The Complete Guide to Wills in the UK
A will tells the law who inherits what. Without one, the law decides for you, and the decision is often not what you would have chosen.
In England and Wales, a valid will must be in writing, signed by you, and witnessed by two independent adults present at the same time. Beyond that, the rules are straightforward. What makes a will good or bad is the thinking behind it, not the format.
What happens without a will
The intestacy rules distribute your estate in a fixed order: spouse first, then children, then parents, siblings, and outwards. Unmarried partners get nothing. Stepchildren get nothing unless legally adopted.
For most cohabiting couples, dying without a will is the single most damaging financial decision they will ever make on behalf of the person they love.
What a good will contains
Executors — the people who administer the estate. Usually two, one younger than you.
Guardians for any minor children.
Specific gifts (jewellery, a car, a sum of money to a named person or charity).
Residuary beneficiaries — who gets everything else, and in what shares.
Trust provisions where needed — a property trust, a life-interest for a second spouse, a discretionary trust for children.
A clear survivorship clause, so a common accident doesn't send the estate the wrong way.
When to update
Marriage automatically revokes a will unless the will is written 'in contemplation' of that marriage. Divorce doesn't revoke the will but treats the ex-spouse as having died.
Update on any major life or estate change, and at minimum every five years. Any will drafted before 2017 predates the Residence Nil-Rate Band; any drafted before 2025 doesn't anticipate the April 2027 pension rule.
Common mistakes
- ·Using a supermarket will pack for anything more complex than a very simple, small estate.
- ·Naming a sole executor who is also the sole beneficiary — legal, but often unwise.
- ·Never having 'the conversation' with executors and beneficiaries, so the first they hear of it is at the funeral.
- ·Marrying and never updating the will, so the older will is automatically revoked and the estate falls into intestacy.
- ·Storing the will somewhere the family cannot find it.
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