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Wills, trusts and estate planning across West Sussex

West Sussex runs from the harbour villages west of Chichester, along a densely settled coastal strip, and up into the Downs and the towns of the north. Each part behaves quite differently.

Along the coast, estates are often concentrated in the family home. Inland and to the north, business interests and land feature more often. Both are handled the same way: a specialist assesses the circumstances and we coordinate the introduction.

West Sussex runs from the South Downs to a long stretch of coast, and its estate work reflects both: land, farms and village property inland, and a substantial retired coastal population from Chichester through to Worthing.

The scenarios below are hypothetical illustrations for that mix of land, coast and town. They are not descriptions of local clients, and area property values do not indicate whether any individual estate would face inheritance tax.

Harbour and waterfront property

Chichester Harbour and the Manhood Peninsula are largely residential and coastal. Where an estate is mostly property, the practical question is what money would be available when it is needed.

Wills, LPAs and probate on the coast

Along the coastal towns the everyday work is wills, lasting powers of attorney and estate administration after a death, and none of it depends on the size of an estate.

Land and small businesses

The county's economic strategy reports substantial horticulture and a growing viticulture sector. Where land and a trading business sit together, they need to be looked at as one arrangement.

Local economic picture

Money, work and property in West Sussex

West Sussex combines transport, manufacturing, hospitality and professional activity; published workplace and resident figures describe different aspects of that economy. Transport and storage, manufacturing and hospitality are all above the regional share of employee jobs, resident earnings sit below the South East figure, and nearly nine in ten registered enterprises are micro businesses.

If you own a share in a family business, hold land or horticultural property, or own a home that accounts for most of what you would leave, those are the circumstances worth setting out before an appointment. Each raises different questions about ownership, succession and what an executor would have to deal with.

Earnings, industries and the scale of local business

£770.10 median resident pay, with transport, manufacturing and hospitality above regional shares.

Median gross weekly pay for full-time employees living in West Sussex was £770.10 in 2025, below the South East figure of £815.20 and a little above Great Britain at £766.60.

On 2024 BRES figures the county has 32,000 transport and storage jobs, 8.3% of employee jobs against 4.9% regionally; 27,000 manufacturing jobs, 7.0% against 5.8%; and 35,000 hospitality jobs, 9.1% against 7.8%. There were 36,850 registered enterprises in 2025, of which 89.5% were micro businesses.

A micro business, on the published definition, is one with 0 to 9 employees; the count covers VAT or PAYE registered enterprises and so does not include every business. If you own or co-own one, the useful questions are what its articles, any shareholders' agreement or partnership deed say about a share on death or incapacity, and who could run it in your absence.

West Sussex and Surrey compared, on identical measures2025 ASHE median gross weekly pay for full-time employees by residence, 2024 BRES employee job shares, and 2025 registered enterprise counts. Each row is a measure; both columns are county-level figures on the same measures and periods. The published profile for each county is linked below.
MeasureWest SussexSurrey
Median gross weekly pay (this page)£770.10£914.10
Professional, scientific and technical jobs28,000 (7.3%)66,000 (11.6%)
Information and communication jobs14,000 (3.6%)36,000 (6.3%)
Registered enterprises (micro share)36,850 (89.5%)61,865 (90.7%)

2025 earnings and enterprises; 2024 employee jobs · ONS ASHE 2025, BRES 2024 and enterprise counts via Nomis

Micro business continuity

Who could sign, pay staff and keep the business trading if one person were suddenly unavailable? A business lasting power of attorney and up-to-date governing documents answer that.

Horticulture, viticulture and land

The county strategy reports horticulture at over £1bn annual sales and 321 hectares of viticulture.

West Sussex County Council's 2025–2035 economic strategy reports horticulture generating over £1bn in annual sales and supporting over 9,000 jobs in the county, and records 321 hectares of viticulture. These are estimates reported in the strategy document rather than newly measured 2025 statistics, and we quote them as such.

If you hold land, glasshouses, orchards or vines, the estate-planning questions are about ownership and use rather than acreage. HMRC's guidance explains that agricultural relief, where it applies, is given against the agricultural value of land rather than a country home's market value, and that its conditions turn on who owns the land, who occupies it, what it is used for and for how long.

