Areas we serve
Wills, trusts and estate planning across Hampshire and the Solent
Hampshire is where Cromwell Bruckhaus Limited is registered, and the county remains the centre of our work. It is a varied county: a cathedral city with substantial period property, two waterfront cities, a marine and defence economy along the Solent, commuter towns in the north, and the New Forest to the west.
Enquiries across the county range widely — first wills and lasting powers of attorney, probate after a death, trusts, and estates that include let property, land or company shares.
Hampshire covers two unitary cities, a string of boroughs and districts, and a large rural area. Census 2021 records markedly different profiles across it: home ownership at 78.5% in Fareham and 74.2% in the New Forest, against 47.7% in Southampton and 52.3% in Portsmouth.
The scenarios below are hypothetical illustrations of questions worth putting to a specialist. They are not descriptions of local clients and make no claim about how common any of them are in the county.
Wills, LPAs and probate first
Three questions come first: whether there is a valid will, whether lasting powers of attorney are in place, and whether a death now needs administering. Those are what we put to a specialist first.
Coastal and period property
Waterfront homes, listed buildings and New Forest properties can raise their own questions on ownership, valuation and insurance, which is worth raising when a will or an estate is being looked at.
Owner-managed businesses
Where a business depends on a small number of people or shareholders, the governing documents and who may act decide what happens next. A specialist can explain how those sit alongside a will.
Local economic picture
Money, work and property in Hampshire
Hampshire is not one economy, and the estate-planning conversations that come out of it are not one conversation either. A Solent manufacturing borough, a port city with a very large health and care workforce, a naval city, and a district that runs into the New Forest sit within a few miles of each other and look quite different once you put the published figures side by side.
This page deliberately uses those city and district figures rather than a county average. Southampton and Portsmouth are unitary authorities: they are part of the geography we cover from here, but they sit outside the statistical county of Hampshire. Quoting a single county-wide number would blur exactly the differences that matter when you are deciding what a will, a lasting power of attorney or a probate application actually has to deal with.
Hampshire County Council identifies aerospace and defence, financial and digital services, and marine and maritime as sectors it works on across the county. That is useful background on the county's employment and business base, and it is stated here as the council's own sector focus rather than as a measurement.
What people earn across the Hampshire areas we cover
Four comparable resident earnings figures, on one measure and one year.
The four areas below are compared on a single measure: median gross weekly pay for full-time employees, by where they live, in 2025. Fareham sits above the South East figure; Southampton, Portsmouth and New Forest district sit below it. The differences between them are modest on this measure.
It is worth being clear about what this measure cannot tell you. It excludes part-time employees, it excludes self-employed earnings entirely, and it says nothing about pensions, savings or property equity. In estate planning, the second of those matters most: a household with a modest salary and an outright-owned house can have a far larger estate than a household with a strong salary and a large mortgage.
| Area | Median gross weekly pay |
|---|---|
| Fareham boroughNomis — Fareham profile | £835.70 |
| South EastNomis — regional comparator | £815.20 |
| Great BritainNomis — national comparator | £766.60 |
| New Forest districtNomis — New Forest profile | £732.90 |
| Southampton cityNomis — Southampton profile | £724.40 |
| Portsmouth cityNomis — Portsmouth profile | £701.10 |
Earnings are not the estate
What an estate is worth is driven by property, pensions, business interests and savings far more than by salary. Before any planning conversation, it helps to write down what is owned and how it is held, rather than what is earned.
Property values, on one comparable series
June 2026 average prices for the four areas, plus detached and flat prices.
House prices are where the four areas separate most clearly, and property is usually the largest single item in an estate. On the ONS June 2026 provisional series, the New Forest district average is £380,000, Fareham is £328,000, Portsmouth is £251,000 and Southampton is £235,000. The South East average on the same series is £380,000.
