What Should I Put in My Will?

At its simplest, a will needs to appoint at least one executor to administer your estate, revoke any earlier wills, and say what happens to your residuary estate, which is everything left once debts, funeral costs and any specific gifts have been paid. Without a clear statement of who inherits the residue, part of your estate could end up being distributed under the intestacy rules even though you had a will.

Beyond that, the will needs to be properly signed and witnessed to be valid. A guided online service such as My Posh Will builds these requirements into the process automatically, so you are prompted for each essential element in order rather than having to know the structure in advance.

Many people want to leave particular sums of money or specific items to particular people, for example a set amount to each godchild, a piece of jewellery to a niece, or a car to a sibling. These are called specific and pecuniary legacies, and they are dealt with before the residue is worked out.

Keep the list realistic and proportionate to the size of your estate. A long list of small legacies can be sentimentally important, but it is worth checking the total does not swallow up more of the estate than you intended, particularly if the value of your assets changes over time.

If you have children under 18, your will is the place to appoint a guardian to look after them if both parents die. It is also where you name executors, the people responsible for administering your estate, and trustees, who hold and manage any money left on trust for children or others until they reach the age you have chosen to inherit.

The same people can act as executor, trustee and guardian, or you can split the roles, for example naming a sibling as guardian and a different, more financially minded relative as trustee. Always ask people before naming them, and name a backup in case your first choice cannot act.

You can include a note of your funeral wishes in your will, for example whether you would like burial or cremation, though these wishes are not legally binding on your executors and the will is often read after the funeral has already taken place. For that reason, it is worth telling close family your wishes directly as well as recording them in the will.

Some people also add a short personal letter alongside the will, sometimes called a letter of wishes, to explain reasoning behind gifts or to pass on sentiments that do not belong in the formal legal document itself.

A standard will covers most people's needs well, but certain situations call for individual legal advice rather than a straightforward document. This includes complex inheritance tax planning, trusts beyond a simple age-contingent trust for children, a business or agricultural property, assets held overseas, or a blended family situation where a dispute seems likely.

With My Posh Will, you can build a properly structured will online for £69, or £89 for mirror wills as a couple, in around ten minutes, with lifetime access to edit and re-download it as your circumstances change. Where your situation is more complex, we would rather point you towards a solicitor than let you guess.