> Source: https://swiftwill.co.uk/urgent-will/ — SwiftWill, first published 24 September 2026, updated 24 September 2026. This Markdown mirror is generated at build time from the page's HTML. General information for England and Wales, not legal advice.

# Need a will urgently? How to make one valid today

By [SwiftWill](https://swiftwill.co.uk/about/) · Updated 24 September 2026 · England and Wales

Quick answer

A will is valid in England and Wales once it is in writing and you sign it in front of two independent adult witnesses who are present together, and each witness then signs in your presence. If your wishes are straightforward and your capacity is not in doubt, you can prepare, print and sign a will on the same day. If the person is seriously ill, their capacity could be questioned, or they cannot read or sign the will, use a solicitor rather than an online will.

## Can you make a legally valid will today?

Yes. Nothing in the law of England and Wales makes you wait: there is no registration, no approval and no notary. [GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/make-will/make-sure-your-will-is-legal) says a valid will needs you to be 18 or over, to make it voluntarily and of sound mind, to make it in writing, and to sign it in the presence of two witnesses aged over 18, who then sign it in your presence. Those formalities come from [section 9 of the Wills Act 1837](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26/section/9).

Speed is not the problem. The risks in an urgent will are a rushed document that does not say what you mean, a signing done wrongly, and a later argument that the person did not have capacity or was pressured. The rest of this page is about avoiding those three.

## How do you get a will signed the same day?

Prepare the document, print it, and sign it with two independent witnesses in the same room. In order:

1.  **Check the quick route is right.** Read the solicitor section below first. If any of it applies, stop here and call a solicitor.
2.  **Prepare the will.** You need full names and addresses for your executors, any guardians for children under 18, and the people who inherit, plus what should happen if someone dies before you.
3.  **Read every page before printing.** Check names, percentages and gifts. Once signed, a will cannot be edited by hand; changes need a new signing.
4.  **Find two witnesses.** Adults who inherit nothing and are not married to, or in a civil partnership with, anyone who inherits. A gift to a witness or their spouse fails under [section 15 of the Wills Act 1837](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26/section/15), although the rest of the will stands. Neighbours, colleagues and friends are typical choices.
5.  **Print the final version on paper.** Print all pages and do not sign any earlier draft.
6.  **Sign with both witnesses watching.** Both must be present at the same time when you sign, or when you acknowledge a signature you made earlier. Each witness then signs in your presence. GOV.UK notes the witnesses do not have to sign at the same moment as each other, but keeping everyone in the room until all three signatures are done avoids doubt.
7.  **Date it and stop.** Write the date everyone signed. Do not add notes, staples or corrections afterwards.
8.  **Store the original and tell your executors.** The signed paper is the will; the PDF is not. See [where to store a will](https://swiftwill.co.uk/where-to-store-a-will/).

The ceremony is covered step by step in [how to sign a will](https://swiftwill.co.uk/how-to-sign-a-will/), and the [witness checker](https://swiftwill.co.uk/tools/witness-checker/) tells you whether a particular person can witness.

## How quickly does SwiftWill produce a will you can sign?

As soon as your payment is verified, the will is generated and offered as a download on the page. There is no review step in between. This is how it works:

1.  You answer the suitability questions and the interview, then read a preview of the will before paying.
2.  You pay by card on the payment provider’s secure checkout page.
3.  When you return, SwiftWill checks with the payment provider that the payment has gone through.
4.  As soon as that check passes, it generates your will PDF (and your partner’s, for mirror wills) and a witnessing instruction card, and offers them as downloads in your browser.
5.  The same documents are emailed to you. If the email cannot be confirmed straight away, it is queued and retried automatically, so download the documents from the page rather than waiting for the email.

That removes waiting on our side. It does not remove the steps on yours: you still need a printer, two independent witnesses and time to read the document properly. Nobody at SwiftWill reads your will before it is released, which is why there is no queue, and also why there is no individual legal check. If you want a person to check the wording, choose a service that includes one, or a solicitor.

## How does that compare with services that check each will?

Services that include a check before release take longer by design. The table records what each provider says on its own website.