The spread inside each area is wider than the spread between them. A detached house in the New Forest district averages £576,000 while a flat in Southampton averages £153,000 — both are in the coverage of this page. An area average therefore says nothing about how any particular estate should be dealt with: that follows from how property is owned, what else the estate contains and who is intended to inherit.
| Area | All property types | Detached | Flats |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Forest districtONS — New Forest prices | £380,000 | £576,000 | £196,000 |
| Fareham boroughONS — Fareham prices | £328,000 | £548,000 | £157,000 |
| Portsmouth cityONS — Portsmouth prices | £251,000 | £517,000 | £167,000 |
| Southampton cityONS — Southampton prices | £235,000 | £417,000 | £153,000 |
June 2026, provisional · ONS — Housing prices in your area
How the home is held
Joint tenants and tenants in common pass on entirely differently, and a share held as tenants in common can be dealt with by a will where a joint tenancy cannot. It is a question worth settling early, whatever the value.
Liquidity
Where most of an estate is one house, executors can face costs and possibly tax before anything can be sold. Working out where the money would come from is a specialist conversation, not a calculation.
The kinds of work across the county
Council sector focus, and the paperwork different kinds of work bring with them.
Hampshire County Council identifies aerospace and defence, financial and digital services, and marine and maritime among the sectors it supports across the county, alongside its 2025–27 prosperity partnership work. We quote that as the council's stated focus, not as an employment count.
Different kinds of work bring different paperwork. Shift and rota patterns make appointments harder to arrange. Larger employers hold their own pension and death-in-service arrangements. Self-employment and small companies mean the governing documents sit with the owner rather than with an HR department.
If you hold a pension, a death-in-service benefit or a life policy through work, ask what a nomination form does: a nomination records your wishes, and what is paid, and to whom, depends on the scheme's rules and any discretion the trustees hold. Benefits payable under a separate arrangement of that kind are not necessarily distributed under your will. If you hold shares in a private company, the articles and any shareholders' agreement can affect how that shareholding transfers or is sold, and are worth reviewing alongside the will.
Business interests
If you hold a share in a company or partnership, bring the articles, any shareholders' agreement and any partnership deed. They can affect how the share transfers or is sold, and should be reviewed alongside the will.
Protection, where relevant
This site is focused on estate planning. Protection can be considered alongside these arrangements where relevant, and is handled by an appropriately authorised adviser.
Sources and basis
- ONS ASHE 2025 via Nomis — Fareham labour market profile — Resident median full-time weekly pay and 2024 BRES industry shares.
- ONS — Housing prices in your area — June 2026 provisional average prices by property type.
- Hampshire County Council — sectors in Hampshire — The council's own statement of the sectors it focuses on. Not an employment measurement.
- Hampshire Prosperity Partnership — Official 2025–27 economic strategy context for the county.
Earnings figures are 2025 ASHE median gross weekly pay for full-time employees measured by where they live. They are not household income, they do not include self-employed income, and they say nothing about anyone's wealth. The South East comparator is £815.20 and Great Britain is £766.60. Industry shares are 2024 BRES employee jobs located in the area. They exclude farm-based agriculture, self-employment and HM Forces, so they describe employers in the area rather than everybody who works there. House prices are the ONS provisional average for June 2026 on the local authority series, so every price quoted here is comparable with every other price quoted here. Southampton and Portsmouth are unitary authorities and are not part of the statistical county of Hampshire, so the four areas below are presented as internal contrasts, not as a county average.
Figures checked 10 September 2026
Estate planning first
Estate-planning services available in Hampshire
Wills, trusts, lasting powers of attorney, probate and inheritance-tax questions are the core of what we coordinate. Protection sits alongside them, not ahead of them.
Wills
A first will, a rewrite after a life change, or a review of one written years ago.
Wills enquiriesTrusts
Holding assets for children or vulnerable beneficiaries, and reviewing trusts already in place.
Trusts enquiriesEstate planning
The whole picture: what passes on, to whom, in what order, and what could get in the way.
Estate planning enquiriesLasting Powers of Attorney
Deciding who can act on health and finances if you cannot make decisions yourself.
Lasting Powers of Attorney enquiriesProbate
Support for executors dealing with an estate after a death, and where to start.
Probate enquiriesInheritance-tax planning
Understanding whether an estate is likely to face a bill, and how it would be met.
Inheritance-tax planning enquiriesAlso coordinated
- Life insurance and protection — Cover for a family, a mortgage, a business, or an expected inheritance-tax bill.
