Cheap and free wills

You don't have to use a solicitor to write your will. But as a legal document which can be invalidated by mistakes, you want confidence your will has been properly drafted – which is where solicitors excel.

Of course, there's no guarantee they will do a good job. But using a solicitor means you have more protection if something does go wrong (which may not become apparent until years later or after you're dead).

You're protected because solicitors are regulated. Regulation means if something goes wrong which can't be resolved by the solicitor's firm, you can seek instead redress via the Legal Ombudsman (Eng, Wal), Scottish Legal Complaints Commission or Solicitors Complaints Committee (NI).

Solicitors are required to have indemnity insurance for when things go wrong, including additional cover in case the firm closes. The 'Solicitors' Indemnity Fund' also offers cover, so there is scope for compensation.

A solicitor should give you peace of mind, especially if you've complex affairs. It'll usually store your will for you too for no extra charge.

But solicitors are generally the most expensive option. Even for a simple will, solicitors can charge about £200, while more complicated wills can cost several hundred pounds. Specialist wills involving trusts or overseas property, or where you want tax advice, are likely to cost £500 upwards.

Yet there are range of ways to get a solicitor will for cheap or free...

How can I check a solicitor is regulated?

• England and Wales. Regulated solicitors and firms appear on the Solicitors Regulation Authority register (green tick, 'SRA-regulated').

• Scotland. Regulated solicitors and firms appear on the Law Society of Scotland database.

• Northern Ireland. Regulated solicitors and firms appear on the Law Society of Northern Ireland database.

Will-writing services can be a cheaper alternative to a solicitor, with prices typically starting at under £100 (or under £150 for joint wills).

They tend to be most suited to people with straightforward affairs, such as where you plan to leave everything to your spouse or children.

If your situation is more complex – your estate includes overseas assets or a business, for example – consider using a solicitor instead. A solicitor is far more likely to be able to provide the in-depth advice you'll require.

Will-writing services tend to be online-based, using digital tools to draft your will. Some have specialist staff checking the wills they produce, though expertise varies and not all will writers have legal qualifications.

There may also be an extra charge for storing your will.  

If you use a will-writing service, check if it's a member of a professional or trade body, like the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) or Society of Will Writers (SWW). These bodies have codes of practice which members have agreed to follow, and you can take complaints to them about member firms.

IPW and SWW members also have professional indemnity insurance, which can provide compensation if something goes wrong.

Note, these organisations are voluntary and not official regulators, so enforcing rules and getting redress won't necessarily be easy.

While almost all will-writing services are not regulated, there are a few exceptions – Co-op Legal Services being one. If a will-writing service happens to be regulated and something does goes wrong, you'll have access to the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Legal Ombudsman.

And some will-writing services, while not regulated themselves, employ solicitors to review wills, meaning you should have extra protection if your will is reviewed by a solicitor as opposed to a paralegal or will-writer.

If you've very simple circumstances, writing your own will using a template available online or from stationery shops can be a cheap option.

But be aware that with the DIY route you really are on your own. Nobody is responsible for your will being written correctly and there won't be anyone on hand to answer questions or provide advice – something solicitors and (to a lesser extent) will-writing services can help with.

Furthermore, if you make any mistakes, you won't get the protection you'd have with a solicitor writing your will, or the reassurance of a will-writing service potentially being part of a recognised trade body.

So while the DIY route can be cheap, you need to consider the risks that come with not having a professional solicitor or will-writer draft it for you

You can store a DIY will at home, though there's the risk it might be thrown away or damaged. See below for where else you can store a will.

Here's how to take part in Will Aid:

1. Enter your postcode on Will Aid or call 0300 0300 013 to see solicitors taking part.

2. Contact the solicitor to arrange an appointment, mentioning the Will Aid scheme.

3. You can donate via the Will Aid website and take a copy of the receipt with you.

If your affairs are complex the solicitor is likely to charge extra to cover this, though you'd still be entitled to the basic part of your will in exchange for a charity donation.

Examples of complex affairs can include:

• Providing for children from previous relationships or stepfamilies.

• Setting up a property trust.

• Setting up a trust to care for a vulnerable loved one.

• If you need Inheritance Tax advice.

• Owning property abroad.

• Wanting to make a large number of specific gifts.

• Excluding close family members from inheriting.

If your affairs are complex – you've got kids from a previous relationship or property abroad, for example – the solicitor is likely to ask you to pay extra to cover this.

The solicitor you use may offer to store your will at no extra charge. You'll also have the option to register your will for free via the National Will Register.

