Business owners
A business is rarely just another asset. These guides cover shares, sole trader businesses, partnerships and succession, and where an automated will stops being the right tool.
Reviewed by the Estate Advisory Group editorial teamLegally reviewed: 13 August 2026Last updated: 13 August 2026
- Making a Will if You Own a BusinessA business changes what your will needs to cover, and who is capable of dealing with it.
- What Happens to a Business When the Owner Dies?The outcome depends entirely on how the business was structured.
- Can I Leave My Business in My Will?Yes, but exactly how depends on the type of business you own.
- What Happens to Company Shares When You Die?Shares pass under your will, but the process and any restrictions come from the company's own documents.
- Can I Leave Company Shares in My Will?Yes, but the wording and the company's own rules both need attention.
- What Happens to a Sole Trader Business When You Die?The business itself generally ends, but a will can pass on its assets and, with planning, its continuation.
- What Happens to a Partnership Interest When You Die?Without an agreement saying otherwise, a partnership can dissolve automatically on a partner's death.
- Business Owners' Will ChecklistA structured checklist to work through before and while making your will.
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Other guidance
- Make a willEverything you need to make a will in England and Wales: what a will does, what it costs, whether you can write your own and what makes it legally valid.
- Signing and witnessingHow to sign and witness a will correctly in England and Wales, who can act as a witness and the mistakes that stop a will taking effect.
- Executors and beneficiariesChoosing executors, naming beneficiaries, leaving property, money and possessions, and what happens to a gift if a beneficiary dies before you.
- Wills and familyWills for parents, married and unmarried couples, mirror wills, guardians, and how marriage, divorce and separation affect an existing will.
- Will guidesWhat happens if you die without a will, the intestacy rules, when to update a will, how to change one and whether you need a solicitor.
- Inheritance and giftsWho you can leave your estate to, leaving everything to one person, unequal shares between children, grandchildren, friends and the age children inherit.
- Property and willsWhat happens to a home when you die: joint tenants and tenants in common, leaving your share, mortgages, and whether an unmarried partner inherits.
- What happens when you dieWhat happens to bank accounts, joint accounts, pensions, ISAs and savings when someone dies, and how a will changes who ultimately benefits.
- Tax and estatesInheritance tax and wills explained: the nil rate band, residence nil rate band, spouse and charity exemptions, gifts and who pays the tax.
- Digital assetsWhat happens to your phone, email, social media, photos, online accounts and cryptocurrency when you die, and how to cover them in your will.
- Pets and willsWhat happens to your pet when you die, how to include a pet in your will, leaving money for their care and gifts to animal charities.
- Life eventsWhen to make or update a will: buying a home, moving in together, marriage, a new baby, travelling abroad, retirement and later life.
- Online willsMaking a will online in England and Wales: what it costs, fixed fee will writing, online versus DIY wills, and how quickly you can get one done.
- Gifts and wishesLeaving jewellery, cars, heirlooms and cash gifts in a will, giving different gifts to different people, and recording funeral and cremation wishes.
- Blended familiesWills for second marriages and blended families: stepchildren, children from a previous relationship, grandchildren and protecting a partner and children together.
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