- Business protection and succession — What happens to shares, control and continuity if an owner dies or steps away.
Hypothetical situations
Planning questions to consider in Hampshire
Property-heavy estates in the settled districts
If the family home is the main asset in your estate, how it is legally owned and whether it would have to be sold drives much of what follows. Census 2021 records home ownership above 74% in both Fareham and the New Forest district.
City households with children and no will
If you have children and no will, guardianship and who would hold money for them are the practical points. Under the intestacy rules of England and Wales an unmarried partner does not inherit automatically (see GOV.UK, Who can inherit if there is no will).
Owner-managed businesses along the M27
If shares in an owner-managed company form part of your estate, it is worth checking that the will, the company documents and any protection arranged for the business say the same thing.
Local guides
Detailed guides across Hampshire
Also covered from here
Other places we cover across Hampshire
Each of these is covered from this page. The notes below set out what published local sources say about the place, with the questions worth putting to a specialist.
Wills, trusts and estate coordination
Winchester
A cathedral city with substantial period property, a district that extends well into the surrounding countryside.
Winchester City Council's investment material, updated on 10 August 2026, describes the district's business strengths as digital, creative and cultural industries, retail, and hospitality and tourism, with agriculture across the wider rural district. The city and the district it sits in are worth separating: the city centre carries a concentrated visitor and hospitality economy around the cathedral and high street, while the surrounding rural parishes take in farmland, land-based work and small premises well outside the city.
If your estate includes a city property and rural land, record them separately, including any leases, occupancy agreements and business interests. A specialist can review how those assets are owned and how your wishes fit together. An executor will need the underlying records, rather than an assumption that every asset can be dealt with in the same way.
Questions worth asking a specialist
- If you hold a business or a commercial lease in the city, ask a specialist how it would be dealt with on death or a loss of capacity, and whether the governing documents and the will say the same thing.
- If your estate includes land or farm buildings in the rural district, ask what ownership, occupation and use evidence would be needed, and how any agricultural reliefs are assessed against current HMRC conditions.
- If you own a listed or period property, ask what valuation and title evidence an executor would need, and whether your will names people able to deal with it.
Sources
- Winchester City Council — Invest in Winchester — District business strengths; page updated 10 August 2026.
Sources checked 10 September 2026.
Wills, probate and estate coordination
Chichester-border communities
The villages between Havant and the West Sussex boundary.
The communities on the Hampshire and West Sussex boundary sit either side of an administrative line, not a legal one. Southbourne parish, for example, lies in West Sussex and — as the Southbourne Neighbourhood Plan material published by Chichester District Council sets out — extends from Chichester Harbour north to the A27. The plan area's history includes market gardening, which the plan describes as continuing until the 1960s; that is history rather than a description of the area's economy today.
If your home, business or other property lies across the county boundary, keep a clear address and document list for each interest. The boundary itself does not change the England and Wales inheritance framework. Practical preparation can include recording the relevant institutions and contacts so an executor can locate information without relying on your knowledge of the area.
Questions worth asking a specialist
- If you own property, land or a business straddling or near the boundary, ask how titles and records should be listed so an executor can find them quickly.
- If you rely on services or professionals in both counties, ask a specialist how to record that in a single place alongside your will and lasting powers of attorney.
- If you have parental responsibility, ask how a guardian appointment in your will would operate in your family circumstances, including any surviving parent.
Sources
- Chichester District Council — Southbourne Neighbourhood Plan — Parish extent from the harbour to the A27; market gardening history to the 1960s.
- GOV.UK — Making a will
Sources checked 10 September 2026.
First wills, guardianship and LPAs
Havant
A borough between Portsmouth and the West Sussex boundary, with light industry and a broad residential mix.
Havant Borough Council's Development Capacity Background Paper (May 2025) records employment floorspace completed in 2023–24 at two borough sites: Langstone Technology Park phase 2B at 11,290 square metres, and Dunsbury Park phase 1 plot 5 at 6,877 square metres (section 3.29). Those are completions rather than proposals. Other sites discussed in the same paper are future capacity, and should be read as options under consideration, not as growth that has happened.
