Will writing UK — complete guide 2026/27
Roughly 60% of UK adults die without a will. The consequence: intestacy rules decide who gets what — rules that often don't match what the deceased would have wanted, that exclude unmarried partners entirely, and that can force the sale of family homes to satisfy entitlements. Writing a will in 2026/27 costs from £0 (DIY) to £800 (full solicitor service) and takes 1-3 hours of your time. Here's everything you need to know about which route to choose and how to do it right.
Why you need a will (even if you think you don't)
Most under-40s believe wills are for older people with bigger estates. This is wrong. Wills matter at any age once you have:
- Children: a will is the only place to legally appoint guardians for under-18 children if both parents die
- A property: even a 50% share in a flat passes via your will
- A pension: technically pensions pass via separate "Expression of Wish" forms but they tie in with will planning
- A partner you're not married to: unmarried partners get NOTHING under intestacy rules in England & Wales. They have to apply under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, which is slow, expensive and uncertain.
- Specific assets you care about: jewellery, family heirlooms, sentimental items
- Charity wishes: legacies to charities reduce IHT and require explicit instruction
- Business assets: who inherits your business shares matters for both the business and your family
What happens without a will — intestacy rules (England & Wales)
If you die "intestate" (without a valid will), the Administration of Estates Act 1925 dictates who inherits, in strict order:
| Your situation | Who inherits under intestacy |
|---|---|
| Married/CP, no children | Spouse / civil partner gets EVERYTHING |
| Married/CP, with children | Spouse gets first £322,000 + personal possessions + 50% of the rest. Children get the other 50% (split equally; held in trust until 18). |
| Unmarried partner, no children | Parents (if alive). Then siblings. Then nieces/nephews. Partner gets NOTHING automatically. |
| Unmarried partner, with children (yours) | Children inherit everything (held in trust until 18). Partner gets NOTHING automatically. |
| Single, no children | Parents, then siblings, then nieces/nephews. Distant relatives if necessary. Crown if no relatives traceable. |
| Single with children | Children inherit everything (in trust until 18). |
Statutory legacy figure of £322,000 applies from 2023. Scotland has different rules; Northern Ireland too.
Key consequences of intestacy:
- Unmarried partners get nothing. Despite "common-law marriage" being a myth in English law, around 3 million UK couples cohabit unmarried. If one dies intestate, the other has no automatic entitlement.
- Children inherit at 18. Many parents would prefer 21 or 25 (when children are more financially mature). Intestacy doesn't allow this.
- Step-children inherit nothing. Unless legally adopted, step-children are not "issue" under intestacy. A blended family without a will sees the step-parent's children potentially disinherited.
- Forced sales: if the estate's main asset is a family home and beneficiaries need their share in cash, the home may need to be sold — even if the surviving spouse wanted to stay.
What a will actually covers
A typical UK will contains:
- Appointment of executors — usually 2 people you trust to administer the estate. Can be family members, friends, or professional executors (solicitors, banks).
- Appointment of guardians for children under 18, if applicable. Critical for parents.
- Specific gifts (legacies) — "I leave my mother's engagement ring to my daughter Emily"
- Pecuniary legacies — "I leave £5,000 to Cancer Research UK"
- Residue clause — everything remaining after legacies and debts. Usually the biggest part. "I leave the residue of my estate to my spouse, and if she predeceases me, to my children in equal shares."
- Trusts within the will if applicable — e.g. "Funds for my minor children to be held by my executors as trustees until age 21"
- Funeral wishes — non-binding but a useful reference for the family
- Witness signatures — 2 independent witnesses watching you sign, then signing themselves
The four routes to a UK will
1. DIY template will (cheapest, riskiest)
- Cost: £0-£25 (free templates online; £15-£25 for stationery will kits)
- Time: 1-2 hours to draft
- Suitable for: very simple situations only — single person, no property, no children, modest assets, no business interests, leaving everything to one person or a small set of beneficiaries
- Risks: easy to invalidate through wording errors (e.g. "to my wife" if you're not married); witnessing mistakes can void the entire will; missed assets create uncertainty
Reasonable templates: gov.uk has a basic free template; Which? Money has a will-writing service; the Money Saving Expert forums share working templates.
2. Online will services (good middle ground)
- Cost: typically £90-£200 for a standard will. Some offer joint wills for couples for around £150-£250.
