We Provide Affordable Tools to Make a Will
How do I make a Will?
Need to know how to write a will? Don't know how to get started in
writing a will? If you're asking yourself "How do I write a will?", then
you've come to the right place.
There are broadly three approaches to making a Will:
- Write it yourself using a blank piece of paper, or blank form DIY Will kit
- Use an online interactive tool that guides you through the process
- Use a professional Will writer or solicitor
We would not recommend the first option at all, unless you were absolutely desperate.
Although you can legally make a Will by hand writing it on a piece of paper, it is actually very difficult to write a quality Last Will and Testament.
Even solicitors with years of training do not attempt to write their Wills with blank forms.
If you use a professional Will writer or solicitor to make a Will, you have a good chance of preparing a quality Will (although this is no guarantee),
but it is usually expensive, and certainly inconvenient. Making updates to the Will is also difficult.
The barriers presented by this approach is the reason why as much as 70 percent of Brits do not have a legal Last Will and Testament in place.
Online interactive tools are a rapidly growing approach to Will writing because they offer the same quality as a Will written by a solicitor,
but for a fraction of the price, and can be written at home, on your computer, tablet or smartphone.
Updates to your Will are also much more convenient, as it simply requires you to login to your account, make the change, and print a new version of the Will for signing.
The interactive online service at LegalWills.co.uk is not a Will kit
Read what makes us better
We have broken down the barriers to making a Will
Our online Will service steps you through a series of nine sections to prepare your Will.
All questions are written in everyday language, there is no legal jargon, and you do not need any legal knowledge to make your own Will.
Simply answer the questions and we instantly prepare a document that forms the basis of a legal Last Will and Testament.
Once it is printed and signed in the presence of two adult witnesses, then it becomes a fully legally binding document.
In over
24
years, we have helped tens of thousands of people make their own Will.
Make unlimited updates free of charge
Did you know that if you use a solicitor to make a Will, it could be out of date by the time you get home?
There are a number of reasons why you may need to update your Will. Whether you have a change in personal or financial circumstances yourself,
or whether something happens to somebody named in your Will. You should regularly review and update your Will.
Using the service at LegalWills.co.uk means that updates can be made quickly and conveniently --- nothing to pay and no appointments to be made.
Imagine if your alternate Executor is struggling with a health condition. If you made your Will with a solicitor, you probably wouldn't take the time
and pay the money to update your Will. Using our service, you can ensure that your Will is not only in place, but perfectly meets your needs no matter how your circumstances change.
You can still have it reviewed by a solicitor
We have worked with some of the best solicitors in the UK to bring you the Will writing service at LegalWills.co.uk.
We are so confident that you can prepare a solicitor-grade Will using our service that we offer a full money back guarantee.
We also appreciate that some people may still need the reassurance of a solicitor reviewing their final document, and so we provide this option too.
For a discounted fee you can have one of our estate planning solicitors review your Will for consistency and completeness.
You shouldn't wait until next week...
Most people do not have a Will, because until now, it's been a bit of a pain to write one.
You may feel that you don't have much, or that the distribution of your things is obvious.
Most people find it difficult to get organised, find a solicitor, schedule the appointment and co-ordinate this with other family members.
Perhaps you feel that the legal fees that you have been quoted are outrageous and you are now exploring other options.
Whatever your reason may be, you should know that it is extremely important that you have an up to date Will.
If you die without a Will, the courts will decide how your estate is distributed.
It is highly unlikely to match any plan that you have in your mind and it will almost certainly not be in the best interests of your family and loved ones.
For example, it may surprise you that if you are married with children, everything does not automatically go to your spouse.
We don't know how your particular estate will be distributed without a Will, but we do know that if you make a Will yourself, you can decide.
Create your Will right now using the MyWill™ wizard
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MyWill™- Frequently Asked Questions
There are countless "Will kits" on Amazon and in bookshops. They are invariably terrible and usually produce a Will that simply does not work.
We purchased a few and reviewed them -
read about it here.
When we reviewed the biggest selling blank form Will kits we were appalled at the poor quality.
There is no error checking, most are out of date, and none of them adequately guide you through the process.
Some do not have alternate plans, residual clauses, or trusts. They simply do not allow you to prepare a well drafted Last Will and Testament.
The initial development of our MyWill™ service took years, but we have been online since 2000.
For over
24
years we have been improving our service and introducing new capabilities.
Hundreds of our Wills have been through the probate process and we have never once heard of an issue with one of our Wills going through the courts processes.
We believe that we provide the highest quality online Will writing service currently available in the UK. We also happen to provide the best value for money.
We have been able to incorporate user feedback into our design for decades, tweaking and enhancing every page, including our detailed help text.
Our approach also allows you to create and update your Will at any time, from anywhere in the world, on any device.
We have developed an incredible suite of services to complement your Will, including our MyKeyholders™ service,
that allows you to name trusted individuals to access important information at the right time.