Time between finishing an online will and receiving a document to sign, as each provider describes it (checked 24 September 2026)
| Service | What happens before you can print | Individual check |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SwiftWill | Will PDF generated and offered for download as soon as payment is verified; email copy sent or queued | No |
| ClearLegacy | [Says](https://www.clearlegacy.co.uk/) a draft is shown after payment and the signing-ready will is usually emailed within 24 hours | Says each will is checked before it is issued |
| Farewill | [Says](https://farewill.com/nhs) its specialist check of an online will takes up to 5 days | Yes, by a will specialist |

A check is a genuine benefit if you are unsure about your wording. Prices and service details are compared on [compare online will services](https://swiftwill.co.uk/compare/).

## What can an online will not do in an emergency?

An online will prepares a document for a straightforward estate. It cannot do the things that make an urgent will safe when the person is unwell. It cannot:

-   assess whether the person has the mental capacity to make a will, or record that assessment;
-   send anyone to a hospital, hospice or care home to take instructions or supervise the signing;
-   find witnesses for you or confirm afterwards that the signing was done properly;
-   prepare the special wording needed when someone cannot read the will or cannot sign it themselves;
-   add a clause keeping the will valid through a marriage that is about to take place (marriage normally revokes a will under [section 18 of the Wills Act 1837](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26/section/18));
-   set up trusts, inheritance tax planning or arrangements for business or foreign assets;
-   make a will for someone who has already lost capacity.

## When does an urgent will need a solicitor instead?

Use a solicitor whenever the urgency comes from illness, frailty or a family situation that could lead to a challenge. These are the common cases:

Urgent situations where a solicitor is the safer route
| Situation | Why an online will is the wrong tool |
| --- | --- |
| Seriously ill, in hospital or a hospice | Capacity may later be questioned. A solicitor can follow the “golden rule”: a medical practitioner assesses capacity and records it at the time. |
| A will made close to death | The same capacity risk, plus a higher risk of an allegation of pressure. A solicitor can take instructions from the person alone and keep a file of evidence. |
| Cannot read the will (sight, literacy or language) | Before admitting such a will, the probate registry must be satisfied the person knew its contents ([Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, rule 13](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1987/2024/rule/13)). The will needs wording recording that it was read over and understood. |
| Cannot physically sign | Section 9 allows someone else to sign in the person’s presence and at their direction, but the direction must be properly recorded. Improvising this invites a challenge. |
| Has already lost capacity | They cannot make a will. The Court of Protection can authorise a statutory will ([Mental Capacity Act 2005, section 18](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/section/18)). |
| About to marry | Marriage revokes an existing will unless it was made expecting that particular marriage. SwiftWill does not draft that clause. |
| Trusts, business, foreign assets or a likely dispute | These need individual advice whatever the timescale. See [do I need a solicitor for a will](https://swiftwill.co.uk/do-i-need-a-solicitor-for-a-will/). |

SwiftWill’s suitability questions ask about capacity, undue influence and likely disputes before you reach the interview, and send you to a solicitor if any apply. The [Law Society’s Find a Solicitor](https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/) service lets you search for firms near a hospital or care home.

## What is the golden rule for wills made by ill or elderly people?

The golden rule is that when a will is prepared for an elderly or seriously ill person, a medical practitioner should first satisfy themselves about the person’s capacity and understanding, and make a record of the examination at the time. The High Court restated the rule and the cases behind it in [Key v Key \[2010\] EWHC 408 (Ch)](https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/ch/2010/408), paragraphs 6 to 8.

Following the rule does not automatically make a will valid, and ignoring it does not automatically make one invalid. Its purpose is to prevent disputes, or narrow them. That is exactly what a family needs when a will is made in a hurry at a bedside, and it is work a solicitor does, not software.

Losing capacity for one decision does not always mean losing it for all. [GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/apply-statutory-will) notes that someone who can no longer manage their finances may still be able to make a will, and that a solicitor can usually tell you whether they can.

## What if the person can no longer make a will?

If the person cannot understand what making a will means, what they own, or how the will affects the people around them, someone can apply to the Court of Protection for a statutory will. [GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/apply-statutory-will) says the application fee is £432 and that emergency applications are possible when the person has only a short time to live. The £432 fee has applied since 13 July 2026 under the [Court of Protection Fees Order 2007](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/1745/schedule/1). This route needs legal advice.

## What should you do once an urgent will is signed?

Keep the signed original safe and tell your executors where it is. Destroy older wills only once the new one is signed, because the new will revokes them. If you have children under 18, check who you named as guardian; see [appointing a guardian in your will](https://swiftwill.co.uk/appointing-a-guardian-in-your-will/).