- Time: 30-60 minutes online
- Suitable for: most retail situations — including property, children, simple trusts, modest IHT exposure
- Major providers: Farewill, Trust Inheritance, Co-op Legal Services, Beyond, MakeAWill
- Risks: limited to the standard templates — complex situations (foreign property, business interests, disabled beneficiaries, second marriages) may not fit
Best in class: Farewill is the largest UK online will provider; well-rated for ease of use. Some offer free wills via charity partnerships (Cancer Research's Free Wills Month, Will Aid in November).
3. Local solicitor (most personalised)
- Cost: typically £200-£500 for a standard will; £500-£1,500 for complex wills involving trusts, business interests or foreign property
- Time: usually 2-3 weeks from initial meeting to signing
- Suitable for: complex situations — blended families, business interests, foreign property, disabled beneficiaries, significant IHT planning, family disputes
- STEP-qualified solicitors (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) have additional qualifications in estate planning
- Includes: face-to-face advice, custom drafting, witnessing arranged, secure storage often offered
Worth the premium for: any estate over £1m (real IHT exposure), business owners, second-marriage situations, anyone with disabled beneficiaries needing a trust, international assets.
4. Charity-supported free wills
- Free Wills Month (twice a year, March and October): some charities (Cancer Research UK, NSPCC, etc.) cover the solicitor cost in exchange for the option to leave a legacy — you're not obliged to.
- Will Aid (November): solicitors waive their fee; you make a voluntary donation to a partner charity (suggested £100 individual / £180 couple)
- Will Relief Scotland (October): equivalent scheme for Scotland
If timing aligns, these schemes give you a solicitor-drafted will for £0-£200. Quality is the same as paying full price — the solicitors are participating to attract clients and benefit charities.
Witnessing rules — the most common reason wills are invalid
For an England & Wales will to be valid (under the Wills Act 1837 as amended):
- The will must be in writing
- The testator (you) must sign it, or someone signs on your behalf in your presence
- The signature must be witnessed by 2 people who are present at the same time
- The 2 witnesses must then sign in the presence of the testator
Critical rules:
- Witnesses cannot be beneficiaries — if a witness is named in the will as inheriting anything, that gift is INVALID (the rest of the will may still stand)
- Witnesses cannot be married to a beneficiary — same rule applies to spouses
- Witnesses must be 18+ and have mental capacity
- All three (testator + 2 witnesses) must be physically present at the same time — though "remote witnessing via video" was temporarily allowed during COVID, this ended in January 2024
The witnessing requirement is the most common cause of invalidated wills. A common error: spouse of a beneficiary witnesses the will, voiding the gift to that beneficiary.
Choosing executors
Executors administer the estate after death. Their job:
- Find the will, register the death, organise the funeral
- Value the estate (property, investments, bank accounts, pensions, possessions)
- Apply for probate (the legal authority to deal with the estate)
- Pay any inheritance tax
- Pay debts
- Distribute assets to beneficiaries per the will
- Keep accounts and report to beneficiaries
Standard recommendation: 2 executors. Common patterns:
- Spouse + adult child: typical for older couples with mature children
- Two adult children: typical for parents whose children will inherit equally
- Spouse + trusted sibling: backup if children are too young or estranged
- Professional executor (solicitor or bank): charges typically 1-5% of estate value plus fees. Used when family is unavailable or estate is complex. Banks' executor services in particular have a reputation for high charges (3-5% common)
Executors can also be beneficiaries — no conflict. The spouse who inherits everything can also be the executor.
IHT planning via will
For estates likely to exceed the IHT thresholds, specific will clauses can save significant tax:
1. Residence Nil-Rate Band (RNRB) preservation
The RNRB (£175,000 in 2026/27, doubled to £350,000 for married couples) is given for property left to direct descendants (children, grandchildren). It tapers off for estates over £2m.
Wills should explicitly leave a residential property (or its proceeds) to direct descendants. "I leave my home / share of home to my children" preserves the RNRB. Leaving the property to nieces, friends or charity loses the RNRB on that portion.
2. Spousal transfer of unused NRB
When one spouse dies, any unused Nil-Rate Band transfers to the survivor. If a husband dies leaving everything to his wife, his £325k NRB is unused (gifts to spouse are exempt) — so the wife's estate gets a doubled NRB on her death.
Will clauses can preserve this: simply leaving everything to the spouse achieves it. Complications arise with second marriages where the deceased wants assets to go to children of a first marriage.
3. Charity legacy at 10%+
If you leave 10% or more of your "baseline amount" (net estate above NRB) to charity, the IHT rate on the rest drops from 40% to 36%. For estates with material IHT liability, this can be tax-efficient even for the family — the saving on the rest of the estate can be larger than the charity bequest.
