How to make a will in the UK — writing a will, online will UK, costs and free wills

How to make a will UK in four steps: list who should inherit and who should act as executor; pick a drafting route (online, DIY, solicitor or charity scheme); generate a written will; then sign it in wet ink with two independent adult witnesses in the same room. Who typed the document does not matter — section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 does. Official overview: www.gov.uk/make-will

Start with a short inventory: home, savings, investments, vehicles, valuables, debts, and any pension or life-policy nominations (those usually sit outside the will). Then decide beneficiaries, specific gifts, who gets the residue, guardians for under-18s, and at least one substitute executor. A guided questionnaire is the usual way people [make a will online](swiftwill.co.uk/how-to-make-a-will*) without a blank page.

England and Wales only for most online tools. Scotland uses different execution rules and legal rights that children and a spouse cannot be fully written out of; Northern Ireland has its own intestacy statute. Do not use an England-and-Wales PDF if you live in Scotland or NI — see [Scotland and Northern Ireland](swiftwill.co.uk/scotland*).

After the PDF exists, the legal work is the signing ceremony. Print every page, gather two adults who are not beneficiaries, stay in one room, and follow [how to sign a will](swiftwill.co.uk/how-to-sign-a-will*). A screen draft you never print is not a will.

Writing a will means recording, in a document you intend to take effect on death, who inherits, who administers the estate, and any guardianship. Writing a will in the UK is about clear residue wording and correct execution, not fancy legal language. Ambiguous gifts and missing substitutions are what send estates to court.

A complete simple will usually names executors (and substitutes), beneficiaries, specific legacies, the residue, guardians if you have children under 18, and an attestation clause that records the witnessing. It can also include funeral wishes — guidance only, not a contract. Checklist: what should I include in a will?.

Always name a backup if a beneficiary dies before you — typically their children in equal shares per stirpes. Without that, the gift may fall into residue or into intestacy. Name the residue clearly: 'everything else I own' to named people in stated shares. That clause carries most of the value of a typical estate — see [what is a residuary estate](swiftwill.co.uk/what-is-a-residuary-estate*).

You can [write your own will](swiftwill.co.uk/can-i-write-my-own-will*) on paper. It is legal if signed correctly. The risk is wording, not legality. A guided [will writing service](swiftwill.co.uk*) is usually safer than a stationer's kit once you have more than one beneficiary, a home, or children.

To make a will online in England and Wales, answer a questionnaire, pay a one-off fee, download a personalised PDF, print it, and sign with two witnesses. An online will UK document is as valid as a solicitor's draft if the signing is right. SwiftWill, for example, is about 15 minutes and £35 once with free lifetime updates — not a subscription, not a law firm.

A good online will UK tool screens you out when a solicitor is needed (trusts, foreign property, Inheritance Tax planning, excluding a dependant, likely dispute) and includes a witnessing card so you do not fail section 9. Compare [is an online will legal](swiftwill.co.uk/is-an-online-will-legal*) and the [how to make a will](swiftwill.co.uk/how-to-make-a-will*) walkthrough before you pay.

Couples usually want two matching documents, not one shared file. [Mirror wills](swiftwill.co.uk/mirror-wills*) through SwiftWill are £55 for both. Each person signs their own will. They are not a binding promise that the survivor will never change theirs — that would be mutual wills, which need a solicitor.

Watch the small print on other providers: storage fees, executor upsells, and ~£10-a-year update subscriptions. Prefer a one-off fee and free rewrites you re-sign. Side-by-side: [compare UK online will services](swiftwill.co.uk/compare*).

How much does a will cost UK depends on complexity, not the shop front. A simple single will can be a free charity appointment, around £35 online, or £150–£300 with a solicitor. Couple mirror wills typically run from around £55 online to £200–£500 with a solicitor. Trust, business or foreign-asset wills are £500–£1,500 or more because they need advice, not a form.