If your connection to one of these employment sites is through a business, a commercial lease or employment, the relevant documents will differ. Record any interests you actually hold and ask how they interact with your will. For a trading business, it is also useful to identify who would have authority to manage commitments if you could not.
Questions worth asking a specialist
- If you are a director or shareholder of a company operating from a business park unit, ask how the company's articles and any shareholders' agreement would operate on death, and how that sits alongside your will.
- If you hold a commercial lease, ask what liability would remain with an estate and who would be able to deal with the landlord.
- If your employer provides pension or death-in-service arrangements, ask how any nomination is recorded, and remember payment usually depends on the scheme rules and any discretion the trustees hold, not on your will.
Sources
- Havant Borough Council — Development Capacity Background Paper (May 2025) — Section 3.29: employment floorspace completed 2023–24.
Sources checked 10 September 2026.
Later-life planning, LPAs and probate
Hayling Island
A coastal community south of Havant, reached by a single road bridge.
Havant Borough Council's Hayling Island regeneration and seafront material identifies watersports, activity holidays and tourism as the island's distinctive economic strengths, and describes how visitor activity supports wider businesses on the island. The council's published position is about improving the seafront offer; it is a programme of intent rather than a record of completed development, and figures published for the borough as a whole should not be read as island figures.
If you own visitor accommodation, a leisure business or another property on the island, distinguish personal ownership from business ownership and record any leases or operating agreements. If income varies by season, ask how ongoing expenses would be met during an interruption or estate administration. The area's visitor economy does not establish that any particular household has these assets.
Questions worth asking a specialist
- If you run a seasonal or visitor-facing business, ask a specialist who could operate or wind it down if you could not, and whether a lasting power of attorney would help.
- If you own a boat, mooring, holiday unit or similar asset, ask how ownership is evidenced and how it should be described in a will.
- If most of what you own is a single property, ask what money would be available to an estate before anything could be sold, and what arrangements are available for that.
Sources
- Havant Borough Council — Hayling Island regeneration — Seafront strategy: watersports, activity holidays and tourism.
Sources checked 10 September 2026.
Wills, trusts and business succession
Emsworth
A harbourside town with period housing and an independent high street.
Havant Borough Council's 2025 retail study describes Emsworth (paragraphs 9.2–9.4) as a historic centre with a substantial number of listed buildings, independent retail, cafés and restaurants concentrated to the south of the centre, and industrial premises to the north occupied by small manufacturing and automotive businesses. The harbour setting supports specialist markets and visitor activity alongside the everyday town-centre offer.
If you own a shop, workshop or period property, identify the title, any lease and any business occupying it. These are different interests even where they relate to one address. Ask a specialist how the ownership arrangements fit your will and what records an executor would need; any property restrictions should be checked for the particular building.
Questions worth asking a specialist
- If you own a listed or period building, ask what consents, valuation and title evidence an executor would need, and whether your executors are equipped to deal with them.
- If you own or part-own a small manufacturing, automotive or retail business, ask how the company or partnership documents deal with death or incapacity, and whether they can affect a transfer or sale.
- If you have a shop or workshop lease, ask what obligations would continue after a death and who could negotiate them.
Sources
- Havant Borough Council — retail and town centres study (2025) — Paragraphs 9.2–9.4: Emsworth centre, independent retail and industrial premises.
Sources checked 10 September 2026.
Wills, LPAs and family provision
Gosport
A peninsula town with naval connections and a marine trades community.
Gosport Borough Council's Economic Development Strategy 2021–31 identifies marine and maritime industries, defence and engineering as the borough's core sectors, with waterfront employment and testing activity attached to them. The strategy and the council's investment material set out Gosport Waterfront, Haslar, the Royal Clarence and Blockhouse sites and Daedalus as regeneration priorities. They are stated aims and programmes, not completed growth, and should be read that way.
If you hold an interest in a marine or engineering business, distinguish company shares, personally owned equipment and any premises or leases. They may be governed by different documents. Ask who could manage outstanding commitments if you died or could not make the relevant decisions, and how those arrangements should be reviewed alongside your will.
