How to write a will: your England and Wales checklist

The right route depends on the decisions you need help making. A questionnaire can organise straightforward instructions; it cannot resolve uncertainty about family rights, property ownership or tax. Use the table as a first filter, then check the provider's eligibility and terms.

If you have a straightforward England and Wales estate and want a guided place to start, visit SwiftWill* to check whether its online will service fits your circumstances. You enter your own instructions and prepare a document; arrange your own printing, signing and witnesses.

SwiftWill is automated document preparation. Do not assume a solicitor has personally reviewed your answers or that downloading the file completes a valid will. Read the current eligibility, pricing, update and cancellation terms before paying. If you are unsure what a clause should achieve, get advice before using it.

Money Guide, SwiftWill and Instant Deed Poll are operated by Elite Digital AI Solutions Ltd (company number 17250017). These are related commercial services; this placement is not an independent market ranking.

List your assets and debts: your home and mortgage, bank accounts, investments, savings, valuable items and loans. Note where each is held and whether it is owned alone or jointly. This planning sheet helps you explain your estate; it does not need to publish account numbers in the will.

Write down the full names of your intended beneficiaries, executors and substitutes. Decide who receives particular gifts and who receives the remainder. Check that percentage shares of the residue add up to 100, and record your wishes if someone dies first.

List pensions and life insurance separately and check their nomination arrangements with each provider. Do not assume that listing them in a will controls the payment. For jointly owned property, confirm how it is owned before promising your share to someone.

Keep passwords, recovery codes and crypto seed phrases out of the will. Use a separate secure access plan and tell a trusted person how it can be found. See digital assets in your will.

An executor administers your estate. Discuss the job before naming someone: they may need to find records, deal with organisations and keep beneficiaries informed over many months. A substitute helps if your first choice cannot act. Read what an executor does.

A family member who inherits can also be an executor, but should not witness the will. If you are considering a professional executor, ask how fees are calculated and whether the appointment is required by the service. Drafting a will and administering an estate are separate services.

Talk to anyone you want to appoint as a guardian. Record names clearly and obtain advice on when the appointment would take effect in your family circumstances, especially if another parent has parental responsibility. See appointing guardians.

A gift for a child or a person who cannot manage money raises questions beyond the beneficiary's name: who holds it, when it becomes available and what happens if the arrangement cannot continue. A disabled or dependent beneficiary may need specialist planning. Do not assume that a basic online form creates the right trust.

Seek tailored advice for a blended family, excluding someone who depends on you, a business, overseas property, a permanent home abroad, or a home shared with someone other than a spouse or civil partner. GOV.UK explains circumstances that need professional advice.

Also seek help if you need a trust, inheritance tax planning, protection for a vulnerable person, or there is pressure from another person or concern about your ability to understand the decisions. The value of advice is addressing your circumstances, not simply producing a longer document.

Ask whether the person and organisation you will use are regulated, what insurance and complaints arrangements apply, and exactly who reviews your instructions. The SRA guide to choosing a solicitor explains how protection can differ. Trade-body membership and regulation by the SRA are different things.

For a standard England and Wales will, GOV.UK requires a written document made voluntarily by an adult with the necessary mental capacity. Sign with two witnesses over 18 watching, and have them sign the same document while you can see them. Read the official validity and witnessing rules.

Practical checklist: print and check the entire final draft; book two suitable witnesses; leave the signature fields blank until the signing; follow the document's instructions; then check that all required signatures and details are complete. Keep all pages together.

Avoid beneficiaries and their spouses or civil partners as witnesses. If you need help to sign, cannot see the signing, or cannot follow the standard process, ask a solicitor how to execute the will correctly. Our witnessing guide explains the risks.

Comparison criteria checked 12 September 2026 using GOV.UK validity guidance and the providers’ published scope. We have not placed test orders or assessed anyone’s individual legal work. Get a written quote from any alternative you consider.

SwiftWill’s published service* is automated England and Wales document preparation without individual solicitor review. A solicitor quote should say whether it includes advice about your actual instructions. Free and charity schemes may include a solicitor but have eligibility and scope limits. A higher price alone is not proof of a better fit.

Compare like with like: a software document, an individually reviewed draft and a bespoke legal advice service provide different things. Ask whether the fee covers VAT, both people in a couple, changes before signing, later rewrites, printing, storage and any appointments.

Keep probate or executor charges separate from drafting costs. A low initial price is useful only if the scope covers your needs. Check SwiftWill's current service and price* alongside free and charity will schemes and a written solicitor quote. We do not assume that every free service has hidden fees.

Illustration: Alex and Sam each want their partner to inherit, with a named substitute if both have died. They first check their property ownership and pension nominations, agree their executor choices, and each prepare a separate will. They then arrange independent witnesses and record where each original is stored.

If either has children from an earlier relationship and wants to protect their inheritance after the survivor dies, the decision changes. Matching mirror wills alone do not settle that concern; get advice about the arrangement before choosing a document service. Read mirror wills and mutual wills.

Illustration only: suppose £180,000 remains in an estate after debts, taxes and administration costs. A £10,000 fixed gift leaves £170,000 of residue. Dividing that residue 60% to one person and 40% to another gives £102,000 and £68,000. The percentages apply to the remainder, not the starting estate.

If only £12,000 remained before that same fixed gift, the residue would be £2,000, giving £1,200 and £800. This shows why an apparently small fixed gift can change the balance substantially when an estate falls in value. Ask a solicitor about uncertain debts, insufficient assets or priorities between gifts rather than treating this arithmetic as drafting instructions.

Tell your executor where the original is kept and how to access it. Keep a separate inventory of important accounts and contacts. A scan is useful for reference, but preserve the signed original. See safe will storage.

Review after major life changes and at least every five years. Marriage, divorce, a new child, moving home or losing an executor can affect your plans. Use a properly signed codicil or a new will rather than editing a signed page. See GOV.UK on updating a will.

A name change alone does not require you to buy a replacement will. Keep evidence linking the names and consider a review if your wider circumstances or wishes have changed. Read does changing my name affect my will?.