How we work and how we make money

You should know how a free website pays its bills before you trust what it tells you. Here is ours, in full.

Last updated 10 August 2026

The short version#

KeepTheLot is a free information service. We're not a law firm and don't give regulated legal advice. When you ask to speak to an expert, we connect you with regulated advisers, who may pay us a referral fee. This never affects our guidance.

Where the money comes from#

One source: referral fees. If you use the talk to an expert form and go on to instruct the adviser we introduce you to, that adviser may pay us a fee. It comes out of their side. You pay us nothing, and the price you are quoted is the price you would be quoted going direct.

Where it does not come from#

• No advertising. There are no ad slots on this site.
• No affiliate links. We do not earn commission on products or services linked from our guides.
• No paid placement. Nobody can pay to be recommended, mentioned, or linked to.
• No sale of your data. Ever, to anyone.

How we keep the two sides apart#

1. Advisers have no editorial input. They do not see drafts, cannot request changes, and cannot have criticism removed.
2. Guides recommend against buying things. Regularly. If a trust is unnecessary for your situation, we say so — including on pages where recommending one would earn us more.
3. One introduction, not an auction. Your details go to a single adviser matched to your enquiry, not to a panel bidding for the lead.
4. The disclosure sits at the top of every page carrying a form, not in the footer small print.

Who we introduce you to#

Regulated professionals only:

• Solicitors regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority;
• STEP members — the specialist international qualification for trusts and estates practitioners (the letters TEP);
• Regulated will-writers, including members of the Institute of Professional Willwriters.

We encourage you to verify anyone's registration on the relevant public register before instructing them. A firm that objects to being checked is telling you something useful.

What we will not do#

• Cold-call you, or pass your number to anyone who does.
• Introduce you to unregulated firms.
• Promote seminar-sold "asset protection" schemes.
• Describe anything designed to conceal assets, evade tax, or disguise a deprivation of assets. Legitimate planning only — that is a line we do not go near.

If you would rather cut us out entirely#

Genuinely fine, and no hard feelings. Use the Law Society's Find a Solicitor or STEP's member directory to find someone yourself. Everything on this site stays free either way, with nothing gated behind a form.

Questions about any of this#

Ask. Contact us and we will answer directly — including about how much a referral fee is, if you want to know.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay more by coming through KeepTheLot?

No. Referral fees are paid by the adviser out of their own margin. You are quoted the same as you would be going direct, and you should always ask for a fixed fee in writing before instructing anyone.

Does the referral fee affect what your guides say?

No, and the clearest evidence is that our guides repeatedly tell people they do not need a trust, that a mirror will may be enough, and that free will schemes exist. Recommending less work is not a good way to maximise referral income — we do it because it is the honest answer.

Are you regulated?

No. We are an information publisher, not a legal services provider, so there is no regulator for what we do. That is exactly why we cite primary sources on every page, publish our editorial policy, and refuse to display credentials that cannot be verified.