Over ten years the update policy matters more than the headline. Many platforms charge about £10 a year after year one. A one-time £35 will with free lifetime updates stays at £35 if you log in, rewrite and re-sign. Live table: [how much a will costs in the UK](swiftwill.co.uk/will-cost*). Our own comparison: cost of a will.

Professional executors (banks, solicitor-executors) are a separate cost from drafting — often 1–5% of the estate or an hourly rate. You can name family as executors and a professional as backup only. Use the [solicitor vs online cost calculator](swiftwill.co.uk/tools/solicitor-cost-calculator*) if you want a 20-year sketch, not a quote.

Yes — free wills exist, but they are usually a solicitor appointment in a campaign month, not a blank cheque. Free Wills Month (typically March and October) and Will Aid partner with solicitors who waive their drafting fee for a suggested charity donation. Slots run out. The will is only free if it is correctly drafted and witnessed.

Some banks, unions and 'free' websites offer a will writing service at £0 at the front and charge later — storage, updates, or an executor appointment that takes a slice of the estate. Read that small print. MSE has repeatedly warned about executor upsells on some free-will brands.

A low one-off online fee can be cheaper than a 'free' will that locks you into probate fees. SwiftWill publishes a comparison of its £35 document against FreeWills-style offers: [SwiftWill vs free wills](swiftwill.co.uk/compare/swiftwill-vs-freewills*). Our round-up of campaigns and pitfalls: free and charity will schemes.

A handwritten will on a sheet of paper can also cost nothing. It is still a will if section 9 is met. The saving is false if the residue clause fails and the estate is partly intestate. For anything beyond one beneficiary and no children, a guided tool or solicitor is usually the cheaper mistake to avoid.

A will writing service can be a solicitor, a regulated will-writer, or document-preparation software. The product should include executors, guardians, specific gifts, residue, substitutions, and an attestation clause — plus clear witnessing instructions. Add-ons you did not ask for (paid storage, professional executor, update subscriptions) are marketing, not law.

SwiftWill's will writing service for simple England and Wales estates is one price: [make a will online](swiftwill.co.uk*) at £35, or £55 for both [mirror wills](swiftwill.co.uk/mirror-wills*). You get an instant PDF and a signing card. It will not draft tax trusts or foreign-property clauses — and it should tell you to stop if those apply. See [do I need a solicitor for a will](swiftwill.co.uk/do-i-need-a-solicitor-for-a-will*).

Ask any will writing service: is this England and Wales only? Who holds professional indemnity? Are updates extra? Will you name yourselves as executors by default? A service that fails that list is not a bargain. Prefer IPW or SRA-regulated providers, and keep the wet-ink original where your chosen executors can find it.

Making a will should cover people and backups, not just a list of stuff. Name executors, guardians for children under 18, specific gifts, charity legacies with registered numbers, and who gets the residue. Families making a will in the UK most often skip the substitution clause and the guardian — those are the expensive omissions.

If you have children, [writing a will with children](swiftwill.co.uk/writing-a-will-with-children*) means guardians plus trustees if they inherit before 18. The appointment only bites when no parent with parental responsibility survives. Talk to the intended guardian before you name them. Fuller UK guide: appointing guardians.

Unmarried couples should treat making a will as urgent. There is no common-law marriage in England and Wales. A partner of twenty years inherits nothing on intestacy. Use [wills for unmarried couples](swiftwill.co.uk/will-for-unmarried-couples*) or a solicitor if you also need to protect children from a previous relationship.

Charity gifts: use the charity's full legal name and registered charity number. Leaving 10% or more of the net estate to charity can cut the Inheritance Tax rate from 40% to 36% — see [leave money to charity in a will](swiftwill.co.uk/can-i-leave-money-to-charity-in-my-will*). If you want to support [World Aid Network](worldaidnetwork.org), name the charity in full so executors can pay it — or [donate in your lifetime](worldaidnetwork.org/donate). [Ways to donate](worldaidnetwork.org/ways-to-donate) covers card, monthly and legacy gifts.

