--- title: "How to make a will UK" description: "How to make a will in the UK: online in 15 minutes for £35, or a free template. Signing, cost, and when a solicitor is required." url: "https://swiftwill.co.uk/how-to-make-a-will/" author: "Marcus Kaiser" date_modified: "2026-08-22" --- # How to make a will UK Make a will online in about 15 minutes for a one-time £35, print it, and sign it with two independent witnesses in one room. That ceremony is section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 — who drafted the document does not matter. England and Wales only. Skip an online will writing service if you need tax planning, trusts, foreign assets or expect a dispute. > SwiftWill provides legal information and software for England & Wales under Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837. Figures are taken from gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk and HMCTS, checked 12 August 2026. We have not given you legal advice — this is general information. In short How to make a will in the UK, for England and Wales: write your wishes, print the paper, sign it in wet ink with two independent witnesses present together. You can make a will online for £35, download a free template if everything goes to one person, or instruct a solicitor if the estate is complex. Start today. An unsigned file protects nobody. Making a will is not a reserved legal activity. Validity is the signing ceremony in [section 9 of the Wills Act 1837](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26/section/9) , not letterhead. The government overview is [gov.uk/make-will](https://www.gov.uk/make-will) . SwiftWill is an online will UK writing service: document-preparation software, not a law firm, not legal advice. Around 54–60% of UK adults have no will. Without one, intestacy decides who inherits: an unmarried partner gets nothing; stepchildren get nothing unless adopted. Make a will online this week if your estate is straightforward. Skip SwiftWill if you need tax planning, trusts, foreign assets or expect a dispute. Checked 22 August 2026. ## How do you make a will in the UK at a glance? Make a will in the UK (England and Wales) by putting wishes in writing and signing with two witnesses in one room. Online, that is about 15 minutes of questions plus the ceremony. SwiftWill costs £35 once. A solicitor is not required for a straightforward estate. Scotland and Northern Ireland are not covered. - £35 One-time price to make a will online with SwiftWill. Mirror wills £55. Free updates for life — not £10 a year. - ~15 min Guided interview. Then print and sign. No 3–5 day review queue. - 2 witnesses Independent adults, both present together. Wet ink. That is the whole of section 9. - 54–60% of UK adults have no will. Sources and ranges: [UK will statistics](/uk-will-statistics/). ## How do you make a will in the UK? How to make a will in the UK, in England and Wales: write your wishes, print the document, and sign it in wet ink while two independent adult witnesses watch, then each of them signs in your presence. You can do that through an online interview (£35 with SwiftWill), a free template if everything goes to one person, or a solicitor if the estate is complex. Scotland and Northern Ireland need different documents — do not use ours there. People search “how to make a will UK” as if there were one national ceremony. There is not. England and Wales follow the Wills Act 1837. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own will law. SwiftWill screens addresses before payment and will not sell you a document for those jurisdictions. If that is you, read [Scotland and Northern Ireland](/scotland/) and stop here. You do not need a solicitor, a notary or a stamp. Will writing is not a reserved legal activity under the Legal Services Act 2007. What you do need is a document that is actually executed. Studies of homemade wills suggest 20 to 30 per cent fail on signing errors — one witness, witnesses on different days, a beneficiary watching you sign. Paying more for the PDF does not fix a bad ceremony. The [signing guide](/how-to-sign-a-will/) is the page that decides validity. Three honest routes. A blank sheet or stationery-shop form: legal, and easy to get wrong. A [free will template](/free-will-template/): structure without judgement, only for “everything to one person, no children under 18”. An online will writing service: questions, a structured document, a witnessing card. A solicitor: the right tool for tax, trusts, foreign assets, blended-family protection or a likely dispute. Make a will online this week if the first three fit. Instruct a firm if they do not. ## How do you make a will online? To make a will online, answer a guided set of questions, download a personalised PDF, print it, and complete the same two-witness signing as any other will. SwiftWill delivers instantly after a one-time £35 payment — no review queue and no £10-a-year update subscription. Skip this route if you cannot gather two witnesses in one room; an unsigned PDF protects nobody. “Make a will online” is also a competitor brand name. The search is still a how-to: generate a document, then execute it. Generation is the easy part. Execution is wet ink in one room. Electronic signatures are not valid for wills in England and Wales today. The COVID-19 video-witnessing easement ended on 31 January 2022. The Law Commission’s draft Wills Bill (16 May 2025) proposes electronic wills; it is not yet law. Track it at the [Wills Bill tracker](/wills-bill-tracker/) and sign on paper until Parliament acts. Save and return during the interview. After payment, the PDF and a witnessing card land in the browser and in email. Print the final version, not a draft. Staples and pins on the original are a bad habit — they suggest missing pages later. Store the wet-ink original; tell your executors where it is; never use a bank safe-deposit box, because probate needs the will before the box can be opened. Storage detail: [where to store a will](/where-to-store-a-will/). Who may watch you sign: [who can witness a will](/who-can-witness-a-will/). A beneficiary who witnesses keeps the will valid but loses their gift under section 15. Neighbours, colleagues and friends who inherit nothing are the safer habit. ## What is an online will UK service? An online will UK service prepares an England and Wales will through a website instead of a solicitor appointment. The document is as legal as a solicitor-drafted will if it is signed correctly. What differs is price, speed, update fees, and whether anyone screens you away from the wrong tool. SwiftWill is £35, instant, England and Wales only, with an honesty gate before payment. Online will UK searches mix two questions: “is this legal?” and “which provider?”. Legality is settled by section 9, not by brand. Provider differences are headline price, whether delivery waits for a human review, whether updates cost £10 a year, and what else is sold around the will — storage, executor appointments, funeral plans. SwiftWill does none of those. Comparison pages name what Farewill, Make a Will Online, Co-op and FreeWills genuinely do well before they name the difference. Start at [compare UK online will services](/compare/). A well-run online will UK service should refuse you. Inheritance-tax planning, trusts, business or foreign property, a life-interest for children from a previous relationship, excluding a dependant, capacity doubts, or a likely dispute are solicitor territory. We would rather lose the sale. The same nine gates run in the interview. Full list: [do I need a solicitor for a will?](/do-i-need-a-solicitor-for-a-will/) Validity explainer: [is an online will legal?](/is-an-online-will-legal/) Recourse is not the Legal Ombudsman unless an SRA-regulated solicitor reviewed that document. SwiftWill carries £2m professional indemnity insurance and IPW membership, and offers an optional £25 review by an SRA-regulated solicitor. That add-on is how you get Ombudsman recourse on a reviewed will. The base £35 product is software plus information. Read that on [about SwiftWill](/about/) before you pay. ## What is involved in writing a will? Writing a will means choosing executors, saying who inherits (including substitutes), naming guardians for children under 18, and disposing of the residuary estate — then executing the document. The words must be clear enough that an executor can follow them years later. Vague gifts and a missing residue clause are why homemade drafts fail even when the signing is perfect. Writing a will is decisions, then wording. Executors collect assets, pay debts and distribute what remains. Name at least one substitute. Guardians only matter if a child is under 18 and nobody with parental responsibility survives you; ask them first. Specific gifts (“my piano to Sam”) sit outside the residue. The residue is usually where the house and the savings actually go. Percentages must add to 100. “My children” in law does not include stepchildren — name them. Parents: [writing a will with children](/writing-a-will-with-children/). Common writing failures are not exotic. “My house” when you own two. No substitute beneficiary, so a gift dies with the first choice. No residuary clause, so the leftover follows intestacy. A will made before a wedding, then forgotten — marriage revokes a will in England and Wales unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage. [Does marriage revoke a will?](/does-marriage-revoke-a-will/) Divorce does not revoke, but treats an ex as having died. Update after both. A letter of wishes is not a will. It guides executors and guardians; it is not binding. A codicil is a witnessed amendment. A fresh will that revokes the old one is cleaner, and with SwiftWill it is free. DIY writing is legal — see [can I write my own will?](/can-i-write-my-own-will/) — and it is where ambiguous sentences live. A guided interview exists to stop those sentences, not to make the signing optional. ## How do you start making a will in the UK? Start making a will in the UK by confirming you live in England or Wales, then listing who should act as executor, who should inherit, and who should raise children under 18. Making a will takes about 15 minutes online once those names are in your head. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, use a service written for that law — SwiftWill will stop you before payment. Making a will UK-wide is a search, not a single statute. The practical start is a notebook, not a payment screen: full legal names, addresses, who gets what, who is backup, where the original will live. Unmarried couples should not skip this. There is no common-law marriage in England and Wales. A partner of thirty years inherits nothing on intestacy. Mirror wills at £55 are the simple protection — [wills for unmarried couples](/will-for-unmarried-couples/). If you own a home as joint tenants, the share usually passes by survivorship and never reaches the will. Tenants in common is different: your share follows the will or intestacy. Making a will still covers everything that is not joint — bank accounts in one name, personal belongings, digital assets, the residue. Property situations: [property owned with a partner](/scenarios/i-own-property-with-my-partner/). Then pick the tool. Straightforward estate: make a will online. Simplest possible plan: free template. Sharp edges: solicitor. Do not wait for the Wills Bill. There is no timetable. Dying in the gap means the [intestacy rules](/intestacy-rules/) decide everything. ## What does writing a will in the UK require by law? Writing a will in the UK, for England and Wales, requires a written document that you intend to be your will, signed in wet ink, with two witnesses present together who then each sign in your presence. You must be 18 or over and have testamentary capacity. No notary, no solicitor, and no electronic signature. The draft Wills Bill (16 May 2025) proposes electronic wills; it is not yet law. Capacity is the *Banks v Goodfellow* test: understand you are making a will, the extent of the property, and the claims you ought to consider. If capacity might later be challenged — illness, pressure, a sudden change that cuts out a dependant — that is the “golden rule”: a medical assessment and a solicitor’s file. An online will writing service is the wrong product there. We say so before you pay. Special attestation is required if the person making the will is blind, illiterate, or does not read English: the clause must record that the will was read over and understood. Do not improvise that clause from a standard PDF. Use a solicitor. Writing a will UK searchers sometimes want a “UK will” that covers a Spanish flat or a Scottish croft. Foreign immovable property follows local law. A standard England and Wales online will is the wrong tool. That is one of the nine gates. ## How much does a will cost in the UK? How much does a will cost in the UK ranges from free charity schemes (age or month limits, often a legacy expectation) to £300 or more at a solicitor. Online services run from about £10 to £250; many then charge around £10 a year for updates. SwiftWill is £35 once with free updates for life. Pay a solicitor if you need tax planning, trusts or expect a dispute. The useful number is ten-year cost, not headline price. Farewill at £100 plus nine years of £10 updates is £190 or more. Make a Will Online at £60 plus nine years at £10 is £150. SwiftWill is £35. Those figures assume one update a year, which is how often a will should actually change after children, a house, a marriage, a death. Prices checked July 2026 from each provider’s published page. The full table lives on [how much does a will cost in the UK](/will-cost/) — this hub will not duplicate twenty rows. A £9.99 will can be valid. Validity is drafting plus signing, not the receipt. The risk at the bottom of the market is thin support and weak accountability if something is unclear. Check professional indemnity insurance, a money-back guarantee, independent reviews and a witnessing card. SwiftWill publishes a 30-day refund at [/refunds/](/refunds/) and £2m PI cover. That is policy, not a badge farm. Mirror wills for a couple should never cost near double a single will. SwiftWill is £55 for both. A high-street pair is often £245 or more. See [mirror wills](/mirror-wills/). The solicitor fee is money well spent when the estate is not straightforward — that is the next heading but one. ## Are free wills a good option? Free wills can be legally valid. Charity schemes (Free Wills Month, Will Aid) and FreeWills.co.uk are genuine routes. The catch is rarely the document: it is eligibility windows, a hoped-for charitable gift, or a later executor upsell that can cost the estate thousands — MoneySavingExpert warns against professional-executor cross-sells. A SwiftWill free template only fits “everything to one person, no children under 18”. Free Wills Month runs in March and October for over-55s, through participating local solicitors. Appointments go quickly. A charitable legacy is expected, though not obligatory. Will Aid runs in November with a suggested donation of £120 for a single will or £200 for a pair. Those are solicitor-drafted documents. They are slow compared with an online download, and they are a real public good when the window is open. FreeWills.co.uk is free year-round, funded by charity legacies. That model has pledged hundreds of millions to charities. Read what you agree to around the PDF. Some free services cross-sell a professional executor (for example Kings Court Trust) whose fees can run to thousands, deducted from what you leave. SwiftWill never names itself executor and never sells probate. Comparison: [SwiftWill vs FreeWills](/compare/swiftwill-vs-freewills/). Our own free wills offer is a template, not a charity scheme. Download: [free will template UK](/free-will-template/). If you have children, substitutes, several gifts or exclusions, pay £35 for a personalised will instead of stretching a one-beneficiary form. ## What is a will writing service? A will writing service prepares wills as its product. In England and Wales that work is not a reserved legal activity under the Legal Services Act 2007, so a service does not have to be a law firm. SwiftWill is an online will writing service in that commercial sense: document-preparation software and legal information, £2m professional indemnity insurance, IPW membership — not legal advice, and not a solicitor. Complex estates still belong with an SRA-regulated firm. “Will writing service” is the commercial query. People mean: someone other than a high-street partner will produce a document I can sign. That someone can be a membership body will-writer, an online platform, or a law firm’s fixed-fee product. Co-op Legal Services is an SRA-regulated firm — a different category, at about £150, with Legal Ombudsman recourse. That extra regulation is worth paying for when you need advice. It is not what makes a straightforward will “more legal”. [SwiftWill vs Co-op](/compare/swiftwill-vs-co-op/). Institute of Professional Willwriters membership is a conduct and insurance framework, not a practising certificate. We state that on every page because implying we are solicitors would be a trust defect. Optional solicitor review is labelled as such. The disclaimer is at [/disclaimer/](/disclaimer/). If you wanted a will writing service that stores the original, names itself executor, or sells a funeral plan at checkout, that is not us. Those products exist. They are how some £0 and £10 headlines are funded. Read the around-the-will model before you name anyone as executor. ## What happens if you die without making a will? If you die without making a will in England and Wales, the intestacy rules distribute the estate — not your wishes. A spouse with children takes personal belongings, the first £322,000 (in force since 26 July 2023) and half the remainder; the children share the other half. An unmarried partner inherits nothing. Stepchildren inherit nothing unless adopted. That formula is why making a will is not a luxury. A married couple with children and a house can still force a sale or leave a spouse cash-poor because half the residue goes to the children, including adult children. A cohabiting partner has no automatic share, however long the relationship, even with children together. They may later claim under the Inheritance Act 1975 — expensive, slow, uncertain. A £35 will is cheaper and kinder. Without a will there is also no chosen executor and no chosen guardian. The person entitled under intestacy applies for letters of administration. A court decides who raises children under 18 if nobody with parental responsibility survives. Walk the rules: [intestacy flowchart](/tools/intestacy-flowchart/). Narrative: [intestacy rules UK](/intestacy-rules/). Who should skip worrying about intestacy: anyone with a signed, witnessed will that still matches their life. The usual trap is marrying after the will was made. Everyone else on this page should make a will, not hope the formula is close enough. ## How long does making a will take? Making a will online with SwiftWill takes about 15 minutes of questions if you already know your executors, gifts and residue, then about 15 minutes in a room with two witnesses. There is no review queue. A solicitor will is days to weeks. Charity free wills wait on an appointment window. The will is not valid until it is signed. The delay that actually matters is not the interview. It is gathering two independent adults at the same time. Neighbours after work is enough. Do not split the ceremony across Monday and Tuesday. Do not use a beneficiary. Print