Estate planning in the UK is becoming more complex, strategic and relevant earlier in life, according to a new report from LEAP Estates.
The 2026 Private Client Industry Report ia based on aggregated, anonymised data from the LEAP, LEAP Estates, and Willsuite platforms, and analyses real private client activity across England and Wales during 2025. The dataset includes 242,895 wills, 176,277 lasting powers of attorney, and 87,833 wills containing trusts.
The report focuses on four core areas shaping the industry in 2026: demographic shifts influencing demand for wills and LPAs, the impact of longevity on trust planning and asset protection, the rise in blended families and increased exclusions in wills, and regulatory updates prompting procedural and compliance changes.
It reveals that estate planning is no longer confined to later old age, with engagement increasingly occurring in later working life and early retirement, as individuals seek to protect assets, plan for incapacity, and manage more complex family arrangements.
The report also identifies a sharp rise in trust planning linked to increased longevity, with more clients incorporating trust provisions within their wills to provide flexibility, asset protection and structured wealth transfer. In 2025, 36.2% of all wills included one or more trusts, which the report’s authors say reflects a shift towards long-term asset stewardship. The findings align with health data from NICE, which forecasts UK dementia cases will reach 1.6 million by 2040 due to population ageing.
Changing family structures are another major driver of earlier planning, the report suggests. The data indicates continued growth in blended family arrangements, contributing to more tailored estate planning and, in some cases, clearer exclusions within testamentary documents. There are 781,000 stepfamilies now recorded in England and Wales according to ONS Census from 2021, and the report finds trusts are increasingly used to manage inheritance risks in blended families.
Among wills containing trusts, 72% of exclusions are linked to estrangement, indicating deliberate planning rather than accidental omission.
Regulatory developments are also driving change within the private client and estate planning profession. Firms are adapting processes to maintain compliance while improving efficiency through digital systems and integrated platforms. Forthcoming reforms to inheritance tax reliefs, including agricultural property relief and business property relief, are expected to place further pressure on estate planning. The report shows the average gross estate value among will-makers is £570,188, leaving many estates close to or above current IHT thresholds.
“This report is grounded in observed behaviour,” said Andrew Hitchon, head of private client at LEAP & LEAP Estates.
“By analysing what people are putting in place, we can clearly see how demographic, social and legal changes are reshaping estate planning in 2026.”