This information can include messages that you have written within the
MyMessages™ service,
information about your assets documented in the
MyLifeLocker™ service,
and important digital assets uploaded to our
MyVault™ service.
All of this information will be protected even if all of your other possessions are destroyed by a tragedy such as a house fire.
We use the most advanced encryption algorithms for storing all of your private information, and most importantly,
the entire team at LegalWills.co.uk has been with the company for over a decade, and we do not outsource any development or support activities.
This means that you don't have to worry about your information getting into the wrong hands.
In general terms, you can make a Will for free by handwriting it yourself, or you can pay many hundreds of pounds to a solicitor to make a Will.
The documents though are not the same. If you use a blank form Will kit or a free downloadable form, your Will is probably not going to work.
It certainly won't include everything that you need in a well drafted Last Will and Testament.
A Will written by a solicitor will include alternate plans, residual clauses, trusts for young beneficiaries and lifetime trusts for stepfamilies.
Our Will service allows you to prepare a solicitor-grade Will for
£49.95
and this includes making one year of unlimited updates to the document.
You then have the option of maintaining an account with us so you can update your Will at any point in the future.
We do not keep credit card details on file, we cannot automatically charge you anything, and there is nothing to cancel.
You will never find a mysterious charge on your credit card statement.
The complete pricing structure is available on our
Products & Prices page.
You can use our MyWill™ service to make a legal Last Will and Testament that will be accepted by the probate courts in England and Wales.
But there are key steps that you need to go through to make your document a legal Will.
Once you have stepped through all of the sections in the MyWill™ service, you should then print the document, and read it.
You should make sure that it reflects your intentions and that you understand what it is saying.
If you need help with this, get in touch with us by phone or email and we can help you.
You must then gather together with two adults who are not beneficiaries in the Will. These two people will serve as your witnesses.
They do not have to have any particular professional standing (a judge, solicitor, police or military).
Any two adults can serve as witnesses --- your friends, neighbours or work colleagues.
All three of you must sign the document in each other's presence.
We also recommend that each of you initial each page of the document to guard against pages being swapped out after you have died.
A witness cannot be a beneficiary of the Will, they cannot be the spouse of a beneficiary (at the time of signing), they must be over the age of 18,
and, like the "testator" (you), they must be of sound mind.
More details on the process to be followed for creating a legal document are included in the help text of the MyWill™ service.
If these instructions are followed, then your Will is a legally binding document.
Many years ago, Will writers used to save themselves the work of re-typing a Will by using a document called a codicil.
This would be attached to the Will, make reference to it, and explain a change.
For example, the codicil could say "in clause 3 of the attached Will, the name of the Executor should now read James Green".
Codicils saved the Will writer time, but they were a terrible headache for the people trying to administer the Will.
Today, they are a relic from a bygone era and should never be used.
Using the MyWill™ service at LegalWills.co.uk, you can update your Will quickly and easily by logging into your account,
making the change, and printing a new Will. Sign the new document, destroy the old document, and you will have an up –to-date Last Will and Testament.
You should review your Will every year or so to check that your own personal circumstances haven't changed.
Also look at everybody named in your Will and check that they are still the most appropriate Executor, guardian for your children or beneficiary within the Will.
At LegalWIlls.co.uk, you can choose to have a 1-year, 5 year, 10-year, 25-year or Life account,
during which time you can make as many updates or amendments to your Will as you wish at no extra charge.
Details of the membership packages available can be found on our
Products & Prices page.
You may have noticed that we claim that you can prepare your Will in 20 minutes.
And if you are well prepared, this is certainly possible. But it isn't a race.
If your estate and your intentions for your estate are simple, then it really will not take long to make your Will.
If your entire estate is going to a single beneficiary, and this same person is your Executor, then you can certainly prepare your Will in less than 30 minutes.
You do not have to list everything you own, because you do not know what you will own when your Will comes into effect.
However, the MyWill™ service at LegalWills.co.uk also allows you to prepare a very sophisticated Will with multiple trusts and alternate provisions to cover different scenarios.
You may be making appointments within your Will that would benefit from consultation with family members.
Oftentimes a great deal of thought goes into a Will, and it can take weeks or months to finally get everything exactly the way you want it.
You do not have to complete your Will in one sitting. You can take as long as you wish to complete your Will.
Answer a few questions today, save your work, talk to family members and then continue tomorrow.
However, everybody should have a legal Will in place, so don't take too long!
Yes. We do not store your documents in plain text on our servers.
The information that you enter as you step through our service is coded and encrypted,
and only when you click to view your Will is your document compiled.
The only people who can view a compiled document with your information in it is yourself
and any Keyholder® that you may have appointed in the MyKeyholders™ service.
If you choose to have your document reviewed by one of our solicitors, or printed and posted to you,
then a member of our team can temporarily view your document.
Security and privacy are keystones of our business model and very important to us.
There is more information detailing how we protect your information on the
Security page.
Yes. Everybody needs a Will. Without a Will the courts will appoint somebody to act as your estate administrator,
appoint guardians for your children (if appropriate) and distribute your estate according to the legal formula.