Executors collect the estate, pay debts and tax, then distribute what is left. Pick 1–4 people who are organised, likely to outlive you, and willing — often a mix of family plus a substitute. Executors can also be beneficiaries; that is normal. They must not witness the will, or their gift fails. Plain-English job description: [what is an executor](swiftwill.co.uk/what-is-an-executor*) and our UK executor guide.

Banks and solicitors can act as professional executors, but their fees come out of the estate. Name them as backup only unless the estate truly needs a professional. After death they follow a long checklist — [executor checklist](swiftwill.co.uk/executor-checklist*) — including [probate](swiftwill.co.uk/probate*) if the estate is not a simple joint-asset pass-over.

Print the will, gather two independent adults (18+) in one room, sign in ink in front of both, then each witness signs in your presence and adds name, address and occupation. No one leaves until all three signatures are done. Electronic signatures and video witnessing are not valid for a standard England and Wales will.

Witnesses should not be beneficiaries or married to a beneficiary. Neighbours, colleagues and friends are ideal — they do not need to read the will. Use the [witness checker](swiftwill.co.uk/tools/witness-checker*) and [signing checklist](swiftwill.co.uk/tools/signing-checklist*) before you book the kitchen table. Rules in full: [who can witness a will](swiftwill.co.uk/who-can-witness-a-will*) and will witnessing rules.

A beneficiary who witnesses does not void the whole will — only their gift, under section 15. That is still a disaster if they were meant to inherit the house. Do not 'just use your children' because they are in the house already.

Without a valid will you die intestate. The [intestacy rules](swiftwill.co.uk/intestacy-rules*) — not your wishes — decide who inherits. In England and Wales a spouse with children takes personal possessions, a £322,000 statutory legacy and half the rest; children share the other half. An unmarried partner gets nothing. Stepchildren get nothing unless adopted.

That is why making a will is not only for people with 'a lot of money'. Guardianship, a partner who is not married to you, and a home in your sole name are enough. Work through the [intestacy flowchart](swiftwill.co.uk/tools/intestacy-flowchart*) if you want a yes/no sketch, then [make a will online](swiftwill.co.uk*) or instruct a solicitor. Hub: wills and intestacy.

Use a solicitor, not an online will writing service, if you need Inheritance Tax planning, a trust, business or agricultural property, foreign assets, to protect children from a previous relationship with a life-interest trust, to exclude a dependant, or you expect a family dispute. Will writing is unreserved — the reason to pay a solicitor is advice and bespoke drafting, not a magic stamp.

Online tools should fail that suitability check before you pay. SwiftWill's position: [do I need a solicitor for a will](swiftwill.co.uk/do-i-need-a-solicitor-for-a-will*). Our answer: when to use a solicitor. Blended families who want the survivor housed but capital preserved for children of the first marriage need a trust will, not a basic mirror pair — see mirror vs mutual wills.

Do not scribble on a signed will. Small changes can be a witnessed [codicil](swiftwill.co.uk/what-is-a-codicil*); anything that touches residue, gifts or structure is cleaner as a new will that revokes the old one. [Changing your will](swiftwill.co.uk/changing-your-will*) after marriage is not optional in England and Wales — marriage revokes the previous will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage.

Divorce does not cancel the whole will; gifts and appointments to an ex are generally treated as if they had died. Remake the will anyway. SwiftWill's free lifetime updates mean you [remake the will](swiftwill.co.uk*) and re-sign at no extra fee. Steps: update a will with a codicil. Divorce detail: does divorce cancel my will?.

Keep the wet-ink original safe and tell your executors. A photocopy is not enough for probate. Do not put the only copy in a bank safe-deposit box that nobody can open without the will. Options: solicitor strong-room, HMCTS deposit, a fireproof home safe, plus the National Will Register so the location can be found. Guide: [where to store a will](swiftwill.co.uk/where-to-store-a-will*) and store your will safely.

A missing original is often treated as revoked. That sends the estate back to intestacy — the outcome [making a will](swiftwill.co.uk*) was meant to avoid.