In the October 2025 edition, the participating charities are:

Age UK, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Breast Cancer Now, British Heart Foundation, Dogs Trust, Guide Dogs, Marie Curie, Mencap, Mind, National Trust, NSPCC, PDSA, Prostate Cancer UK, RNLI, Royal British Legion, The Salvation Army, Stroke Association, Versus Arthritis, WWF.

While the exact charity sponsoring the scheme will depend on your location, you can choose to leave a gift to any charity you like.

The charities involved pay for the solicitors' time, so consider leaving something to a charity in your will. The hope is that you will, but you're under no obligation.

Strict rules ensure wills stored by solicitors are kept safe if the firm closes down.

If a solicitor firm closes, your will would either be transferred to another solicitor or remain securely stored with the original firm / with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

With will-writing services there is no equivalent, sector-wide safeguard in place, so you should ask what would happen to your will in the event the business closes.

Many people die without leaving a will. This is known as dying 'intestate'.

What happens to your estate will then be determined by strict intestacy rules – complicating things for and even disadvantaging loved ones left behind.

Crucially, if you have a partner but are not married or in a civil partnership, dying without a will means they won't have the right to inherit anything. This applies even if you've been together decades and have several kids. 

To complicate matters further, the intestacy rules vary depending on your marital status, whether you've got children and where you live in the UK.

Select the scenario that matches your situation:

1) I'm married or in a civil partnership and don't have a will
2) I'm cohabiting and don't have a will
3) I'm single and don't have a will

To some extent, being married or in a civil partnership guarantees your partner will inherit if you die without a will – but there might be a cap on what they get.

How intestacy works exactly will depend on where the deceased lived:

England or Wales

• If you don't have children. Your entire estate will go to your surviving partner, regardless of how much it's worth.

• If you have children. The first £322,000 of your estate will go to your surviving partner. Anything above this amount will be split – half to your surviving partner and half split between your surviving children (if you've got children who are no longer alive, grandchildren inherit in their place).

Northern Ireland

• If you don't have children. The first £450,000 of the estate, plus personal possessions, go to the surviving partner. Anything above this amount is shared between the surviving partner and closest surviving blood relatives.

• If you have children. The first £250,000 of the estate, plus personal possessions, go to the surviving partner. Anything above this amount is called the 'residue' and is shared between the surviving partner and the surviving children. If there is one child, the residue is split in half. If there is more than one child, the surviving partner gets a third and the children two-thirds split equally between them. (If you've got children who are no longer alive, grandchildren inherit in their place).

Scotland 

• Rules are a little more complicated than for the rest of the UK and are dependent on how much your home is worth, how much you have in cash savings and the value of any furniture you own. Rules are further complicated by whether or not you have any surviving children.

Use this Gov.uk tool to see how intestacy rules work in more detail.

What happens to my property?

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, if you own a property with a spouse or civil partner, what happens to it if you die without a will depends on whether you owned the property as 'joint tenants' or 'tenants in common'.

• Joint tenants. Intestacy is bypassed. Ownership passes to your spouse.

• Tenants in common. Your share of the home doesn't automatically pass to your spouse, but they might still inherit depending on the intestacy rules.

In Scotland, if a survivorship clause is listed in the property's title deeds, the home passes to the named survivor automatically. If not, intestacy applies.

If you're single and die without a will, what happens to your estate will be determined by the rules of intestacy.

How intestacy works exactly will depend on where the deceased lived:

England or Wales

• If you don't have children. Your estate is shared between your surviving parents. If they're not alive, it's shared between your closest blood relatives (brothers and sisters – or nieces and nephews if they're no longer alive). If you have no surviving blood relatives, your estate will go to the Crown.

• If you have children. Your estate is shared between them (if you've got children who are no longer alive, grandchildren inherit in their place).

Northern Ireland

• If you don't have children. Your estate will be shared between your surviving parents and, if they are not alive, it will be shared between any surviving brothers or sisters. If there are none, your estate will be shared between any surviving grandparents (then surviving aunts and uncles).

• If you have children. Your estate will be shared between them (if you've got children who are no longer alive, grandchildren inherit in their place).

Scotland

• If you don't have children. Your estate will be shared between any surviving parents and siblings (where siblings have died, their children can inherit in their place). If you've not got any living siblings, your parents will inherit the entire estate. Where there are no surviving parents or siblings, the estate is shared by your closest living relatives.