A working horticultural business may involve a mixture of owned land, tenanted land and licences. Rather than assume how any of it is treated, ask a specialist to assess ownership, occupation, use and agricultural value against HMRC's current conditions. The useful preparation is a written schedule of titles, occupiers, agreements, uses and dates.

Business and land together

Where a business trades on land the family owns, the two need to be looked at as one arrangement rather than two documents.

Sources and basis

Earnings figures are 2025 ASHE median gross weekly pay for full-time employees measured by where they live. They are not household income, they exclude 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 figures are 2024 BRES employee jobs located in the area, excluding farm-based agriculture, self-employment and HM Forces. Enterprise counts are 2025 VAT or PAYE registered enterprises, rounded, and do not include every business. County figures describe West Sussex as a whole; district and borough figures are labelled separately and are not interchangeable with them.

Figures checked 10 September 2026

Estate planning first

Estate-planning services available in West Sussex

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 enquiries

Trusts

Holding assets for children or vulnerable beneficiaries, and reviewing trusts already in place.

Trusts enquiries

Estate planning

The whole picture: what passes on, to whom, in what order, and what could get in the way.

Estate planning enquiries

Lasting Powers of Attorney

Deciding who can act on health and finances if you cannot make decisions yourself.

Lasting Powers of Attorney enquiries

Probate

Support for executors dealing with an estate after a death, and where to start.

Probate enquiries

Inheritance-tax planning

Understanding whether an estate is likely to face a bill, and how it would be met.

Inheritance-tax planning enquiries

Also coordinated

Hypothetical situations

Planning questions to consider in West Sussex

Land and rural business interests

Agricultural and business property reliefs are conditional and technical. Where land forms part of an estate, the enquiry goes to a suitably qualified specialist from the start.

Retirement on the coast, family elsewhere

Executors and beneficiaries living in other parts of the country make organised records and clear appointments unusually valuable.

Leasehold flats along the seafront

Lease length and service-charge liabilities materially affect how straightforward an estate is to administer.

Local guides

Detailed guides across West Sussex

Wills, trusts and estate planningChichesterA cathedral city within a district that stretches from the harbour to the Downs.Read moreProbate, wills and later-life planningWorthingA large coastal town with a mixed housing market and a substantial health and care sector.Read more

Also covered from here

Other places we cover across West Sussex

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.

Estate liquidity and legacy planning

Bosham

A harbour village on Chichester Harbour, west of the city.

The same Chichester District Council consultation explainer places Bosham and Highgrove Farm within the east–west corridor that the plan material discusses for housing, with nearby employment locations at Tangmere, Shopwhyke and west of Chichester. This is a description of a broader corridor being consulted on, not a statement about Bosham village or about any proposed number of homes there.

If your home, employment and other property lie in different parts of the wider corridor, identify the records and contacts for each. If a home forms a substantial part of your estate, ask how ownership, beneficiaries and available funds fit together. The planning discussion should use your actual circumstances rather than a proposed development or an area average.

Questions worth asking a specialist

  • If most of your estate is one property, ask what costs could arise before a sale and what arrangements exist to meet them.
  • If you own property jointly or in shares, ask how the ownership is held and what that means for who inherits.
  • If you have not reviewed your will since moving or changing the way property is held, ask a specialist whether it still matches the position on the title.

Sources

Sources checked 10 September 2026.

Multi-property succession and wills

West Wittering and the Manhood Peninsula

Coastal villages on the peninsula south of Chichester.

Chichester District Council's spring 2023 consultation explainer on the Local Plan describes horticultural areas in the wider district at Tangmere, Runcton, Sidlesham and Almodington, and discusses the access and infrastructure constraints affecting the coastal part of the district. Those horticultural areas are district-wide locations, not features of West Wittering itself, and the explainer is consultation material rather than adopted policy.

If you own a second property, horticultural business or agricultural land, distinguish the relevant titles, occupiers and uses in your records. Ask how running costs and ownership wishes would be handled after a death. Any agricultural or business relief question requires assessment of the qualifying assets and current conditions, rather than an assumption based on a coastal or rural postcode.

Questions worth asking a specialist

  • If you own more than one property, ask how each should be dealt with in your will and whether the family understands the intention.
  • If you hold horticultural or other land in the wider district, ask what ownership and use evidence would be needed and how current HMRC conditions apply.
  • If a property is difficult to access or has specific site constraints, ask what an executor would need in order to insure, maintain or sell it.

