Finding Alice: A Darkly Comic Lesson in Estate Planning

When Keeley Hawes's Finding Alice (originally on ITV in 2021) arrives on Netflix, it surprises me how this gem still offers a painfully relevant cautionary tale in 2025. Its story of grief-fuelled chaos feels freshly urgent once you realise how easily a lack of proper planning can turn your life (and your loved ones') into a long nightmare.

Alice's Nightmare: When Estate Planning Goes Wrong

When Keeley Hawes's Alice tumbles down the rabbit hole of grief, she finds herself not only bereft, but also legally homeless. It turns out her late partner, Harry, had quietly gifted their "smart" dream home to his parents. This well-intentioned move backfires spectacularly, as it's treated as a "gift with reservation of benefit," dragging the house back into the inheritance tax net regardless of how long ago he signed it away.

Meanwhile, probate freezes every asset. Alice's bank accounts are locked down, hidden debts surface like uninvited party guests, and her daughter Charlotte can't even access her pocket money until the courts give the nod. It's a brutal reminder that procrastinating over estate planning can leave your loved ones dealing with far more than grief.

What Harry Could've Done Better

Not leaving surprise offspring scattered about would've been a good start, but even gold-standard estate planning can't account for that sort of subplot. However, Harry might've avoided leaving Alice to wade through the long probate slog by instead:

1. Writing a Will to Protect His Unmarried Partner

A valid will spells out who gets what. No ambiguous smart-home deeds required. For unmarried couples like Harry and Alice, a will is absolutely crucial since partners have no automatic inheritance rights under UK law.

2. Seeding an "Estate Liquidity Reserve"

A small trust or life insurance policy could have released, say, £20,000 directly to Alice for funeral costs and immediate living expenses, with the rest held until probate played catch-up. This would have prevented the immediate financial crisis Alice faced.

3. Proper Document Storage and Communication

Storing wills, deeds, insurance policies, and logins in a secure vault; then actually telling someone where to find them. Half the battle in probate is simply locating the necessary documents.

4. Understanding Gift Rules

Harry's attempt to gift the house to his parents while continuing to live in it created a "gift with reservation of benefit." This means the house remained part of his estate for inheritance tax purposes, defeating the entire purpose of the gift.

The Real-World Lessons

Finding Alice may be darkly comic, but its core message is no laughing matter: a handful of documents today could spare your loved ones from the biggest plot twist of all: being left penniless while waiting for probate to roll the credits.

The show perfectly illustrates several common estate planning pitfalls:

• Unmarried partners have no automatic rights to inheritance
• Probate can freeze assets for months or even years
• Hidden debts and complications often surface after death
• Poor communication about estate plans creates chaos
• Misunderstood tax rules can backfire spectacularly

A Modern Solution

Luckily, there's now a service that would have handled all this seamlessly—had Harry signed up before 2021.

With proper planning, digital organisation, and clear communication, Alice's story could have been very different. Don't let your loved ones become the protagonists of their own estate planning horror story. Explore how LifeFolio™ could save your loved ones from the same nightmare.