• If you have children. Your estate will be shared equally between your children (grandchildren can inherit in their place if they're no longer alive).

Use this Gov.uk tool to see how intestacy rules work in more detail.

What happens to my property?

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, if you own a property, what happens to it if you die without a will depends on whether you owned alone or jointly.

• Own the property alone? The intestacy rules will apply.

• Own jointly as 'joint tenants'? Ownership passes to other joint tenant.

• Own jointly as 'tenants in common'? Intestacy rules apply to your share.

In Scotland, if a survivorship clause is listed in the property's title deeds, the home passes to the named survivor automatically. If not, intestacy applies.

If you're living with a partner but aren't married or in a civil partnership, then writing a will takes on extra importance.

Fail to leave a will – meaning you die 'intestate' and your estate is subject to intestacy rules – and your partner is unlikely to inherit anything. And don't rely on the idea of a 'common law' partner, as this is mostly meaningless in law.

This all applies even if you've been together for years and have kids.

How intestacy works exactly will depend on where the deceased lived:

England or Wales

• If you don't have children. Your estate is shared between your surviving parents. If they're not alive, it's shared between your closest blood relatives (brothers and sisters – or nieces and nephews if they're no longer alive). If you have no surviving blood relatives, your estate will go to the Crown.

• If you have children. Your estate is shared between them (if you've got children who are no longer alive, grandchildren inherit in their place).

Northern Ireland

• If you don't have children. Your estate will be shared between your surviving parents and, if they are not alive, it will be shared between any surviving brothers or sisters. If there are none, your estate will be shared between any surviving grandparents (then surviving aunts and uncles).

• If you have children. Your estate will be shared between them (if you've got children who are no longer alive, grandchildren inherit in their place).

Scotland

• If you don't have children. Your estate will be shared between any surviving parents and siblings (where siblings have died, their children can inherit in their place). If you've not got any living siblings, your parents will inherit the entire estate. Where there are no surviving parents or siblings, the estate is shared by your closest living relatives.

• If you have children. Your estate will be shared equally between your children (grandchildren can inherit in their place if they're no longer alive).

Use this Gov.uk tool to see how intestacy rules work in more detail.

What happens to my property?

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, if you own a property with your cohabiting partner, what happens to it if you die without a will depends on whether you owned the property as 'joint tenants' or 'tenants in common'.

• Joint tenants. Intestacy is bypassed. Ownership passes to your partner.

• Tenants in common. Your share of the home doesn't automatically pass to your partner, but they might still inherit depending on the intestacy rules.

In Scotland, if a survivorship clause is listed in the property's title deeds, the home passes to the named survivor automatically. If not, intestacy applies.

Many people mistakenly believe that being married or civil partnered means their spouse will automatically inherit their entire asset even without a will.

To some extent, marriage or a civil partnership does guarantee your spouse will inherit if you die without a will – but there might be a cap on what they get. Particularly if you've a large estate, dying without a will can mean part of your estate being inherited by children and grandchildren, not just your spouse.

So even if you're married and plan to leave everything to a spouse, sort a will.

Without a will, the process of your spouse inheriting your estate will also be more costly, time-consuming and stressful – a will makes this far easier.

If you live with your partner but aren't married or in a civil partnership, you may want to consider drawing up a 'cohabitation agreement' in addition to writing a will. While a will determines what happens to your assets once you die, a cohabitation agreement spells out what happens if your relationship ends.

Married and civil-partnered couples have certain legal protection, but this doesn't extend to cohabiting couples – even if you've kids together. In fact, there are only limited rights for cohabiting partners.

Unlike married couples, if you split up there is usually no legal obligation to pool your assets and divide them. If it's in your name, you own it. The rules are complex though, and things vary subtly across the UK nations:

• England and Wales: If your home is in your partner's name, you could claim 'beneficial interest' if you've paid towards the mortgage, upkeep, etc.

• Scotland: You may be able to claim some assets if you've been left worse off as a result of the relationship. For example, if you were persuaded to give up work by your partner, sell your property and move in.

• Northern Ireland: If the home belongs to your partner, you are entitled to receive back any money you can prove you've paid – such as mortgage contributions – providing there is enough equity in the property.

But if you've got a cohabitation contract, it can spell out what each partner is entitled to if you split up, avoiding complications and further heartache.

Agreements are strongest if both partners have sought legal advice and not signed under duress. There are also online templates which, as long as you've got a reasonable agreement, can be helpful (and cheaper than legal advice).

Such a set-up can also provide protection from financial abuse. For more information on what financial abuse is and how it works, see Martin's blog.

