Wills and Estate Planning in Formby
Wills, lasting powers of attorney and trusts for families in Formby and the Sefton coast, arranged in your own home by Gordon Redgrave-Scott, our consultant for Formby.
Your first consultation is free. Every price is a fixed fee, confirmed in writing before any work starts. Wills start from £335 for one person and £485 for a couple, including VAT.
Gordon’s Google reviews: 20, average 5.0 out of 5
Your local consultant
Gordon Redgrave-Scott is the Clarke & Wright estate planning consultant who covers Formby. Gordon sees clients in their own homes in and around Formby. Gordon comes to you, sits down at your kitchen table and goes through what you own, who you want to look after and what worries you. There is no office to travel to and no clock running.
The number on this page is Gordon’s own direct line.
Read Gordon’s profile and every Google review from his clients
What we help with
- Wills and will trusts
- Lasting powers of attorney, for property and finance and for health and welfare
- Protecting your share of the home from care fees
- Lifetime and discretionary trusts, where they genuinely suit the family
- Inheritance tax, including farms, rural businesses and pensions
- How the family home is owned, including severing a joint tenancy
- Probate, when someone has died
Formby at a glance
Figures are for the Sefton council area.
House prices over the last two years
The average home in Sefton has moved from £211,027 in September 2024 to £221,105 in August 2026, up 4.8%.
See the monthly figures
| Month | Average price | On a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| August 2026 | £221,105 | +2.0% |
| July 2026 | £223,860 | +3.5% |
| June 2026 | £225,505 | +5.3% |
| May 2026 | £223,030 | +3.8% |
| April 2026 | £219,256 | +3.1% |
| March 2026 | £218,577 | +2.9% |
| February 2026 | £221,205 | +4.3% |
| January 2026 | £222,246 | +3.7% |
| December 2025 | £218,023 | +1.4% |
| November 2025 | £215,348 | +1.0% |
| October 2025 | £214,147 | +0.4% |
| September 2025 | £216,262 | +2.5% |
| August 2025 | £216,785 | +4.8% |
| July 2025 | £216,388 | +6.8% |
| June 2025 | £214,225 | +7.0% |
| May 2025 | £214,882 | +7.5% |
| April 2025 | £212,667 | +6.8% |
| March 2025 | £212,502 | +7.0% |
| February 2025 | £212,109 | +6.4% |
| January 2025 | £214,372 | +7.8% |
| December 2024 | £214,921 | +7.5% |
| November 2024 | £213,202 | +5.9% |
| October 2024 | £213,294 | +5.4% |
| September 2024 | £211,027 | +3.3% |
What this means for your planning
The average home in Sefton is worth about 10 times the £23,250 savings limit for council help with care home fees. For most homeowners here, that means the house, not the savings, is what a care fees assessment could count, which is why how the home is owned and how your wills are written both matter. How property protection works.
House prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, latest month August 2026, updated 30 October 2026 and checked daily; contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Age and home ownership: Office for National Statistics, Census 2021, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Where Gordon visits
Formby, Freshfield, Hightown, Ince Blundell, Little Crosby, Great Altcar, Ainsdale, Birkdale, Southport, Halsall, Haskayne, Downholland, Aughton, Ormskirk, Maghull and Crosby.
Gordon also visits clients near Liverpool, Skelmersdale, Burscough and Preston. If you are not sure whether Gordon covers your area, ring and ask.
Other local guides nearby: Clitheroe.
More local guides in the North West.
Questions Formby families ask us
We farm, or run a business. Does the 2026 change affect us?
Possibly. From 6 April 2026, Agricultural Property Relief and Business Relief share a single £2.5 million allowance. Above it, relief is restricted to 50%. Many farms and family businesses around Formby are worth more than they look on paper once the land, the house and the machinery are added together.
How your will is written decides who can use which allowance, so it is worth checking now. Gordon will spot where this matters, and tax advice is given by our associated firm, Mercian Accountants. Read our inheritance tax guide.
Will I have to sell my home to pay for a care home?
Care is arranged and means-tested by Sefton Council. In England, if your capital is above £23,250 you pay the full cost of residential care, and your home can count towards that figure. The home is ignored while your spouse or partner, or a relative aged 60 or over, still lives there.
Read Sefton Council’s guide to paying for care.
A couple who own their home as tenants in common, each with a will that leaves their share in a life interest trust, can stop the first share being counted if the survivor later needs care. See how property protection works or read our care home fees guide.
Are pensions part of my estate now?
From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and pension death benefits come within the estate for inheritance tax. If you have been leaving a pension untouched as the thing you pass on, that plan needs a fresh look before then.
Do I need to come to an office?
No. Gordon visits you at home, at a time that suits you, and family members are welcome to sit in. If you would rather start with a phone call, that is fine too.
How much does it cost?
Every price is a fixed fee that includes VAT, and we confirm it in writing before any work starts. Wills start from £335 for one person and £485 for a couple. Every fee is published on our prices page.
Can you help with probate after a death?
Yes. We can explain what has to be done, what it costs and how long it usually takes, and handle as much of it as you want us to. Read our probate guide.
Free seminar near Formby
Our next free estate planning seminar near Formby is on Thursday 3 December 2026 at Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa. Choose the 10am or 2pm session. Each session lasts about two hours and covers inheritance tax, care fees, wills and lasting powers of attorney, with time for questions at the end. Parking and refreshments are free.
Who does the work behind your plan
Gordon takes your instructions. Your documents are then prepared by Clarke & Wright’s legal team, which includes an SRA-regulated solicitor who is a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) and a member of the Association of Lifetime Lawyers, a CILEX Chartered Paralegal and a further paralegal.
Any reserved legal documents are drafted by a specialist SRA-regulated drafting firm.
Where tax advice or inheritance tax planning is needed, it is given by our associated firm Mercian Accountants, Chartered Accountants and Chartered Tax Advisers.
Talk to Gordon
Your first consultation is free and carries no obligation.