Inheritance stories, clearly told
Free diagnostic tools and trusted guidance to help you plan your estate, navigate probate, and make sense of life's most important moments.
How Arvéla works · for estate planning
Arvéla is two things, side by side: free diagnostic tools for working things out at your own pace, and regulated legal services for when you want the work done for you. The four-step ladder below shows how they connect. Most people climb it in order. You choose which steps to take, and which to skip.
"Where do I stand?"
The free Estate Health Check. A 10-minute browser-only diagnostic. Personalised summary of what's in place, what's missing, and where to focus next.
Run the EHC →"What do I need to know?"
Four self-help guides (£19.99–£24.99 each, or £84.99 for the library). Wills and LPAs, IHT and Your Family, Blended Families, Business Owners. Workbooks, not leaflets.
Browse the guides →"What does this mean for my numbers?"
The free Scenario Modeller: input your circumstances and see the IHT consequences under each Will form. Arrive at any conversation with your own data.
Try the modeller →"How do I get this done?"
Two routes: the configurator if you know what you want (fixed prices, self-serve), or a 20-minute call with a solicitor if you'd like advice.
See your options →Diagnostic tools at steps 1 and 3 are free. The guides and the work itself carry transparent fixed prices, published, no surprises. Most people climb in order, some skip a step, some come back down and re-climb after a life event. The order is yours.
The same four-step ladder applies to probate. The Probate Navigator is live; Probate Pro lands later. See the after a death section below or arvela.uk/start for a fuller introduction.
Where are you right now?
Choose the path that fits your situation.
Planning ahead
Start with a free health check to understand your position. From there, explore the areas that matter most to your family.
A free, confidential diagnostic that helps you understand your estate planning position in under ten minutes. Your answers stay in your browser, and nothing is stored or shared. At the end, you will receive a personalised summary showing what is in place, what is missing, and where to focus next.
Start your free health checkA Will is the foundation of any estate plan. Whether you need a new Will or want to review an existing one, there are three paths depending on where you are:
An LPA lets someone you trust make decisions on your behalf if you lose the ability to do so yourself. There are three paths to getting them in place:
IHT planning isn't one decision. It's three layers: a Will makes best use of allowances on death, lifetime planning is the more powerful lever, and LPAs hold the plan together through later life.
Trusts are powerful tools for protecting assets, managing inheritance tax, and providing for family members. They're not right for everyone, however, and getting the structure wrong can be costly.
A trust can help you with long-term care planning, protect a vulnerable beneficiary, equalise estates between spouses, or manage how and when your children or grandchildren inherit.
Because trusts involve significant legal and tax implications, we don't offer a self-serve diagnostic for this area. Instead, we'd recommend a conversation with a specialist practitioner who can assess whether a trust is right for your circumstances.
Before you engage · Step 3 on the ladder
The free Scenario Modeller is for the moment you're getting close to instructing or booking a call. Input your own circumstances; see the IHT consequences under each Will form; understand what active planning could mean for your numbers. Arrive at any conversation already armed with your own data; you'll have a sharper question and a clearer expectation of the answer.
Open the scenario modellerSelf-help resources
For readers who want to work things through themselves before, or instead of, a conversation with a solicitor. Each guide is a full workbook, not a leaflet.
The foundation guide. Wills, LPAs, intestacy, property ownership, IHT basics, and how the decisions fit together.
£19.99
Read moreAllowances, the RNRB, pension changes, gifting strategies, BPR and APR, and how to structure a Will to manage exposure.
£24.99
Read moreSideways disinheritance, life interest trusts, cohabitation exposure, stepchildren, and mapping a family that doesn't fit the standard template.
£24.99
Read moreBPR (with the 2026 changes), shareholder agreements, business LPAs, succession planning, AIM portfolios, and liquidity planning.
£24.99
Read moreBuy the set
All four guides together. Saves £9.97 against buying individually.
Planning Companion Coming soon
An AI assistant trained on the guides you own, a scenario modeller for inheritance tax and asset migration, an asset register, an IHT indicator, and a seven-year gift tracker. A comprehensive planning environment rather than a template. Launching summer 2026. The free scenario modeller is live now as a taster.
After a death
The tools below help you understand the probate process: what needs doing, in what order, and where professional support is likely to be worth it. Whether you're acting now or just want to know what's involved, this is where to start.
A free diagnostic tool that helps you understand the probate process for your specific situation. Answer a few questions about the estate and the Navigator will show you what steps are involved, roughly how long things take, and whether you are likely to need professional help.
Start the NavigatorA step-by-step guide to managing probate yourself. Covers the full process from registering the death through to distributing the estate, with checklists, templates, and plain-English explanations at every stage.
Coming soonIf the estate is complex, contested, or you would rather have an experienced practitioner handle things, we can connect you with a regulated solicitor who will manage the process on your behalf.
Enquire about probate servicesArvéla was created by a solicitor with over 25 years of experience in estate planning, wills, trusts, and probate. The tools reflect what a practitioner would want a client to think about before any conversation starts.
The point of the tools is to give you a clear view of your own position before you decide whether to pay for advice. If you want to read further, the guides are written to take you into the detail at your own pace. If you want professional help, Arvéla's chosen legal service provider will be engaged to deliver the legal services. See Your Legal Services for provider details.
That is your choice. No pressure, no follow-up calls, no hard sell.
Health check answers are processed in your browser. Nothing is stored on our servers or shared with anyone.
Professional legal services are delivered through Arvéla's chosen legal service provider. See provider details.
We use Plausible Analytics. It is privacy-friendly, EU-based, and uses no cookies. No consent banner because there is nothing to consent to.
The tools are informed by a practitioner holding the STEP Diploma in Trusts and Estates, a senior qualification in private client practice.
The diagnostic tools are free and private, and the rest of the site is written to help you understand your position without anyone asking you to spend anything first.