If you die, responsibility for your children automatically goes to anyone else with 'parental responsibility'. While mothers automatically have this, with fathers it can be more complicated – see the table below:

Father should see Gov.uk for help claiming parental responsibility.

People with dependent children should use a will to name a guardian for them and allocate funds for their financial support growing up (though another signed and witnessed written document will suffice).

Anyone can be appointed a guardian, as long as they're 18+ and prepared to take on the responsibility – so you don't have to choose a family member. A guardian will have a legal duty towards the child and be responsible for their education, upbringing, safety and care until the child reaches the age of 18.

If you die without a will and nobody else has parental responsibility, it'll be up to the courts to decide who takes care of your children.

More than half of UK adults (54%) don't have guardianship arrangements in place for their children, according to Will Aid.

It's a myth that debts die with you. While true to an extent, it's more complex.

Credit card, loan and mortgage balances come out of your estate before your beneficiaries get the money. If you've no assets, the debts will be written off.

Here are three simple examples to help explain it:

• £100,000 debts, no assets. You've nothing to leave. The debts are wiped.

• £40,000 debts, own a £200,000 home. Debts need to be repaid or cleared by the estate before the home can be passed on to beneficiaries.

• £120,000 debts, own a £100,000 home. Debts need clearing first. Your beneficiary could repay and keep hold of the home, but this means taking on the extra debt. Or they could sell the home and repay from the sale.

For further details on how debts are treated, see Gov.uk.

You can, but it's not the same sort of will. Everyone should consider having something which says who should look after their finances if they become unable to do it themselves due to dementia, mental illness or something else.

A living will / advance decision specifies the level of medical treatment you'll receive if you're incapacitated and can't communicate. For example, you can specify not to be resuscitated if your heart stops. This is legally binding.

Another option, for example if you are in the early stages of a degenerative disease, is to set up a lasting Power of Attorney. There are two types – one for your health, one for your financial affairs. You can make one type or both.

If you've no living will or lasting Power of Attorney and you become incapacitated, responsibility for your estate will pass to the Government. If you've nothing in place, your family will need to apply for a court order – which can take months to process – to get back in control of your estate.

You can read more about this in our Power of Attorney guide.

Like other assets, digital assets should be treated as part of your estate.

You can use a will to state what should happen to them after you die. If you don't, they'll be distributed according to intestacy rules. Digital assets include:

• Photos and videos

• Cryptocurrencies

• Loyalty points

• Music files

• Websites

• Important online documents

If you're on social media, you can use a will to state what you'd like to happen to your accounts and profiles after you die – for example, have them closed.

See our How to prepare your digital life for when you die blog for more info.

You can't casually amend your will after it's been signed and witnessed. If you want to change it in future, you'll have two options:

1. Fill in a codicil. 

2. Write a brand new will.

Codicils should only be used for minor changes or updates to your will. A codicil document needs to be signed, witnessed and kept with your will.

If the changes are major, you should write a brand new will. It should state it revokes all previous versions of your will. Then destroy copies of the old will.

If you use a solicitor to add a codicil, you'll have to pay legal fees – though these will be cheaper than for a new will. With will-writing services, they tend to levy a small annual fee if you want the ability to add a codicil to your will.

Thinking about how to provide for a loved one with a learning disability after your death often requires careful thought.

Depending on their intellectual and social functioning capability, using a will to leave a loved one money and assets may not be the best solution.

Rather, you may prefer to set up a 'trust' alongside your will. Here, one or more 'trustees' are given legal responsibility for managing money / assets left behind for the trust's beneficiaries (like somebody with a learning disability).

You can also write an 'expression of wishes' form. This can be used to tell the trustees how you'd like your money and assets to be used and how you'd prefer your loved one to be looked after (though this isn't legally binding).

To complicate matters further, trusts come in different forms. Each can have tax implications, plus they can impact your loved one's entitlement to benefits.

You may want to discuss your situation with an expert. A good place to start is the learning disability charity Mencap – it's got free resources, including:

• A useful factsheet with more on how trusts work and how to set one up.

• Telephone, email and webinar support. See Mencap wills and trusts page.

Alternatively, seek legal advice via the Law Society's Find a Solicitor tool.

If using a will-writing service or DIYing your will, there'll likely be a clause in the terms and conditions which concerns 'liability'. This limits – or rules out – how much compensation a firm will pay out if something goes with the will.

