What Should a Will Include?

The legal requirements for a valid will

A will is a legal document, and the law is unforgiving about its formal requirements. Under the Wills Act 1837 (which still governs English and Welsh law), a will is only valid if:

You are aged 18 or over (with a narrow exception for armed forces personnel on active service)
You have testamentary capacity — meaning you understand what you own, who your natural heirs are, and the effect of making the will, with no mental impairment affecting your judgment
You have testamentary intention — you genuinely intend the document to be your will
The will is in writing (handwritten or typed — both are valid)
You sign it in the presence of two independent witnesses who are both present at the same time
Both witnesses sign in your presence
Neither witness (nor their spouse or civil partner) can be a beneficiary — if they are, the gift to them fails, though the will itself remains valid

NOTE

Scotland has its own law of succession under the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 and operates differently from England and Wales — notably in the rights of spouses and children to claim shares of the estate regardless of what the will says. If you are domiciled in Scotland, ensure your will is prepared under Scots law.

Appointing executors

Your executors are the people legally responsible for administering your estate after you die. They apply for probate (the legal authority to deal with your assets), collect in everything you own, pay your debts and taxes, and distribute what remains to your beneficiaries.

Choosing the right executor is one of the most important decisions you make in your will.

How many executors should you appoint?

You can appoint up to four executors. Most people appoint two — so that if one dies or is unable to act, the other can still proceed. It is sensible to also name a substitute executor in case your primary choices are unable or unwilling to act when the time comes.

Who can be an executor?

Any adult with mental capacity can act as executor. Common choices include:

A spouse or civil partner
An adult child
A trusted friend
A solicitor or professional adviser (who will charge fees from the estate)

Important

An executor can also be a beneficiary — this is entirely common and creates no legal problem. However, an executor who is also a major beneficiary must be scrupulously careful to act in the interests of all beneficiaries, not just themselves.

Professional executors: If your estate is complex — significant assets, overseas property, a business, or a trust — appointing a professional executor or co-executor alongside a family member is worth considering. The professional brings expertise; the family member brings knowledge of your wishes and personal circumstances.

Appointing guardians for children

If you have children under 18, appointing a guardian in your will is arguably the most important thing you can do. Without a named guardian, the courts decide who cares for your children — a process that is distressing, slow, and may not produce the outcome you would have chosen.

What does a guardian do?

A testamentary guardian has parental responsibility for your children after both parents have died. They make decisions about where the children live, their education, healthcare, and upbringing.

Key considerations

Discuss the role with your chosen guardian before naming them — do not assume
Consider naming a substitute guardian in case your first choice cannot act
Geographic practicality matters: a guardian who lives 300 miles away may need to move, or your children may need to
If you have children from a previous relationship, guardianship can become complex where the other parent survives — take professional advice

Note

A guardian appointment in your will does not automatically give the guardian control of your children’s money. Financial management of assets held for minor children is the executor’s role, or a trustee’s if you have set up a trust. Separating these roles is often wise.

Specific gifts and bequests

A specific gift (or legacy) is a named item or sum of money left to a named person or organisation.

Types of gift

Pecuniary legacy — a fixed sum of money (e.g. “£5,000 to my nephew James”)
Specific legacy — a particular item (e.g. “my diamond ring to my daughter Sarah”)
Demonstrative legacy — a sum from a specific source (e.g. “£10,000 from my Barclays account”)
Charitable legacy — a gift to a charity, which also has IHT advantages (see Guide 2)

Practical tips for specific gifts

Describe items precisely — “my car” is ambiguous if you own two
Include a substitute beneficiary in case your primary choice dies before you
Be aware that if you no longer own an item when you die (having sold it, given it away, or it was destroyed), the gift simply fails — the beneficiary receives nothing. This is called ademption
For cash legacies, consider whether you want them to be index-linked to maintain value

EXAMPLE

Margaret leaves “£10,000 to my friend Dorothy Hines of 14 Elm Street, Norwich.” Dorothy dies two years before Margaret. Because Margaret’s will names no substitute, the £10,000 falls back into the residuary estate and is distributed accordingly. Had the will said “£10,000 to Dorothy Hines, or if she shall predecease me, to her daughter Susan Hines,” Susan would have received the gift.

The residuary estate

After all specific gifts have been made, debts and taxes paid, and funeral expenses met, what remains is your residuary estate. Your will should clearly state who receives this — typically a spouse, civil partner, children, or a combination.

Ready to put this in writing?

Start your will online in minutes – backed by qualified advisers.

Start my will

A well-drafted residuary clause includes:

Who receives the residue (primary beneficiary or beneficiaries)
In what shares if there are multiple beneficiaries
What happens if a beneficiary dies before you (substitution)
What happens if all beneficiaries predecease you (ultimate gifts)

Watch out

Without a valid residuary clause, any assets not covered by specific gifts pass under the rules of intestacy — as if you had no will at all. This is one of the most common and costly mistakes in poorly drafted wills.