4. Business / Agricultural Property Relief preservation
BPR and APR can give 100% IHT relief on qualifying business and agricultural assets. Wills should leave qualifying assets to beneficiaries who will actually run them (not sell immediately) to preserve the relief. Specialist solicitor input is highly recommended for any will involving business or farming assets.
When to update your will
Life events that should trigger a will review:
- Marriage: marriage automatically REVOKES any previous will in England & Wales (unless the will explicitly anticipated the marriage). After marriage, write a new will.
- Divorce: doesn't revoke the will but the ex-spouse is treated as if they had predeceased you. Gifts to ex-spouse fail; executor appointments of ex-spouse become invalid. Write a new will after divorce.
- Children born or adopted
- Children reaching 18 (or whatever age you specified)
- Death of an executor or beneficiary
- Significant change in assets (inheritance received, business sold, property bought)
- Tax law changes (e.g. RNRB introduction in 2017, the 2027 pension IHT reform)
- Moving country (UK domicile changes need careful planning)
Standard guidance: review every 5 years or after any major life event.
Where to store your will
The original signed will must be findable after your death. Options:
- HM Courts & Tribunals Service Probate Service: free will storage service. Strong recommended option for DIY wills. Search "Probate Service will deposit".
- Your solicitor: most solicitors offer free storage with their drafted wills. Tell your executors where the will is held.
- Bank safety deposit box: works but executors need access (can be a chicken-and-egg problem after death if the box is in your sole name)
- At home in a fire-proof safe: cheapest. Tell your executors where it is. Make sure they have access (combination, location).
- National Will Register (Certainty): paid service that records the existence and location of your will. Useful if your will is held somewhere unusual.
One often-overlooked rule: a photocopy or scan of a will is NOT a valid will. If the original is lost, the will may be deemed invalid (with some exceptions if you can prove its contents). Original storage matters.
2026/27 will costs at a glance
| Approach | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| DIY template | £0-£25 | Single people with simple estates |
| Online service (e.g. Farewill) | £90-£200 | Most UK retail situations |
| Local solicitor (standard) | £200-£500 | Moderately complex; want face-to-face |
| STEP-qualified solicitor (complex) | £500-£1,500 | Trusts, business, blended families, IHT planning |
| Charity free will month | £0 (suggested donation) | If timing aligns; want solicitor quality at no cost |
Frequently asked questions
Is a digital will valid in the UK?
Currently, no. The Wills Act 1837 requires a physical signed document witnessed in person. The Law Commission has consulted on digital wills (electronic signatures, remote witnessing) but the legal framework hasn't changed as of 2026. Stick to paper wills with wet signatures and physical witnessing.
Can I write my own will using a free template?
Legally yes — there's no requirement for professional involvement. But the risks are real: invalidating witnessing, ambiguous wording, missed assets, failure to plan for IHT. For simple situations DIY is workable; for anything involving property, multiple beneficiaries, or children, online service or solicitor is safer.
What if I have property in Scotland or abroad?
Scottish wills follow different rules (Wills & Succession (Scotland) Act 2016). An English will may not be effective for Scottish property; consider a separate Scottish will or specialist advice. For property abroad: each country has its own succession rules; you typically need a will in each jurisdiction or a single will that's recognised in both. Solicitor input is essential.
Should my pension be mentioned in my will?
Generally not — UK pensions pass via separate "Expression of Wish" forms held by your pension provider, not via your will. Make sure these forms are up to date alongside your will. Important: post-April 2027, defined contribution pensions become subject to IHT, so coordination between pension nomination and will planning becomes more important.
What's a "mirror will"?
Two wills for spouses/partners that "mirror" each other — e.g. "I leave everything to my spouse, then to our children if my spouse predeceases me". The two wills are identical in structure. They can be combined into a "joint will" (single document for both spouses) but mirror wills (two separate documents) are more flexible.
Can my executor also be a beneficiary?
Yes, absolutely. It's very common — spouses who inherit everything are often also the executor. The legal concern is conflict of interest if the executor must make decisions where their personal benefit conflicts with other beneficiaries' interests; that's why some complex estates have a professional co-executor.
What if I want to disinherit a child or spouse?
Legal but contestable. The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 lets certain dependants (spouse, ex-spouse not remarried, child, anyone financially maintained by you) claim against the estate if the will doesn't make "reasonable financial provision" for them. To minimise risk: include a "letter of wishes" explaining the disinheritance reasoning; get specialist legal advice; document the reasoning thoroughly.
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