A will only works after death. If the worry is about being unable to make decisions during an illness, that needs a lasting power of attorney, which has to be registered before it can be used: [the Office of the Public Guardian](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-public-guardian/about/about-our-services) said on 1 September 2026 that registration takes 8 to 10 weeks. See [will vs lasting power of attorney](https://swiftwill.co.uk/will-vs-lasting-power-of-attorney/). If the urgency is a planned operation or a long trip rather than illness, read [making a will before surgery or travel](https://swiftwill.co.uk/making-a-will-before-surgery-or-travel/).

If your circumstances are straightforward and there is no doubt about capacity, you can [start a SwiftWill](https://swiftwill.co.uk/start/) and read the preview before deciding to pay.

## Sources

-   [Wills Act 1837, section 9](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26/section/9) (signing and witnessing), [section 15](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26/section/15) (gifts to witnesses) and [section 18](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4and1Vict/7/26/section/18) (marriage)
-   [GOV.UK: make sure your will is legal](https://www.gov.uk/make-will/make-sure-your-will-is-legal)
-   [Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, rule 13](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1987/2024/rule/13)
-   [Key v Key \[2010\] EWHC 408 (Ch)](https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/ch/2010/408), paragraphs 6 to 8 (the golden rule)
-   [Mental Capacity Act 2005, section 18](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/section/18) and [GOV.UK: make a statutory will on behalf of someone else](https://www.gov.uk/apply-statutory-will)
-   [Court of Protection Fees Order 2007, Schedule 1](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/1745/schedule/1) (as amended from 13 July 2026)
-   [Office of the Public Guardian: service status as of 1 September 2026](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-public-guardian/about/about-our-services)
-   Provider pages: [ClearLegacy](https://www.clearlegacy.co.uk/) and [Farewill](https://farewill.com/nhs)

Sources checked 24 September 2026.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I make a will and sign it on the same day?**

Yes. England and Wales has no waiting period, registration or approval step for a will. It is valid once it is in writing and you sign it in front of two independent adult witnesses who are present together, and each witness then signs in your presence. Same-day signing is realistic only if your wishes are straightforward and there is no doubt about your capacity.

**Does an urgent will need to be checked by a solicitor to be valid?**

No. Validity comes from the signing rules in section 9 of the Wills Act 1837, not from who drafted or checked the document. A solicitor is still the right choice when the person is seriously ill, their capacity could be questioned, they cannot read or sign, or the estate needs trusts or tax planning.

**Can I sign a will by video call or electronically if it is urgent?**

No. The temporary rule allowing video witnessing only covered wills made between 31 January 2020 and 31 January 2024. Today both witnesses must be physically present with you, and the will must be signed on paper. An electronic signature does not make a valid will.

**How quickly do I get my SwiftWill after paying?**

SwiftWill checks with the payment provider that your payment has gone through, and as soon as that check passes it generates your will PDF and a witnessing instruction card for you to download on the page. A copy is also emailed; if the email cannot be confirmed straight away it is queued and retried, so download from the page. Nobody reviews the will before release, so there is no review queue and no individual legal check.

**Can someone in hospital make a will with an online service?**

Only if they are well enough that nobody could sensibly question their capacity, and they can read and sign the will themselves. Where someone is seriously ill, frail or on strong medication, use a solicitor who can arrange a medical assessment of capacity and keep a record. SwiftWill’s suitability questions send you elsewhere if there is any doubt about capacity.

**What if the person no longer understands what a will is?**

Then they cannot make a will themselves. The Court of Protection can authorise a statutory will for someone who lacks capacity, and GOV.UK says emergency applications are possible when the person has only a short time to live. The application fee is £432. A solicitor can advise whether the person still has capacity for a will.

**Can a nurse or doctor witness a will?**

Yes, if they inherit nothing. Any adult can act as a witness, but a gift in the will to a witness, or to a witness’s spouse or civil partner, fails under section 15 of the Wills Act 1837. Hospitals may have their own rules about staff acting as witnesses, so ask the ward before relying on staff.

Published by SwiftWill. First published 24 September 2026; updated 24 September 2026. General information for England and Wales, not legal advice. Sources are linked in the guide; publication is not an individual legal review. Spotted an error? See our [corrections log](https://swiftwill.co.uk/corrections/).