Your Investments Need a Will: Why Free Wills Month in March 2026 Should Prompt UK Investors to Act 

 

by Jim Emsley, ELM Legal Services 

 

Most investors spend plenty of time thinking about the future. Whether you manage ISAs, pensions, shares, or a combination of the above, you already take your longterm position seriously. Too many people who work hard to build and protect their wealth, however, forget one of the most important parts of the process. Your will and beneficiary choices must reflect what you actually want to happen when you are to pass away. If they don’t, the rest of your careful financial planning can fall apart. 

Free Wills Month is a useful opportunity to stop, take stock and make sure everything is lined up the way you intend. Building wealth is one thing; making sure you remain in control of what happens to that wealth is another. A will gives you that control, but if you let it go out of date or fail to put one in place altogether, you’re putting yourself and your loved ones at risk.  

 

Don’t Make Assumptions About Your Estate

 

Many people assume that once they have a spouse, partner or children, everything they own will simply pass to them. In practice, it’s rarely that straightforward. The way your assets pass on depends on marital status, ownership structures and the language used in your will. 

 

For example: 

 

• The UK does not recognise “common law marriages,” leaving many long-term, unmarried partners with a nasty surprise. 

• Property held jointly may pass directly to the surviving owner, regardless of what your will says. 

• Pension providers work from their nomination forms, not your will, and life insurance policies may follow the same pattern. 

• Shares, personal possessions and investments held in your name alone normally fall into your estate and follow your will. If you do not have one, they follow the government’s intestacy rules. 

 

When these elements do not match, confusion follows, and the outcome can be very different from what you meant. Here are a few realworld situations many investors overlook: 

 

• You separated from someone years ago but never changed your pension nomination, so your provider still lists them. 

• Your will is so old that it does not mention your youngest child. 

• You remarried, but your will was never brought up to date, leaving important people out or securing rights that no longer reflect your family life. 

 

Each of these can result in assets going somewhere you would not have chosen. 

 

What Happens if You Die Without a Will

If you don’t have a will, the law makes decisions for you, as intestacy rules follow a strict order. They don’t consider your portfolio, tax planning, modern family arrangements or any personal wishes. For an investor, this can create several problems: 

 

• Assets may need to be sold simply to meet legal requirements. 

• Efficient tax planning can be lost overnight. 

• An unmarried partner may receive nothing at all. 

• Children from earlier relationships or stepchildren you meant to include may miss out entirely. 

 

It takes years to build a strong investment portfolio for yourself, and it can unravel so quickly if you don’t have a will to guide it. 

 

Your Will and Your Beneficiary Forms Must Match

 

It’s also important to understand that a will isn’t an isolated document, it’s part of a wider financial picture. Pension nominations, life insurance forms, property ownership records and the way investment accounts are held all need to align with it. 

Pension providers normally follow your most recent nomination. If that is out of date, those instructions overrule whatever your will says. Investment accounts held solely in your name usually fall under your will, so it must be clear about where those assets should go. 

 

If you have money spread across different places, it’s essential to review the following: 

 

• Pension nominations 
• Life insurance beneficiary forms 
• Share accounts and investment platforms 
• ISAs and general investment accounts 
• How you own property 

 

Estate planning should sit alongside your wider financial planning, not trail behind it. 

 

Protecting Your Family and Protecting Your Wealth

 

If you have children, a will allows you to appoint guardians and create trusts. This is useful not just for children under 18, but for young adults as well. Trusts can be set up to make sure money is managed sensibly and released at appropriate ages. A clear structure providers for the care and wellbeing of minor children, and from children over 18 receiving large sums before they are ready to handle them. 

Without a will, you lose the chance to make these decisions yourself. 

 

Why Free Wills Month Matters

 

Some people avoid creating or updating a will because they assume the cost will be too high. Free Wills Month removes that barrier. It is a practical chance to make sure your planning reflects your life as it is now, not how it used to be. 

This is not about taking on anything unnecessary. It is about protecting the work you have already done. Markets change, tax rules change and personal circumstances change. Your will should be reviewed in the same way you review your investments. 

 

Wealth Building Is Only Half the Story 

 

Anyone who enjoys managing their money understands growth, diversification and strategy. But being financially responsible is not just about increasing the value of what you own. It is about ensuring the right people receive it in the right way. 

 

A current and wellstructured will means: 

 

• Your assets go where you want them to go. 

• Your executors understand exactly what to do. 

• You make sensible use of tax allowances. 

• Your family avoids unnecessary arguments at a time of stress and grief. 

 

All of this keeps you in control, rather than leaving the outcome to a rigid legal formula. 

With Free Wills Month just around the corner, take the opportunity to check your nominations, review your will and make sure your planning is complete. Building wealth is important, but making sure it reaches the right hands is just as essential. 

 

About Jim Emsley 

Jim Emsley is a wills and estate planning specialist and the Founder of ELM Legal Services, helping individuals and families put clear, practical plans in place to protect their loved ones and their legacy.