Outstanding actionsRanked by consequence26 Jul 2026

What still needs doing, hardest first

Twelve open items. The first three are worth more than everything below them combined — one is a date nobody knows, one is a will that does not exist, and one is an allowance being lost every April.

3
Critical
£49,656
Riding on one date
0
Wills executed
4 yrs
ISA unused
1 · Critical · no deadline known

Find the Bank of Ireland fixed-rate end date

£4,138.05 a month, £49,656 a year, 58.6% of net salary. The rate end date appears in no document and no email. If it expires onto a standard variable rate unnoticed, the household budget changes overnight.

Do this: log in to the Bank of Ireland UK mortgage account, find the product end date, and write it into the Master Summary. Then diarise a review six months before it.

2 · Critical · pending since Sept 2023

Finalise the wills

Executors (Sean, Dan, Pascale), guardians (Pascale, then Sean) and beneficiaries are all written down in The Byrne-Bernards.docx. No signed will has been found. Notes are not a will, and intestacy with two children, a £746,778 mortgage and an unmarried partner is the worst version of this.

Do this: book the solicitor. The prep pack (SIMPLER LAW) has been on file since September 2023. Take the assets list, the executor and guardian names, and the seven open questions with you.

Also settle at the same appointment: Lasting Powers of Attorney (property/financial and health/welfare) — neither exists.

3 · Critical · deadline 5 April

Set up ISAs and Junior ISAs for the children

Four years of bank data show no ISA or Junior ISA contributions at all. The allowance resets on 5 April and cannot be backdated — every year that passes is permanently gone.

The stated plan is that Francoise and Mina inherit at 21. A Junior ISA is the obvious vehicle for exactly that, and it is sitting unused while £2,183 a year of streaming runs through the company card.

Do this: open a Junior ISA for each child; set a standing order, however small, so the allowance is not lost by default. Raise with David James Wealth.

Time-bound

Dated deadlines
Action
By when
Value
Why
Self-assessment tax return
30 Jul 2026
In David's calendar
Check ESTA + passport expiries
before travel
ESTA dated Aug 2024, 2-year validity — likely expiring now
VAT — Musical Dice
7 Oct 2026
~£3,425
Direct debit
Settle company-card subscriptions
before 31 Oct 26
£2,183/yr
Better before year end than during it — BM Connect
Shop the Admiral renewal
from 1 Nov 26
£1,617/yr
Auto-renews 30 Dec — inertia is the expensive option
Use the ISA allowance
5 Apr 2027
£20,000
Cannot be backdated

Worth doing, no hard deadline

Action
Value
Note
Confirm the life-cover trusts are executed
£800k
Trust forms are on file but appear unsigned. A trust avoids probate delay on the payout.
Life insurance for Violaine
Flagged in David's own notes. Cover appears to be on David only.
Query Thames Water
£564/yr
£78 → £125 is +60%. Either usage changed or the DD was re-estimated.
Resolve the EDF double-billing
unknown
More than one charge in some months — two meters, or catch-up billing?
Consolidate the pensions
~£50k
In David's notes. Includes a £16,157 Royal London pot.
Set a standing order to the joint account
Balance £152.14; currently topped up ad hoc, leaning on Violaine's own credits.
Record passport expiry dates
5 people
Documents held; dates never written down
Complete Francoise's adoption
Noted as "in process". Affects inheritance rights — raise with the solicitor.
Clarify the Bounce Back Loan on death
£6,240/yr
"Musical Dice loan to die with me" is an assumption. Confirm with the accountant.

The one that pays for the others

Household solvency

The household currently leans on Musical Dice Ltd

Fixed commitments (£5,289) plus variable spend (£2,548) come to £7,837 against net salary of £7,060. The gap is bridged by transfers from the business account.

That works, but it means the household depends on the company continuing to trade — which is worth being deliberate about rather than incidental, particularly alongside a will that does not yet exist.