Will guides
Practical guidance on the rest of the picture: intestacy, keeping a will up to date, changing or replacing one, storing it safely and knowing when your circumstances need a solicitor.
Reviewed by the Estate Advisory Group editorial teamLegally reviewed: 13 August 2026Last updated: 13 August 2026
- What Happens if You Die Without a Will?An explanation of intestacy, who administers the estate, and why the outcome is often not what people expect.
- Intestacy Rules ExplainedHow the statutory order of inheritance works, including spouses, children and the wider family.
- Does an Unmarried Partner Inherit?Why cohabiting partners are excluded from intestacy, and the options available to protect them.
- When Should You Update Your Will?Key life events that should trigger a will review, and how often to check a will that has not changed.
- How to Change a WillWhy a new will with a revocation clause is the safest way to change your wishes.
- What Is a Codicil?What a codicil does, the formalities it requires, and when a new will makes more sense.
- Where Should I Keep My Will?How to store a signed will safely and make sure it can be found when needed.
- Do I Need a Solicitor to Make a Will?When an online will service is appropriate, and when professional legal advice is genuinely needed.
- Simple Will vs Complex WillA candid comparison to help you work out which category your circumstances fall into.
- Will Writing ChecklistA step by step checklist to gather information, make decisions, and get the will properly signed and stored.
- Can I Disinherit My Child?Explains the legal position on disinheriting a child, and the risk of an Inheritance Act claim.
- Can I Exclude My Spouse From My Will?Explains why excluding a spouse is legally risky and how courts treat spousal Inheritance Act claims.
- Can Someone Challenge My Will?Sets out the legal grounds on which a will can be challenged, from capacity to undue influence.
- How to Reduce the Risk of a Will Being ContestedPractical, honest steps to lower the risk of a will being contested, without overpromising certainty.
- 10 Common Mistakes When Making a WillSmall errors in a will can cause big problems for the people you leave behind.
- What Happens if My Will Is Invalid?An invalid will is usually treated as if it had never been made at all.
- How to Replace a Lost WillA lost original will is legally presumed revoked, so the safest step is usually to make a new one.
- How Long Is a Will Valid For?A will has no expiry date, but marriage, divorce and time can make it outdated or partly ineffective.
- Mental Capacity and Wills: What the Law RequiresYou need testamentary capacity when you sign, judged against the Banks v Goodfellow test.
- Making a Will When Seriously IllA will made during serious illness is valid if it is signed properly and capacity is not in doubt.
- A Will and Lasting Power of Attorney: The DifferenceA will covers what happens after death; a lasting power of attorney covers decisions while you are alive.
- Can an Attorney Make a Will for Someone Else?An attorney generally cannot make a will for someone else; a statutory will through the Court of Protection can instead.
- Making a Will Abroad With UK AssetsIf you live abroad but hold UK assets, you generally need a will that clearly covers them.
- Wills in Scotland and Northern Ireland vs EnglandScotland has its own distinct succession law; Northern Ireland is closer to England and Wales but still separate.
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Other guidance
- Make a willEverything you need to make a will in England and Wales: what a will does, what it costs, whether you can write your own and what makes it legally valid.
- Signing and witnessingHow to sign and witness a will correctly in England and Wales, who can act as a witness and the mistakes that stop a will taking effect.
- Executors and beneficiariesChoosing executors, naming beneficiaries, leaving property, money and possessions, and what happens to a gift if a beneficiary dies before you.
- Wills and familyWills for parents, married and unmarried couples, mirror wills, guardians, and how marriage, divorce and separation affect an existing will.
- Inheritance and giftsWho you can leave your estate to, leaving everything to one person, unequal shares between children, grandchildren, friends and the age children inherit.
- Property and willsWhat happens to a home when you die: joint tenants and tenants in common, leaving your share, mortgages, and whether an unmarried partner inherits.
- What happens when you dieWhat happens to bank accounts, joint accounts, pensions, ISAs and savings when someone dies, and how a will changes who ultimately benefits.
- Tax and estatesInheritance tax and wills explained: the nil rate band, residence nil rate band, spouse and charity exemptions, gifts and who pays the tax.
- Digital assetsWhat happens to your phone, email, social media, photos, online accounts and cryptocurrency when you die, and how to cover them in your will.
- Pets and willsWhat happens to your pet when you die, how to include a pet in your will, leaving money for their care and gifts to animal charities.
- Business ownersMaking a will if you own a business: company shares, sole trader businesses, partnership interests and what happens when an owner dies.
- Life eventsWhen to make or update a will: buying a home, moving in together, marriage, a new baby, travelling abroad, retirement and later life.
- Online willsMaking a will online in England and Wales: what it costs, fixed fee will writing, online versus DIY wills, and how quickly you can get one done.
- Gifts and wishesLeaving jewellery, cars, heirlooms and cash gifts in a will, giving different gifts to different people, and recording funeral and cremation wishes.
- Blended familiesWills for second marriages and blended families: stepchildren, children from a previous relationship, grandchildren and protecting a partner and children together.
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