By Talk to a Lawyer · Published 20 September 2026 · General preparation information
The first distinction is whether you are planning for yourself, assisting someone else or dealing with an estate after a death. Each role involves different documents and authority. Write down whose wishes or responsibilities are at issue before choosing a guide. An adviser needs to understand the people involved as well as the assets, and should explain whom they can represent.
Three distinctions to make first
Decision 01
Planning documents or using existing authority?
For planning, list your wishes, important people and current documents. For acting under an existing appointment, bring the complete document and explain the proposed decision. Do not assume that a document authorises every action or continues to apply in every circumstance.
Decision 02
Estate administration or disagreement?
An executor seeking help with an estate and a person questioning an estate decision need different advice. Identify your role and provide the documents you hold. Keep questions about administration separate from any proposed challenge until an adviser explains how they interact.
Decision 03
How should instructions be taken?
Ask about private appointments, communication needs and the involvement of support people. The person receiving advice should have an opportunity to explain their own wishes where possible. Tell the office about concerns rather than asking it to rely on a relative's account alone.
Prepare for a useful appointment
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A preparation aid, not confirmation that a legal requirement is complete.
Compare the work, not just the price
Begin by clarifying whose instructions the adviser will take and what role family members or other helpers will have. Compare a document service with advice about the wider arrangements. Planning, administration and a dispute require different work. Ask for accessible explanations of the proposed documents and decisions, and allow time for the person receiving advice to ask questions privately where appropriate.
- Planning or drafting
- Ask what information is needed, how wishes are checked, which documents are included and how signing, storage and later review will be arranged.
- Administration or use
- Confirm what authority must be established, which institutions or parties will be contacted and whether ongoing accounting, transfers or distributions are included.
- Concerns or disagreement
- Identify who is represented, whether interests conflict and what the initial assessment covers before authorising correspondence, investigation or proceedings.
Understand legal fees and written quotes →
Leave with an agreed next step
Before you leave, confirm which documents are being prepared or reviewed, who must sign and how completion will be checked. For administration, ask what authority must be established before dealing with assets and how costs and progress will be reported.