords. Proper mechanisms: a joint account for household money, a third-party mandate, emergency access on a password manager, legacy contacts on Apple, Google and Meta.
10. Are your documents findable, and backed up?
Passports, certificates, deeds, policies. Know where the originals are, have scans of the rest and make sure the scans are not on a single device.
11. Does someone else know all of this exists?
The most important check on the list and the one most often failed. At least two people should know where your information is and how to reach it. A perfect system nobody knows about protects nobody.
12. Check your state pension forecast
Five minutes on GOV.UK. It shows what you are on course for and whether you have gaps in your National Insurance record. Gaps can sometimes be filled, but the window to do so is limited, so finding out early matters.
Making it stick
Attach it to something you already do. The week the car insurance renews, the start of the tax year, a birthday. The first pass takes an hour or so. After that it is closer to twenty minutes, because you are confirming rather than building.
Where FamilySafe fits
FamilySafe keeps all twelve in one place and flags what is drifting out of date, so the annual review is a quick check rather than an archaeological dig. And because you decide who sees what, check eleven is handled by design rather than by remembering to have a conversation.