the [signing checklist](/tools/signing-checklist/) and treat it as a script. Updates are part of the time cost. Providers that charge £10 a year are pricing the decade, not the evening. SwiftWill updates are free for life: log in, change answers, download, re-sign. The new will’s revocation clause cancels the old one. Destroy the previous original. ## How do you sign after you make a will online? After you make a will online, print the PDF, gather two independent adults in one room, sign in wet ink while both watch, then each witness signs in your presence and adds name, address and occupation. Date it. That is section 9 of the Wills Act 1837. Video calls and e-signatures do not count. Skip this if you cannot get two witnesses together. Every SwiftWill includes a witnessing card because this is where homemade wills die. The ceremony is the same for a £35 online will and a £300 solicitor will. Full steps, attestation clause, and the mistakes that void a gift or a document: [how to sign a will](/how-to-sign-a-will/). After signing, only the wet-ink original is the will. Email PDFs help executors find instructions; they are not the document a probate registry wants. Tell the people you named. Making a will online is unfinished until that conversation happens. ## Can a couple make wills together? A couple cannot share one will. Each person making a will in the UK signs their own. Mirror wills are two matching documents — typically everything to each other, then to the same people — at £55 for both with SwiftWill, instant, free updates. They are not binding on the survivor. Skip them if you need a life-interest trust for children from a previous relationship. Both spouses need a will even when everything is jointly owned. Intestacy with children does not leave the survivor the whole estate. Unmarried couples need this more, not less. [Do both spouses need a will?](/do-both-spouses-need-a-will/) Second marriages with children from an earlier relationship are where “everything to my new spouse” quietly disinherits the first family. That is solicitor work, not an online mirror pair. [Second marriage with children](/scenarios/second-marriage-with-children/). ## What does making a will include on SwiftWill? Making a will with SwiftWill includes executors and substitutes, guardians, specific gifts, residue, trusts for children until 18, 21 or 25, funeral wishes, pets and digital assets provisions, a section 9 attestation clause, and a witnessing card. One £35 price. No storage upsell, no executor appointment, no funeral plan at checkout. Digital assets still need a separate inventory. Passwords do not belong in the will — wills can become public after probate. [Digital legacy](/digital-legacy/). ## When should you skip an online will writing service? Skip an online will writing service — including SwiftWill — if you need inheritance-tax planning, a trust, business or foreign assets, a life-interest arrangement for children from a previous relationship, to exclude a dependant, special attestation (blind, illiterate, or the will is not in English), or you expect a dispute. We would rather lose the sale. The same nine gates run in the interview before you pay. The nil-rate band is £325,000, frozen until at least April 2031, plus up to £175,000 residence nil-rate band where a home passes to direct descendants. Estates near those bands with planning needs belong with a solicitor, not a £35 PDF. Figures: HMRC guidance on [gov.uk/inheritance-tax](https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax) . Find a solicitor through the Law Society directory. Take the checklist from [do I need a solicitor for a will?](/do-i-need-a-solicitor-for-a-will/) so the first meeting is the right meeting. If none of the nine gates apply, make a will online. ## The verdict: should you make a will this week? Yes, if you live in England or Wales, your estate is straightforward, and you can gather two independent witnesses. Make a will online, print it, sign it, tell your executors where the original is. Who should wait: anyone who needs a solicitor on the list above, and anyone who cannot complete the signing ceremony. An unsigned draft is not a will. How to make a will in the UK is a short legal ceremony plus a set of clear wishes. The rest is product choice. SwiftWill is £35, instant, free updates, no upsells. Start at [/start/](/start/) . This page: [/how-to-make-a-will/](/how-to-make-a-will/) . If a solicitor is the right tool, go there instead — we will say so before you pay. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I make a will in the UK? In England and Wales: put your wishes in writing, print the document, and sign it in wet ink with two independent witnesses present together. You can make a will online in about 15 minutes for £35, use a free template if everything goes to one person, or instruct a solicitor if you need tax planning or trusts. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different law — do not use an England and Wales document there. ### How do I make a will online? Answer plain-English questions, pay once, download the PDF, print it, and sign with two witnesses in one room. SwiftWill is an online will UK service at £35 with free updates for life. Validity comes from the signing ceremony, not from who generated the file. An unsigned download is not a will. ### What is an online will UK service? A website that prepares an England and Wales will instead of a solicitor appointment. The will is as legal as a solicitor-drafted one if it is signed correctly under section 9 of the Wills Act 1837. What differs is price, speed, update fees, and whether the service tells you to stop when you need a solicitor. ### What is involved in writing a will? Choosing executors, saying who inherits (with substitutes), naming guardians for children under 18, disposing of the residue, then executing the document. Vague gifts and a missing residuary clause are why homemade drafts fail even when the signing is perfect. ### How do I start making a will in the UK? Confirm you live in England or Wales. List who should act, who should inherit, and who should raise children under 18. Then make a will online, use a template, or book a solicitor. Unmarried partners inherit nothing without a will. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, use a service written for that law. ### What does writing a will in the UK require by law? For England and Wales: a written document you intend to be your will, signed in wet ink, with two witnesses present together who then each sign in your presence. You must be 18 or over and have testamentary capacity. No notary. No electronic signature. The draft Wills Bill is not yet law. ### How much does a will cost in the UK? From free charity schemes (with restrictions) to £300 or more at a solicitor. Paid online wills start around £10. Many then charge about £10 a year for updates. SwiftWill is £35 once. Pay a solicitor instead if you need tax, trusts, foreign assets or expect a dispute. The full 2026 provider table is on the will-cost page. ### Are free wills legally valid? Yes, if they are drafted for England and Wales and signed with two witnesses. Charity free wills (Free Wills Month, Will Aid, FreeWills.co.uk) are real options. Some free models later sell professional executor services — MoneySavingExpert warns against that upsell. A simple free template only suits “everything to one person”. ### What is a will writing service? A will writing service prepares a will without you having to instruct a high-street solicitor. Will writing is not a reserved legal activity. SwiftWill is document-preparation software plus legal information for England and Wales — not a law firm, and not legal advice. Complex estates still need a solicitor. ### What happens if I die without making a will? The intestacy rules decide who inherits. A spouse with children takes personal belongings, the first £322,000 and half the rest; the children share the other half. An unmarried partner takes nothing. Stepchildren take nothing unless adopted. A court, not you, picks a guardian for children under 18. ### How long does it take to make a will online? The interview is about 15 minutes if you already know your executors, gifts and residue. Printing and the two-witness signing is another 15 minutes in one room. There is no review queue. You can save and return. The will is not valid until it is signed. ### How do I sign after I make a will online? Print the PDF. Gather two independent adults in one room. Sign in wet ink while both watch. Each witness then signs in your presence and adds name, address and occupation. Date it. That is the whole of section 9. Video calls and e-signatures do not count. ### Can a couple make wills together? Each person needs their own will. Mirror wills are two matching documents — typically everything to each other, then to the same people — at £55 for both with SwiftWill. They are not binding on the survivor. Blended families who need a life-interest trust should see a solicitor. ### When should I skip an online will writing service? If you need inheritance-tax planning, a trust, business or foreign assets, a life-interest arrangement for children from a previous relationship, to exclude a dependant, special attestation, or you expect a dispute. SwiftWill’s suitability check redirects you before you pay. ### Is an online will UK document as legal as a solicitor’s will? Yes, if it is in writing and signed correctly under section 9 of the Wills Act 1837. Who drafted it does not matter. Skip an online will if you need tax planning, trusts, foreign property or expect a dispute. Canonical HTML: https://swiftwill.co.uk/how-to-make-a-will/ Markdown: https://swiftwill.co.uk/how-to-make-a-will.md Last modified: 2026-08-22 Author: Marcus Kaiser (https://swiftwill.co.uk/author/marcus-kaiser/)