This process will take a very, very long time.
With a Will, you are in charge of your appointments, and can describe the distribution of your possessions. You can even make bequests to charities through your Will.
The most common reasons that we hear for not making a Will include:
-
"I don't care what happens. I'll be dead anyway"
Only somebody who has completely neglected their family during their lifetime could seriously make this excuse.
Your Will is not about you. It is about your family. By writing a Will, you relieve them from stress, family fighting,
and give them access to the information that they need at a vulnerable time.
In the UK, there is a formula that explains how your things will be distributed if you die without a Will.
We have provided an infographic here.
But sorting everything out will be complicated. Your family will have to wait until the courts have appointed an estate administrator,
and until this is done, your assets are completely frozen. This usually leads to fighting between family members as there is uncertainty over who can claim what.
Particularly if you have made verbal promises during your lifetime.
The 20 minutes that it will take you to prepare your Will can save months of anguish and potentially save your family from irreparable rifts.
-
"It's obvious who will get my estate. It will go to my spouse."
It may be obvious who will receive everything, but it's probably not what you think.
If you own a house and are married with two children, what will happen to your estate?
Well, as the law currently stands (and it changed in the last couple of years),
your spouse will receive the first £250,000, and the remainder will be divided between your spouse and children.
Which means that in some circumstances your spouse may be forced to sell the home in order for the children to receive their share of the inheritance.
It is extremely rare for anybody who prepares a Will to write down an estate plan that matches the intestacy law.
-
"I don't have an estate of any value."
Fortunately, you are probably not going to die today, and your Will is not going to come into effect today.
You actually have no idea what your estate will be worth when your Will comes into effect.
If you are hit by the proverbial bus, and the bus driver was texting, there is a chance that the bus
company will pay out damages to your estate and suddenly you could be worth millions of pounds.
People are often worth a lot more once they have died than they ever were when they were alive.
It's just not a good reason to not make a Will.
Even writing the most simple Will can save your family from a great deal of stress at a time when they are struggling to cope with your death.
To die without a Will is irresponsible and places a tremendous burden on your survivors.
Joint Wills are a relic from the olden days. They were used heavily when Wills were typed up.
So to save time in typing two documents, Will writers would attempt to prepare one document serving the needs of two people.
They also made more sense when property was thought to belong to the patriarch in the house and the wife was not thought of as necessarily having an equal share.
Unfortunately, joint Wills caused a lot of problems with the surviving spouse being bound by terms in the Will that no longer made sense as they continued with their lives.
It is very rare for any estate-planning solicitor practicing today to prepare a joint Will.
Usually, the intent of a joint Will was to describe everything going to the surviving spouse and then having a backup plan in case both were involved in a common accident.
This can easily be addressed by both partners preparing their own Will and naming each other as the main beneficiary.
Each partner would then have an alternate plan. This approach is called "Mirror Wills" and is fully supported through our service.
In fact, the second partner does not even pay the full amount, as a 40 percent discount is available for the second order.
As we have evolved the MyWill™ service over the years, we have been able to address the needs of an increasing number of situations.
We have introduced services like
MyExpatWill™ and features within our service like Lifetime Trusts.
We now feel that our service meets the needs of over 95 percent of the population.
However, there are circumstances where we would recommend that you do not use our service, and seek advice from an estate planning solicitor.
In particular:
- If you are a resident of Northern Ireland or Scotland.
- If you are involved in a matrimonial dispute, or wish to disinherit your spouse or children.
- If you have a history of mental illness, or the question of your mental capacity may be raised in objection to the statements in the Will.
- If you are under the age of 18.
- If you have a large, complex estate and feel that you would benefit from some advice on estate planning and tax reduction.
- If you need to provide for long term medical care for a dependent.
- If you think that somebody may challenge your Will in court or you have any other doubts about your situation.
If any of these situations apply to you, or if you have any doubts as to whether our service meets your needs,
either contact us at
[email protected]
or consult with a solicitor.
Anybody has a right to prepare his or her own Will.
Not everybody has the financial means to work with a solicitor; others may not have geographic access to a solicitor.
There is absolutely no legal requirement to use a solicitor to make a Will.
The law requires that a Will is written on paper (a video or audio Will is not acceptable),
and that it is signed in the presence of two witnesses (unless the Will is written entirely in your own hand writing – a holographic Will).
In some extreme circumstances, like military on active duty who are mortally wounded, there are other special exceptions (a nuncupative Will).
If you step through the MyWill™ service, print and sign your document in the presence of two adults who are not beneficiaries,
then you have prepared a legal Last Will and Testament.
If you need legal advice, you should work with a solicitor, but the vast majority of people do not need legal advice when preparing their Will.
The best way to learn about making a Will is to step through the MyWill™ service.
We provide online help every step of the way.
If you have any questions about any other services, or about LegalWills.co.uk in general, please send an email to
[email protected].
We will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
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