The legal requirements for a valid will, what to include, DIY vs solicitor, costs, signing and witnessing rules, and how to store your will safely.
This guide is part of ProbateHelp's Wills & Planning guide cluster.
Either can be valid in England and Wales if the will meets the capacity, intention and execution requirements, including correct signing and witnessing. A typed will may be easier to read, but its format alone does not make it valid.
Broadly yes, but there are limits. The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 allows certain people — including spouses, children, and financial dependants — to make a claim against the estate if they feel they have not been adequately provided for. A solicitor can advise on how to minimise this risk.
If the original will cannot be found after you die, the probate registry will need evidence about what happened to it. A presumption of revocation can arise in some circumstances, but it is rebuttable; a copy may sometimes be admitted using form PA13. If no valid will can be proved, the estate is dealt with under the intestacy rules. Store the original safely and tell your executors where it is held.
Yes. You can add a codicil (a formal amendment) or make a new will entirely. Any changes must be signed and witnessed in the same way as the original. Never cross out or write over the original will — this can invalidate it.
Not necessarily. In England and Wales, a beneficial joint tenant’s interest normally passes to the survivor outside the will; a tenant in common’s share can pass under the will. Pension and life-insurance benefits may also pass outside the will where the scheme or policy terms provide for this, including through a nomination or trustees’ discretion. Check the ownership and product terms separately.
Mirror wills are two separate wills made by a couple that mirror each other — typically leaving everything to the other person, and then to children on the second death. Subject to capacity and any binding mutual-wills arrangement, either person can usually change or revoke their own will without the other’s knowledge or consent. Take advice if the wills were intended to be irrevocably binding.
Yes. Outright gifts to qualifying charities are generally exempt from Inheritance Tax. A reduced 36% rate can apply to the taxable property in an estate component that meets the statutory charitable-giving test, broadly where at least 10% of its baseline amount passes to charity. The calculation can be complex where an estate has more than one component. Use the charity’s full registered name and charity number and take advice on the tax wording.
Pets cannot inherit directly. You can name a person you would like to care for them and leave that person money, ideally with substitute arrangements if they cannot act. More complex arrangements need specialist advice because a trust solely for a pet may not operate like an ordinary trust for a person or charity.
Drafting a will online does not by itself make it valid. In England and Wales, it must meet all the usual capacity, intention and execution requirements, including being printed and signed or acknowledged in the physical presence of two witnesses. Both witnesses must have a clear view when you sign or acknowledge the signature, and you must have a clear view when each witness signs or acknowledges their signature. There is no general fully electronic-will route in England and Wales.
Yes. Marriage or civil partnership usually revokes an existing will in England and Wales unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage or civil partnership. Divorce or dissolution does not revoke the whole will, but a former spouse or civil partner is generally treated as having died for affected gifts and appointments, subject to a contrary intention in the will. Review your will before and after either event.