How to Make a Simple Will Online in England and Wales

Why You Need a Will

If you die without a will in England and Wales, your estate is distributed according to the rules of intestacy — a fixed legal formula that may not reflect your wishes at all. Under these rules, unmarried partners receive nothing regardless of how long you have been together. Step-children are excluded. Close friends get nothing. Even distant relatives you have never met may inherit before the people who matter most to you.

A will gives you control. It lets you decide who receives your money, your property and your possessions. It lets you appoint the person you trust to carry out your wishes. If you have children under 18, it lets you name a guardian to care for them if both parents die.

Making a will online is now a straightforward process. For most people with a straightforward estate, it can be done quickly, affordably and without a solicitor.

Who Can Make a Will in England and Wales

To make a valid will in England and Wales you must be aged 18 or over and have testamentary capacity — meaning you understand what you are doing, what you own and who your close family are. You must be acting freely and voluntarily, without pressure from anyone else.

There is no requirement to use a solicitor. Many people successfully make their own wills using an online document preparation service. Whether this is the right approach for you depends on how straightforward your circumstances are.

What a Simple Will Covers

A simple will prepared through our service can include:

• Executors — the person or people responsible for carrying out your wishes after you die. You should appoint a primary executor and a substitute in case your first choice cannot act.
• Guardians — if you have children under 18, you can name who you would like to care for them if both parents die.
• Cash gifts — specific sums of money left to named individuals or organisations.
• Personal possessions — items of sentimental or financial value left to specific people.
• Your residuary estate — everything else you own, divided between your chosen beneficiaries in the proportions you specify.
• Funeral wishes — not legally binding but recorded in your will as a guide for your executors.
• Business interests — what should happen to any business you own, subject to any shareholders agreement that may apply.
• Property — how your share of any property should be dealt with, depending on how it is owned.

A simple will is not suitable if you need a property trust, if you want to gift a business or property in complex circumstances, or if your estate is very large or involves foreign assets. For those situations, our Complex Will with Property Trust service may be more appropriate.

How Property Works in a Simple Will

How your property is dealt with in your will depends entirely on how it is owned. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of will writing.

If you own a property as joint tenants with another person, your share passes automatically to the surviving owner when you die — your will has no effect on it at all. If you want your share to pass under your will instead, you need to change the ownership to tenants in common first, using a document called a Notice of Severance.

If you own a property as tenants in common, your share forms part of your estate and passes under your will. You can leave it to whoever you choose.

If you are not sure how your property is owned, we offer a Title Register Check for £10 — we obtain the Land Registry title register and confirm the ownership type for you.

How to Sign Your Will Correctly

A will that is not signed correctly is not legally valid. The signing requirements in England and Wales are set out in section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 and are straightforward but must be followed precisely.

Your will must be:

• In writing
• Signed by you at the end of the document
• Witnessed by two independent witnesses who are both present at the same time when you sign
• Signed by both witnesses in your presence

Your witnesses must be adults. They must not be beneficiaries under your will, and they must not be the spouse or civil partner of a beneficiary — if they are, the gift to that person fails. They do not need to read the will or know what is in it.

Do not make any written alterations to your will after it has been signed. If you need to make changes, prepare a new will or a codicil instead.

When to Use a Solicitor Instead

An online will preparation service is suitable for most people with straightforward circumstances. However, a solicitor may be more appropriate if:

• Your estate is very large or complex — as a general guide, estates over £2 million may benefit from specialist advice
• You own property abroad
• You own agricultural land or a farming business
• You need complex inheritance tax planning
• You own a business and need Business Property Relief advice
• Your family circumstances are complex and a challenge to your will is likely

We always recommend seeking independent legal advice alongside using our service, particularly if your circumstances are not straightforward. We do not provide legal advice.

Keep Your Will Up to Date

Your will should be reviewed whenever your circumstances change significantly — after marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, a house purchase or the death of a named beneficiary. A will that was correct when you made it may no longer reflect your wishes years later.

Our Document Amendment Subscription (£10 per year) allows you to make up to two amendments each year by email, to any document we have prepared for you. It can be purchased at any time — there is no requirement to buy it when you place your original order. Unused amendments do not carry forward to the following year.