Wills & Family
Who should I choose as executor if I don’t trust my family?
Not everyone has a relative they would trust to handle their estate. Here is how to think about other options, from friends to professional executors.
The four steps
- Understand your options. Start with our plain-English Help Centre if you would like to learn the basics first. If you are not sure which service fits, the Help me choose tool asks four short questions and suggests where to start.
- Answer a few questions. Choose a service and answer our short questionnaire. There is one question per screen, and you can go back and change your answers. We ask for your contact details at the end, along with your permission to share your enquiry.
- We review your enquiry. A member of our team reads your answers and looks for firms that work in that area and may be able to help.
- Up to three firms contact you. With your permission, we pass your enquiry to up to three firms, such as solicitors or will-writing companies, and email you their names. Each firm gets in touch to talk through what you need, explain their fees and terms, and tell you about their referral arrangement with us. You can compare them and decide whether to go ahead with any of them.
What happens to your information
Your answers and contact details are used to handle your enquiry. We only share them with up to three firms, and only once you have given permission. We then email you the names of the firms we have shared your enquiry with. We also use trusted IT, hosting and email providers to run the website.
We do not ask about your health or medical diagnoses. If you are concerned that someone may no longer be able to make their own decisions, you can say so in general terms, and a professional can explain options such as deputyship through the Court of Protection.
We keep enquiries for up to two years and then delete them. You can ask us to delete your information sooner, or ask for a copy of it. Our privacy notice explains this in full.
How long does it take?
The questionnaire usually takes a few minutes. We aim to review enquiries promptly on working days, and the firms will normally be in touch soon after we pass your enquiry on. Timings can vary, for example at busy times or if your enquiry needs a specialist, so we cannot promise a set time.
How long the legal work itself takes depends on your situation and on official processing times. For example, the Office of the Public Guardian says it takes 8 to 10 weeks to register a Lasting Power of Attorney. The firms can tell you what to expect in your case.
If you have recently lost someone, there is no need to rush. You can come back whenever you are ready.
What it costs
Using WillHarbour is free. If you decide to instruct one of the firms, you pay them directly for their work, at the fees they agree with you. The firms we work with pay WillHarbour a fee for each introduction. You do not pay us anything, and each firm must tell you about this arrangement before you instruct them. Read more about referral fees and how we work with professionals.
What we never do
- We never give legal, tax or financial advice.
- We never share your enquiry without your permission.
- We never share your enquiry with more than three firms, or with any firm we have not named to you.
- We never sell your details to marketing lists.
- We never pressure you to go ahead.
- We never put tracking cookies on our questionnaires.
You can ask us to stop passing on your enquiry at any time by emailing hello@willharbour.co.uk. You can also ask any firm directly to stop contacting you.
Ready to start?
Go to choose the support you need, or read our answers to common questions first.