Trusts within a will

A will trust (or testamentary trust) comes into existence on your death and is managed by trustees for the benefit of your chosen beneficiaries.

When are will trusts useful?

Minor children: Assets cannot be passed directly to children under 18. A trust holds the assets until they reach the specified age
Vulnerable beneficiaries: A disabled adult child or a beneficiary with addiction issues may benefit from a discretionary trust rather than an outright gift
Protecting assets from a second marriage: A life interest trust allows your spouse to benefit during their lifetime while ensuring the remainder passes to your children on the second death
IHT planning: Certain trust structures can be effective in reducing the inheritance tax burden on your estate (see Guide 2)
Business succession: Relevant property trusts and other structures for business owners (see Guide 3)

Trustees can be the same people as your executors, but the roles are legally distinct.

Funeral wishes

Your will can express your wishes about your funeral — burial or cremation, religious or secular service, organ donation, and so on.

Watch out

A will is often not read until after the funeral has taken place. Your funeral wishes in your will are not legally binding on your executors — they are guidance only. Make sure your executors and close family know your wishes during your lifetime, and consider a separate Letter of Wishes kept with your will.

Digital assets and online accounts

This is one of the most commonly overlooked areas of modern will-drafting.

Your digital estate may include:

Online bank and investment accounts
Cryptocurrency and digital wallets
PayPal and online payment accounts
Intellectual property stored digitally (photographs, written work, music)
Social media accounts (Facebook’s Memorialisation, for example)
Subscription services
Domain names and websites
Loyalty points and air miles (check whether these are transferable — many are not)

What to include in your will

A reference to a secure record of your digital assets (not the passwords themselves — keep those separately and securely)
An instruction to your executors on how to handle each type of digital asset
A note about any cryptocurrency, including where private keys are held (lost crypto cannot be recovered)

Never put passwords in yout will

Wills become public documents once probate is granted. Store access information in a secure password manager or physical document kept separately, and tell your executors where to find it.

Pets

Pets are legally classified as property, and you can leave them to a named person in your will. However, consider:

Has the intended recipient agreed to take the pet?
Can they afford the ongoing costs (especially relevant for horses, large dogs, or exotic animals)?
What happens if the named person cannot take the pet?
Some people leave a sum of money alongside the pet to cover care costs

What happens if you leave something out?

If your will does not address a particular asset, that asset passes under the rules of intestacy — regardless of what you may have intended. The intestacy rules distribute your estate in a fixed order: spouse/civil partner, then children, then other relatives — and they take no account of your personal wishes, your relationships, or your tax position.

Unmarried partners receive nothing under intestacy — a fact that shocks many people when they discover it. A cohabiting partner of 30 years has no automatic right to your estate if you die without a valid will.

How often should you update your will?

You should review your will whenever any of the following occurs:

Marriage or civil partnership — in England and Wales, marriage automatically revokes an existing will unless it was made specifically in contemplation of that marriage
Divorce — gifts to an ex-spouse and appointments of them as executor are automatically revoked, but the rest of the will stands
Birth of a child or grandchild
Death of a beneficiary or executor
Significant change in your assets (property purchase, sale of a business, receiving an inheritance)
Change in your wishes
Change in tax law — particularly IHT thresholds and reliefs, which are subject to Budget changes

As a general rule, review your will every three to five years even if nothing has obviously changed.

Frequently asked questions

No. A will does not need to be witnessed by a solicitor. It requires two independent adult witnesses who are present at the same time when you sign. However, a solicitor-drafted will does reduce the risk of errors that could invalidate the document or cause disputes later.

Yes. A handwritten (holographic) will is valid in England and Wales provided it meets all the formal requirements under the Wills Act 1837, including being signed and witnessed correctly. However, home-made wills are a significant source of probate disputes and errors.

A Letter of Wishes is an informal document that sits alongside your will. Unlike the will, it is not legally binding, but it gives your executors and trustees guidance on matters such as how you would like discretionary trust funds used, your funeral preferences, and personal messages to loved ones. It is not a legal requirement but can be enormously helpful.

Yes, and doing so can reduce your IHT liability. If you leave at least 10% of your net estate to charity, the IHT rate on the remainder of your estate reduces from 40% to 36%. See our Guide to Inheritance Tax for full details.

Your will remains valid but may need to be reviewed in light of the law of the country you move to, any assets you hold overseas, and your domicile status for UK IHT purposes. See our Guide to UK Wills with Overseas Assets.

In England and Wales (unlike some other legal systems), there is no absolute right for children to inherit. However, adult children, step-children, and others who were financially dependent on you can apply to the court under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision from your estate. You cannot simply disinherit a dependent child without risk of a claim.

Contact

Phone

What Should a

Will Include?