Questions worth asking a specialist
- If you work away for extended periods, ask a specialist whether your executors and attorneys are people who could act promptly, and whether substitutes should be named.
- If you own or part-own a marine or engineering business, ask how its governing documents deal with death or incapacity and how they sit with your will.
- If you have service or occupational pension and life benefits, ask how nominations are recorded; these often pass under scheme rules and any trustee discretion rather than under a will.
Sources
- Gosport Borough Council — Economic Development Strategy 2021–31 — Core sectors: marine, maritime, defence and engineering.
- Invest in Gosport — major developments — Regeneration priorities, not completed schemes.
Sources checked 10 September 2026.
Estate planning and later-life reviews
Lee-on-the-Solent
A seafront community within the Gosport peninsula, with a mix of coastal and inland housing.
Fareham Borough Council's history of Daedalus records naval flying training at the site from 1917, and the airfield remains the defining feature of this stretch of the Solent shore. Solent Airport at Daedalus straddles the Gosport and Fareham boundary, with most of the infrastructure falling within Fareham. A 2023 planning report considered land at the redeveloped Dunning and Overlord hangars in connection with marine-related manufacturing — a planning matter under consideration at that date, not a statement of what is now operating.
If your affairs include a home, employer benefits or an interest in a business near Daedalus, list each separately. A coastal address alone does not indicate inheritance-tax liability. Ask a specialist to review actual ownership, liabilities and beneficiaries, including how your executors would obtain the records needed to administer any business or property interest.
Questions worth asking a specialist
- If most of your estate is one property, ask what would be needed to meet costs and obligations before anything could be sold, and what arrangements exist for that.
- If you hold an interest in a marine or aviation-related business, ask how a transfer or sale would work and what the company documents require.
- If you want to know whether inheritance tax is likely to affect your estate, ask a specialist to assess the whole estate rather than assuming anything from a property's location.
Sources
- Fareham Borough Council — Daedalus history — Naval flying training from 1917.
- Gosport Borough Council — 2023 planning report — Dunning and Overlord hangar land; marine-related manufacturing.
Sources checked 10 September 2026.
Wills, property ownership and probate
Southsea
A coastal district of Portsmouth with period conversions and an independent high street.
Portsmouth City Council's Town Centres Assessment of July 2024 describes Southsea (section 3.3.2) as characterised by independent shops and boutiques, restaurants, and seafront leisure and events, serving residents and visitors together. That is a description of the centre's offer; it says nothing about who owns what, and no assumption about landlords, self-employment or household finances should be drawn from it.
If you own a café, shop or let property, prepare a record of ownership, borrowing and any business or tenancy agreements. Ask how those interests would be handled after a death and who could manage ongoing obligations. The practical questions follow from what you own and how it is held, rather than from the town's visitor economy alone.
Questions worth asking a specialist
- If you own a flat or converted property, ask how the leasehold, freehold share or management arrangement should be recorded so an executor can deal with it.
- If you own let property, ask how tenancies and any borrowing would be handled during administration, and who would manage them in the meantime.
- If you run an independent shop, restaurant or similar business, ask what would happen to it on death or a loss of capacity, and whether a lasting power of attorney is relevant.
Sources
- Portsmouth City Council — Town Centres Assessment (July 2024) — Section 3.3.2: Southsea independent retail, restaurants and seafront leisure.
Sources checked 10 September 2026.
First wills, guardianship and LPAs
Waterlooville
A residential town north of Portsmouth, with substantial newer development at Berewood and Denmead.
Havant Borough Council's draft Waterlooville masterplan of May 2025 notes (page 21) that the Berewood development, although in Winchester City Council's area, has Waterlooville as its nearest town centre, and that the centre serves surrounding communities including Purbrook, Widley and Cowplain. A council report of January 2026 records five vacant shop grants awarded under the council's scheme. The masterplan is a draft for consultation, not adopted policy.
If your property falls within one council area while your business or regular services are elsewhere, note the relevant addresses and contacts in your records. If you run a local business, separately ask who could act in your absence and how its governing documents fit with your will. These are preparation questions, not assumptions about residents' circumstances.
