AIB Estate Planning Ltd

AIB Estate Planning Ltd: wills, powers of attorney and trusts in the UK

AIB Estate Planning Ltd is a British estate planning practice that builds plans around three concerns it names explicitly: the family home, accumulated wealth and the people who depend on the client. Its work spans the drafting of wills, the registration of lasting powers of attorney, a range of trust structures and a probate administration package for families dealing with a death. The practice states that it also works with a local solicitor, which it presents as a way of covering requirements that fall outside its own scope.

The firm describes its team as experienced estate planners who explain complex legal matters in plain terms and treat the family's security as the reference point for every solution. It also offers secure storage of signed wills, issuing a storage certificate with a unique number so that executors can retrieve the document.

Wills and the decisions behind them

The will-drafting service is presented as the way to ensure an estate is distributed according to the client's precise wishes, with the warning that without a valid will statutory rules decide how assets are divided. The practice addresses practical questions clients raise: a family member may witness a will, but two independent witnesses over 18 with mental capacity are arranged instead, since a beneficiary or their spouse who witnesses loses their gift even though the will remains valid. On executors, the firm notes that any number can be named but no more than four can take the grant of probate at once, and generally recommends at least two plus a substitute to guard against death or incapacity.

Changes to an existing will are handled according to their scale: major revisions may require a full rewrite, while minor ones can be dealt with through a codicil or a memorandum of wishes.

Lasting powers of attorney, including a business version

The practice prepares lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) appointing trusted individuals to manage financial and health affairs if the client becomes unable to do so. It distinguishes the two statutory types: Property & Financial Affairs LPAs, which can take effect once registered with the Office of the Public Guardian and may be used with the client's permission while they still have capacity, and Health & Welfare LPAs, which only become effective when the client lacks mental capacity for specific decisions. Restrictions and conditions can be written into either. The firm warns that without an LPA, families may face costly Court of Protection proceedings, and that acting without proper authorisation can now be treated as a criminal offence.

A separate Business LPA is offered to company owners, appointing trusted people to make decisions about the business if the owner is incapacitated, with continuity of the commercial operation as the stated aim. The practice also prepares Advance Decisions, documents recording in writing which medical treatments the client would refuse if they could no longer speak for themselves, legally binding on those treating them when valid and applicable.

Trust structures offered

The trust work is organised by purpose rather than as a single product:

• Life Interest Wills – a will structure giving a surviving partner a home and an income for life while preserving the capital for children or other chosen beneficiaries.
• Property Trusts – protection of the client's half of the family home so it passes to chosen beneficiaries, including severance of the joint tenancy and the accompanying will trust.
• Personal Injury Trusts – ring-fencing a compensation payout so it is disregarded in means-tested benefits and care funding assessments while the client keeps control of the money.
• Family Asset Protection Trusts – holding family wealth for later generations, designed to keep assets in the bloodline and reduce exposure to remarriage, divorce or a beneficiary's bankruptcy.
• Discretionary Trusts – trustees chosen by the client decide how and when each beneficiary benefits, guided by a letter of wishes, so the arrangement can adapt as the family changes.
• Vulnerable Persons Trusts – provision for a disabled or vulnerable loved one in a way designed to protect means-tested benefits and care funding, with trustees who know them well.

On the common worry about control, the firm explains that the arrangement does change: trustees hold legal title and must act in the beneficiaries' interests, which is why their selection matters, while the client sets the rules in the trust deed and can leave a letter of wishes.

Bereavement and probate administration

The Bereavement and Probate Package is aimed at families who have recently lost someone. It covers guidance on the paperwork following registration of the death, valuation of the estate, preparation and submission of the grant of probate application, the HMRC and inheritance tax forms, dealing with beneficiaries, keeping relatives updated and distributing the estate.

On timing, the practice cites reported average waits of around 4.3 weeks for online probate applications and roughly 16 weeks for paper ones, noting that valuing the estate, settling tax and distributing what remains usually takes longer than the grant itself. Where an application is still unresolved after 12 weeks, it says HMCTS operates a formal escalation process which the firm uses on the client's behalf. It also states that the probate application fee rose to £526 from 13 July 2026 for estates valued over £5,000, with estates of £5,000 or under remaining exempt, and that clients are told which fees apply before anything is submitted.

How the practice presents its approach

The firm frames its value in terms of protection of assets and wishes, clear communication about legal matters and a family-focused reading of every solution. Among the benefits it lists for clients are confidence that assets will be distributed as intended, protection in the event of incapacity or death, and fewer family conflicts over inheritance; for the estate itself it cites a potential reduction in inheritance tax liabilities, protection from creditors and legal claims, and a simpler settlement process.

The site points to a Trustpilot page holding more than 200 verified customer reviews, a figure reported on the practice's own website at the time of writing this profile.