With will-writing services, it's more likely liability will be limited than excluded. For example, Farewill caps the amount it'll pay in compensation at £1,000. 

With DIY services, liability is likely to be excluded entirely (so it won't pay out).

Bear this in mind if considering a will-writing service, particularly one that's not part of a professional or trade body (which tend to have compensation pots).

While these options can offer cheap ways of writing your will, it can be very costly if something goes wrong, such as a will being contested. Losses arising from an incorrectly drafted could be £1,000s, £10,000s or even £100,000s.

You may be able to change someone's will after they've died, though only if any beneficiaries left worse off by the change agree to it.

Reasons for changing a will include reducing the amount of Inheritance Tax or Capital Gains Tax due and adding a beneficiary originally left out of the will.

To do this a 'deed of variation' needs to be written within two years of death. 

More information about changing a will after death can be found on Gov.uk.

If someone dies with no will or known family, their property passes to the Crown as ownerless property ('bona vacantia' in legalese).

The Government has a list of these unclaimed estates. If you're a relative of someone whose estate is unclaimed, you may be entitled to a share.

For more information about making a claim on an estate, see Gov.uk.

If you've got a spouse or partner, one option is to draw up 'mirror' wills. A mirror will is the most common form of will for a couple.

Here, while you both get your own will, the two wills 'mirror' each other. In other words, they express near identical wishes.

This might be suitable if you've simple circumstances and very similar wishes. For example, you and your partner want to leave everything to the other, then to pass it all to the children you share together once you're both dead.

But if your and your partner's wishes vary, a mirror will may not be appropriate.

Are there any risks to having a mirror will?

One risk of drawing up mirror wills is that it's possible to update and replace a will. So after you die there's nothing stopping your partner from changing their will – and if they do there's no guarantee it'll reflect your original joint wishes.

A possible consequence is your beneficiaries being written out of a new will.

Let's say you and your partner have children from previous relationships. Even if you use mirror wills to state everything should pass equally between all your children after you've both died, it's possible for your partner to write your children (their stepchildren) out of a new will after you've died.

If you've got children from past relationships and you're not sure how best to look after them in your will, it's worth seeking legal advice.

A 'mutual' will is one option for couples and spouses, though most opt for mirror wills or individual wills instead.

A mutual will is an agreement between two people which becomes legally binding for the remainder of their lives, meaning it can't be deviated from even after the first death (regardless of what happens to the survivor afterwards).

Let's say you use a mutual will to leave everything to each other, with it all then passing to your children. If your spouse finds a new partner or remarries after you die, they would still be bound by the original mutual will – so even if they later wrote a new will, this would still need to honour the mutual will.

Because of this inflexibility, solicitors don't tend to recommend mutual wills.

Generally, a will written in England or Wales will be recognised in Scotland, and a will written in Scotland will be recognised in England or Wales.

But the will must first be considered valid in the country it was written (and the definition of valid varies between England/Wales and Scotland).

Furthermore, as there are different legal rights in Scotland when it comes to wills and inheritance than in England and Wales, this can impact how far the wishes in your will can be carried out (for example, you can't completely disinherit children in Scotland, but can in England and Wales).

So if you permanently move between England/Wales and Scotland and you've an existing will, it's worth seeking legal advice to check it's still effective.

If major life changes have happened since you wrote the will (divorce, kids, marriage, etc), it's worth writing a new will in your current country of residence.

You can absolutely provide for your pets in your will. However, there are different ways to do this, so you need to think about which option is best.

Importantly, do note you can't leave part or all of your estate directly to a pet, so you can't use your will to say 'I leave £10,000 to Bert my Bichon Frise'. This is because pets are treated as 'chattel' or property in UK law.

Yet there are other ways to use a will to ensure your pets are cared for:

• Choose a pet guardian. You can use your will to nominate a pet guardian (somebody to look after your pet after you die), such as a loved one or an animal charity. It's sensible to get their permission before nominating them.
  

• Leave money for your pet's care. If you've used your will to nominate a pet guardian (and even if you haven't), you can also use your will to leave them money that should specifically be used for the care of your pet.
  

• Create a 'pet trust'. Trusts can be set up so there's a specific pot of cash for the long-term care of your pet, including instructions of how your pet should be cared for. Trusts can be part of your will, or separate to it.

If you have a will but don't include provisions in it for your pet, when you die your pet will pass to the beneficiaries named in your will (so if you're leaving all of your estate to your kids, your pet will also pass to your kids).

Not got a will? The rules of intestacy will determine what happens to your pet.