Is a DIY Will Legal?

Under the Wills Act 1837, a will is valid in England and Wales if the person making it is 18 or over and of sound mind, the will is in writing, it is signed by that person (or by someone else in their presence and at their direction), and the signature is made or acknowledged in the presence of two witnesses who are both present at the same time and who then also sign it themselves.

None of these requirements mention who drafted the will or whether a solicitor was involved. A will written entirely by the person making it, using an online service or a blank template, meets exactly the same legal standard as one drafted by a solicitor, provided these conditions are satisfied.

DIY wills are sometimes seen as risky, but the risk usually comes from execution mistakes rather than the DIY approach itself. Common issues include vague or contradictory wording, missing a clear gift of the residuary estate, or getting the witnessing wrong, for example by using a beneficiary or their spouse as a witness, which can cause that particular gift to fail even though the rest of the will stays valid.

These mistakes are much more likely with a blank, unguided template than with a structured process, because a blank template does not prompt you to consider commonly missed elements or check that your answers are internally consistent.

The single most important step is getting the signing right: two independent witnesses, both present together, neither of them a beneficiary or married to one, all signing at the same sitting. This one step accounts for a large share of the problems that arise with home-made wills.

Beyond that, use clear, unambiguous wording for gifts, make sure your residuary estate is clearly dealt with, name a backup executor, and include a clause revoking any earlier wills if you have made one before. A guided online service builds these checks into the process automatically.

My Posh Will's online guided service is designed specifically to produce a legally sound will while keeping the process quick and affordable. It asks structured questions covering executors, guardians, specific gifts and residue, and produces a properly worded document for £69, or £89 for mirror wills as a couple, typically completed in around ten minutes.

It also includes clear signing and witnessing instructions, addressing directly the part of the process where most DIY validity problems actually occur, and gives you lifetime access to edit and re-download the will as your circumstances change.

Legality is not the same as suitability. A DIY will can be perfectly legal and still be the wrong tool for a complex situation, such as inheritance tax planning, trusts, a business or agricultural property, assets overseas, or a family situation likely to lead to a dispute. These need individual legal advice to get right.

For everyone else, a properly completed DIY will, especially one produced through a guided service rather than a blank template, is a fully legal and reliable way to get your wishes recorded and legally binding.