Sources

Sources checked 10 September 2026.

Wills, LPAs and probate

Bognor Regis

A coastal town with a broad mix of households and housing.

Arun District Council's Direction of Travel consultation document describes Bognor Regis (paragraphs 7.2–7.3) in terms of its visitor economy anchored by Butlin's, the University of Chichester's Bognor Regis technology campus, and distribution and commercial sites at Oldlands Farm and Salt Box. It is a consultation document setting out possible directions, not adopted policy, and the sites named include commercial land as well as visitor attractions.

If you work for a local employer, check the pension or death-in-service arrangements actually available to you. If you own a supplier or visitor-facing business, identify who could manage it and its commitments in your absence. The same local economy can involve very different household circumstances, so planning should start with your own documents and responsibilities.

Questions worth asking a specialist

  • If you own a business supplying or serving visitor or distribution operators, ask who could run or wind it down if you could not, and what the governing documents allow.
  • If your household depends on employer pension or life benefits, ask how nominations are recorded and how payment is decided under the scheme rules.
  • If you own commercial premises or hold a lease, ask what obligations would fall on an estate and who would be able to deal with them.

Sources

Sources checked 10 September 2026.

Wills, LPAs and family provision

Littlehampton

A harbour and seaside town with local industry and a growing residential population.

In the same Arun District Council consultation document, Littlehampton is described through its marina, riverside and seafront — a waterfront town where commercial and leisure premises sit alongside residential streets. As with the rest of that document, the material is a consultation on possible directions rather than settled policy.

If your affairs include a marina-related business, accommodation or commercial premises, record the ownership and any leases or operating agreements separately. Ask what would happen to ongoing commitments after a death or loss of relevant decision-making capacity. For a family home, the starting questions remain how it is held, who should inherit and what an executor would need.

Questions worth asking a specialist

  • If you own a berth, mooring, boat or marine business interest, ask how ownership is evidenced and how it should be described in your will.
  • If a family business is part of your estate, ask how its documents deal with death or incapacity and whether they can affect a transfer or sale.
  • If you are self-employed, ask who could act for the business if you could not, and whether a lasting power of attorney should cover it.

Sources

Sources checked 10 September 2026.

Business succession and wills

Shoreham-by-Sea

A harbour town with an independent business community and distinctive waterfront housing.

The West Sussex Economic Strategy 2025–2035 identifies Shoreham Port (page 8) as an asset for international trade. Separately, a county council Growth Deals update of 24 August 2026 reports investment in flood defences intended to protect homes, businesses and transport connections in and around the town centre. That is reported investment in defences; it is not a statement about insurance, lending or any individual property's risk.

If you own premises, a business interest or a home near the harbour, record the title and any leases or finance agreements. Ask which obligations would continue during estate administration and who could manage them. Local investment does not determine an individual's insurance terms or inheritance-tax position; those require review of the actual property and circumstances.

Questions worth asking a specialist

  • If you own a houseboat, mooring or non-standard waterfront title, ask how ownership is proved and how it should be described in your will.
  • If you own or part-own a harbour-related business, ask what its documents say about death, incapacity and transfer.
  • If your property has particular insurance or lending conditions, ask what an executor would need to know to keep them in place during administration.

Sources

Sources checked 10 September 2026.

Wills, trusts and multigenerational planning

Arundel

A small historic town below the castle, with period property and a settled residential population.

Arun District Council's consultation document points to Arundel's heritage and nature-based visitor economy, with the castle and the wetlands centre as its recognised draws. The document is a consultation, not adopted policy.

If you own a historic property or a visitor-facing business, ask what records would be needed to administer each interest. Building restrictions, leases and business agreements should be checked for the assets you actually hold. A specialist can consider those documents alongside your will without assuming that the town's heritage setting determines your estate's value or complexity.

Questions worth asking a specialist

  • If you own a listed or historic building, ask what consents, valuations and title evidence an executor would need.
  • If you run a shop, hospitality or accommodation business, ask who could take decisions if you could not, and what the documents require.
  • If your estate combines a home and a trading business, ask how each is valued and passed on, and whether they should be dealt with in the same arrangement.

Sources

Sources checked 10 September 2026.

