Pillar Guide · Updated July 2026
UK Will Writing: A Practical Guide for 2026/27
Roughly half of UK adults do not have a valid will, leaving their estate to be distributed under the rigid intestacy rules rather than their own wishes. This pillar guide explains what makes a will legally valid, the difference between DIY, online and solicitor-drafted wills, how to choose executors and guardians, what happens if you die without a will, typical costs in 2026/27, and when professional advice is essential rather than optional.
Legal Validity Requirements
Under the Wills Act 1837, which still governs will validity in England and Wales, a will must satisfy several formal requirements to be legally effective. It must be in writing; the testator (the person making the will) must be 18 or over and have testamentary capacity — the mental ability to understand the nature of making a will, the extent of their property, and the claims of those who might expect to benefit. The will must be signed by the testator, or by someone else in their presence and at their direction, and this signature must be made or acknowledged in the presence of two witnesses present at the same time.
Both witnesses must then sign the will in the testator’s presence. Critically, a witness (or their spouse or civil partner) cannot also be a beneficiary — if they are, the gift to them is void, though the rest of the will generally remains valid. This is one of the most common errors in DIY wills: asking a beneficiary’s spouse to witness the signing, unintentionally voiding that person’s inheritance.
Scotland operates under a related but distinct legal framework (only one witness is required, for example), and Northern Ireland broadly mirrors the England and Wales rules. Anyone with connections to more than one UK jurisdiction, or overseas assets, should take specific advice on which jurisdiction’s formalities apply.
DIY vs Online vs Solicitor
There are three broad routes to making a will in the UK. DIY will kits (paper templates bought from a stationer or downloaded, £20-£50) are the cheapest but carry the highest risk of drafting or execution errors, since there is no professional check of either the wording or the signing process. Online will-writing services (£50-£150) sit in the middle — some offer a guided questionnaire with limited professional review, though the level of actual legal input varies significantly between providers and is worth checking carefully before paying.
A solicitor-drafted will (typically £150-£500 for a straightforward will, more for complex estates) provides the highest level of protection: a qualified professional checks capacity, ensures correct execution, tailors the wording to the individual’s actual circumstances, and can advise on tax planning, trusts, and risks such as potential 1975 Act claims. Many high street solicitors and specialist online legal services now also offer video-witnessed or hybrid remote will-writing services, though the underlying Wills Act 1837 execution requirements still apply.
As a rule of thumb: the simpler your estate and wishes, the more viable a DIY or online will becomes; the more complex your family structure, assets, or tax position, the stronger the case for paying a solicitor to get it right first time.
What a Will Should Cover
A well-drafted will typically addresses: the appointment of one or more executors; specific legacies (particular items, sums of money, or percentages left to named individuals or charities); the residuary estate clause, dealing with everything left after debts, funeral expenses, taxes and specific gifts are paid; guardianship appointments for any children under 18; and substitution provisions covering what happens if a named beneficiary or executor dies before the testator.
More sophisticated wills may also include trust provisions — for example, holding a share of the estate in trust for a beneficiary until they reach a certain age, or setting up a discretionary trust to give trustees flexibility over distributions to a class of beneficiaries, often used for Inheritance Tax planning or to protect a vulnerable beneficiary’s inheritance.
Funeral wishes are commonly included but are not legally binding on the executors — they act as guidance rather than instruction, so it can help to also discuss funeral preferences directly with family in addition to recording them in the will.
Choosing Executors
Executors are legally responsible for administering the estate: obtaining probate (the legal authority to deal with the estate), collecting in assets, settling debts and any Inheritance Tax due, and distributing what remains to the beneficiaries in line with the will. It is standard to appoint at least two executors, in case one is unable or unwilling to act, and to name a substitute executor as a further backstop.
Common choices include a spouse or adult child, a trusted friend, or a professional such as a solicitor or bank. Professional executors bring expertise, particularly for complex or contentious estates, but charge fees — often a percentage of the estate value plus hourly rates — which reduces what beneficiaries ultimately receive. Family or friend executors are unpaid unless the will specifically authorises a fee, but may need to instruct a solicitor for parts of the process they find difficult, such as Inheritance Tax reporting or contested claims.
Executors owe strict legal duties to act in the beneficiaries’ interests and can face personal liability for mistakes such as distributing the estate before settling all debts and tax — which is why choosing someone organised and willing to take advice where needed matters as much as choosing someone trusted.
Dying Without a Will
Dying intestate means the estate is distributed according to the fixed statutory rules rather than personal wishes. In England and Wales, a surviving spouse or civil partner receives the statutory legacy (a fixed sum, periodically uprated) plus all personal possessions, and shares the remainder with any children under the current intestacy formula. If there is no spouse or civil partner, the estate passes to children, then in a strict statutory order to parents, siblings, and more distant relatives, and ultimately to the Crown if no qualifying relative can be traced.
Crucially, unmarried and non-civil-partnered cohabiting couples have no automatic entitlement under intestacy, regardless of how long they lived together or whether they have children — a frequent source of hardship and one of the strongest reasons cohabiting couples in particular should make wills. A surviving cohabitant may be able to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, but this requires a court application and is far less certain than being provided for directly in a valid will.
Intestacy rules also make no provision for guardianship of minor children, funeral wishes, or specific gifts — all matters a will can address directly.
Costs in 2026/27
A single, straightforward solicitor-drafted will typically costs £150-£350, while mirror wills for a couple often cost £250-£500 combined. Wills involving trusts, business or agricultural relief planning, blended family arrangements, or international assets can run from £500 to £2,000 or more depending on complexity, usually quoted as a fixed fee once the solicitor understands the circumstances.
Online will-writing services generally charge £50-£150, and basic paper DIY kits £20-£50. Some employers, trade unions, and charities run free or discounted will-writing offers (sometimes tied to a request for a charitable legacy, known as "Free Wills Month" or similar schemes run periodically by charity consortia), which can be worth checking before paying full price for a simple will.
Cost should be weighed against risk: a cheaper will that turns out to be invalid, or produces an unintended outcome, can generate far higher costs later — in contested probate, corrective deeds of variation, or unnecessary Inheritance Tax — than the modest saving on the will itself.
When to Update Your Will
Marriage or civil partnership automatically revokes an existing will in England and Wales, unless it was made specifically in contemplation of that marriage — so a new will is needed immediately after the wedding in most cases. Divorce does not revoke a will outright, but treats the former spouse as if they had died before the testator for the purposes of gifts and executor appointments to them, which can produce unintended results if the will is not reviewed.
Other common triggers for review include the birth of a child, a change to a blended family, buying or selling significant property, starting or selling a business, a material change in the value of the estate, or a beneficiary or executor dying. Solicitors typically recommend a general review every 3-5 years even without a specific triggering event, since personal circumstances and tax rules both change over time.
Wills should be updated through a formal codicil (a supplementary document) for minor changes, or a completely new will for substantial changes — informal handwritten alterations to an existing will are not reliably valid and risk invalidating the document.
Challenges and Storage
Wills can be challenged on grounds including lack of testamentary capacity, invalid execution, undue influence or coercion, fraud, or a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 by a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, child or other dependant who was not reasonably provided for. A clearly drafted will, properly executed with contemporaneous evidence of capacity where relevant, significantly reduces the risk of a successful challenge.
A will is only useful if it can be found: common storage options are with the solicitor who drafted it, at a bank, in a home safe, or through a private will registry service. There is no government-run central register of wills in the UK, so telling your executors and close family exactly where the will is kept is an essential final step — an unfound will has the same practical effect as no will at all.