Questions worth asking a specialist
- If you have recently bought a home or started a family, ask about a first will, lasting powers of attorney and — if you have parental responsibility — how a guardian appointment in your will would operate in your family circumstances, including any surviving parent.
- If you run a small business, ask who could keep it running or close it properly if you could not, and what the documents allow.
- If your property and your local services sit in different council areas, ask how to record the details an executor would need in one place.
Sources
- Havant Borough Council — Waterlooville draft masterplan SPD (May 2025) — Page 21: Berewood and the centre's catchment. Draft, not adopted.
- Havant Borough Council — vacant shop scheme (January 2026) — Five grants awarded; scheme reported as set to be extended.
Sources checked 10 September 2026.
Wills, LPAs and business-owner planning
Basingstoke
North Hampshire's commercial centre, with corporate and technology employment.
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's Future Economy Framework 2025 to 2030 sets out the borough's principal sectors as manufacturing and engineering, construction, pharmaceuticals and medical technology, and financial, business and digital services. It is a strategic framework describing priorities and existing strengths, not a forecast of individual employment or reward.
If you have workplace pensions, death-in-service benefits, share awards or a directorship, record each arrangement and obtain its current terms. Different benefits can interact with a will in different ways. Ask the provider or a specialist how payment or transfer is determined, and distinguish any company interest from assets held in your personal name.
Questions worth asking a specialist
- If you hold pension, life or share-based benefits through an employer, ask how each one is dealt with; nominations record your wishes, but payment normally depends on the scheme rules and any discretion the trustees hold.
- If you are a company director or shareholder, ask how the articles and any shareholders' agreement can affect a transfer or sale, and how they should be reviewed alongside your will.
- If you have moved employer or been through a corporate change, ask whether old nominations and beneficiary details still reflect what you want.
Sources
- Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council — Future Economy Framework 2025 to 2030 — Borough sector priorities.
- GOV.UK — Power of attorney
Sources checked 10 September 2026.
How introductions work
Serving Hampshire
Step 1
You tell us what has prompted the enquiry
A short guided conversation, online or by phone. No documents needed, and nothing is committed at this stage.
Step 2
We work out which specialist fits
Wills, trusts, LPAs, probate and inheritance-tax enquiries go to estate specialists; protection enquiries go to an appropriately authorised adviser.
Step 3
We make the introduction and stay reachable
One named contact coordinates it, so you do not repeat the story. Ask us to explain any charges, and any remuneration we may receive for making an introduction, before you proceed; the specialist sets out their own scope, fees and terms with you directly.
Availability
Hampshire enquiries are handled remotely by one named contact, by phone, video or email. Cromwell Associates is registered in Fareham but does not operate public offices, and we do not publish appointment times or availability we cannot guarantee. In-person meetings are arranged by the specialist you are introduced to.
Questions we are asked
Hampshire: common questions
- Do you cover the whole of Hampshire?
- Yes. We work most closely with the south of the county, where we are registered, but enquiries from anywhere in Hampshire are welcome and are handled the same way.
- Where do I register a death in Hampshire?
- Hampshire County Council runs the registration service for most of the county, while Southampton and Portsmouth have their own city register offices. Registration always comes before probate.
- Is probate handled locally in Hampshire?
- No. Probate for England and Wales is administered centrally and applied for online or by post, so there is no county registry to attend.
Useful public resources
Official information for Hampshire
- Hampshire County Council registration service
Registering a death across most of the county.
- Applying for probate (GOV.UK)
The official route for executors, including when probate is not needed.
- Lasting Power of Attorney (GOV.UK)
How LPAs work, what they cover and how they are registered.
- Inheritance Tax (GOV.UK)
Current thresholds, reliefs and reporting requirements.
Arrange a confidential consultation
Tell us what you would like to protect or resolve. One named contact will read your enquiry personally and come back to you.
- One dedicated point of contact
- No call centres
- Introductions handled discreetly
- Serving Hampshire, West Sussex, Surrey and the Isle of Wight
Cromwell Associates coordinates enquiries and introduces clients to appropriately qualified specialists. We do not provide regulated financial, legal or tax advice, and submitting this form places you under no obligation.
Your enquiry is reviewed personally before any introduction is made.