Rural estate and business succession

Midhurst

A market town in the South Downs, with farms and land-based businesses nearby.

Chichester District Council has published material describing the support it provided to Midhurst businesses following the fire at the Angel Inn in 2023, reporting over £300,000 of investment across grants, marketing, events and a town coordinator role, and describing the town's shopping, dining and leisure offer. That support is described as work carried out; nothing here should be read as confirming that any grant scheme remains open.

If you own an independent business, ask who would have authority to continue or close it if you died or could not make the relevant decisions. Record the company or partnership documents, premises arrangements and outstanding commitments. Those practical records can be reviewed alongside your will without assuming that a business has a successor or lacks one.

Questions worth asking a specialist

  • If you run an independent business, ask what would happen to it if you could not act, and whether a lasting power of attorney covering business decisions is appropriate.
  • If you own the premises as well as the business, ask how the two should be dealt with and whether they should pass to the same people.
  • If you have a partner or co-owner, ask what the agreement between you says on death, and whether it and your will are consistent.

Sources

Sources checked 10 September 2026.

Wills, LPAs and estate planning

Horsham

A market town in the north of the county with strong London rail connections.

The West Sussex Economic Strategy 2025–2035 describes the Horsham district (page 35) in terms of creative industries, specialised manufacturing, a knowledge-based economy and a land-based economy, and refers to the Your Horsham Business Improvement District supporting the town centre. These are district-level characteristics; they are not a description of any individual household or business.

If you hold a business interest alongside a family home or rural property, prepare a separate ownership record for each. Ask how company or partnership documents interact with your will, and what evidence would be needed for any land-related tax question. The district's varied industries provide context; they do not establish what a particular resident owns.

Questions worth asking a specialist

  • If you own a manufacturing or creative business, ask how a transfer or sale would be handled and what the company documents require alongside your will.
  • If your estate includes land or agricultural buildings, ask what evidence of ownership, occupation and use would be needed for any relief to be considered.
  • If business premises and the family home are held in different ways, ask how each should be dealt with, and whether a trust has a role in your circumstances.

Sources

Sources checked 10 September 2026.

First wills, guardianship and LPAs

Crawley

A commercial centre shaped by the Gatwick economy, with diverse employment.

The West Sussex Economic Strategy 2025–2035 reports (page 9) that the Manor Royal business district in Crawley accommodates over 600 businesses and around 30,000 jobs. Those are the figures as reported in the county strategy, describing the district as a whole rather than any individual employer or sector.

If you have employer benefits or share arrangements, obtain the terms and check how each interacts with your will. If you supply local employers through your own company, list the company interest separately from personal assets. Ask how business authority, contractual commitments and any transfer of ownership would be handled if you died or could not act.

Questions worth asking a specialist

  • If you have employer pension, life or share-based benefits, ask exactly how each is dealt with on death, and check whether your nominations are current.
  • If you own a company supplying larger employers, ask how its articles and any shareholders' agreement operate on death or incapacity.
  • If you have changed employers or been through a merger or transfer, ask whether older nominations and beneficiary records still reflect your wishes.

Sources

Sources checked 10 September 2026.

How introductions work

Serving West Sussex

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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

Enquiries from West Sussex are handled remotely by one named contact, by phone, video or email. Cromwell Associates does not operate an office or drop-in service in the county, and we do not publish appointment times or availability we cannot guarantee. Where an in-person meeting is appropriate, the specialist you are introduced to arranges it directly with you.

Questions we are asked

West Sussex: common questions

Which parts of West Sussex do you cover?
The whole county. Chichester and Worthing have their own detailed pages because there is genuinely different local substance to set out; other towns are handled from this page rather than duplicated into thin ones.
Where do I register a death in West Sussex?
West Sussex County Council runs the county's registration service, with appointments across several towns.
Does owning land change how a will should be written?
It usually does, both for tax reliefs and for practical succession. It is a reason to use a specialist rather than a standard template.

Useful public resources

Official information for West Sussex

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.

Please do not send medical details, account numbers or other sensitive information. Cromwell Associates is an enquiry and introduction service: it does not give advice, recommend policies or arrange cover. Insurance introductions are passed on by hand to a suitable specialist, and other services to an appropriate partner. Cromwell Associates may receive a referral payment if you go on to use a service.