Simple Will vs Complex Will

A will is generally considered straightforward if your assets are based in the UK, your family relationships are clear (for example one marriage, no estrangement, no disputes expected), and you want your estate to go to an easily identifiable group of people, such as a spouse, children, or named individuals and charities. In this situation, the legal drafting required is well established and does not need to be tailored beyond standard clauses.

Most adults in England and Wales fall into this category, which is exactly the gap that services such as My Posh Will are designed to fill: producing a properly worded, valid will without the cost of bespoke solicitor drafting for a situation that does not require it.

Certain factors change the picture substantially. Owning property or other significant assets overseas raises questions about which country's law applies and how the assets should be dealt with. A business or agricultural interest raises succession and tax questions that a standard will is not designed to resolve. Likely disputes, whether from an estranged relative or someone you intend to leave out who might otherwise expect to inherit, raise the risk of the will being challenged after death.

A dependant who cannot manage their own financial affairs, for example due to disability, may need a trust built into the will rather than a simple outright gift. Blended families, with children from more than one relationship, second marriages, or stepchildren you want to treat differently to biological children, often need careful, specific wording to avoid unintended results. Trusts of any kind, planning around long term care fees, and estates where inheritance tax is likely to be due, all call for professional advice rather than a standardised document.

None of these factors are a criticism of your situation. They simply mean the document needs to do more work, and that work benefits from a solicitor's tailored advice.

It is worth going through your own situation honestly rather than assuming either way. Ask where your assets are held, whether your family relationships are straightforward, whether anyone might realistically challenge your wishes, and whether anyone you want to provide for needs more than a simple, outright gift. If the answers point consistently towards simplicity, an online will service is a sound, cost-effective choice.

If one or more of the complex factors above genuinely applies to you, it is worth speaking to a solicitor, even if that means a higher cost, because the value of getting these situations right, first time, outweighs the saving from a standardised document.

Circumstances can also change over time. Someone with a simple will today might later start a business, buy a property abroad, or take on caring responsibilities for a dependant, at which point their will should be reviewed with fresh eyes. Equally, someone who currently has complex circumstances might simplify them later, for example after selling a business, and could reasonably move to a more straightforward will at that stage.

The right approach is to match the document to your circumstances as they actually are now, and to review that match whenever your situation changes materially.