Making a Will Online UK (2026): Online Will Services, DIY Kits and the Witnessing Rules

Yes — you can create and print a will using an online service, a will kit, or a word processor, and it will be a valid will under the Wills Act 1837 provided it meets the formal requirements of s.9. There is no legal requirement for a will to be drafted by a solicitor, to be made on special paper, or to be stamped or registered: (1) WILLS ACT 1837 S.9 — THE FORMAL REQUIREMENTS: every will in England and Wales must: (a) Be in writing (any legible medium — printed, handwritten, or typed); (b) Be signed by the testator (the will-maker), or by another person in the testator's presence and at their direction; (c) The testator's signature must be made or acknowledged in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time; (d) Each witness must attest and sign the will in the presence of the testator; (2) WHAT AN ONLINE WILL SERVICE PROVIDES: an online will service (such as those offered by Farewill, Kwil, Willful, WillSafe UK, and others) provides a questionnaire that gathers the testator's details, then generates a printed will document from the answers. The document is the will — the online process merely creates the document. The formal requirements (witnessing) still apply when the testator signs the printed document; (3) E-SIGNATURES — THE CURRENT POSITION: while an electronic signature (e.g. typing your name on a PDF, or signing with DocuSign) is technically 'in writing' and 'signed', the witnessing requirement means witnesses must be physically present when the testator signs. Remote or electronic witnessing (via video call) is no longer permitted. The practical consequence: even for an online will, you must print the document, gather two witnesses, and sign in their simultaneous physical presence; (4) WHAT CANNOT BE DONE ONLINE: (a) Witnessing via video call or Zoom (this was temporarily permitted — see below); (b) Witnessing by email or electronic attendance; (c) A fully digital (non-printed) will; (5) COST: a will created via an online will service or will kit costs approximately £0 (free services) to £500 (professional online service with legal review). This compares with £400-£700+ for a solicitor-drafted will.

Yes — video witnessing was temporarily permitted during the Covid-19 pandemic but has since expired: (1) THE COVID-19 STATUTORY INSTRUMENT: in September 2020, the Wills Act 1837 (Electronic Communications) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Order 2020 came into force (SI 2020/952). This temporary statutory instrument amended the Wills Act 1837 to allow witnessing via video link for wills made on or after 31 January 2020 (the date of the first UK lockdown announcement); (2) HOW VIDEO WITNESSING WORKED: the testator signed the will while witnesses observed via a live video call (such as Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime). The witnesses then signed the same document (either by having it posted to them, or by signing a counterpart). A single continuous video session was required — cut-and-paste video recording was not valid; (3) THE SUNSET CLAUSE: the video witnessing amendment had a sunset clause. It expired on 31 January 2022. Wills signed after 31 January 2022 CANNOT be validly witnessed via video call; (4) THE CURRENT POSITION (2026): video witnessing is no longer permitted. The Wills Act 1837 s.9 requires witnesses to be physically present. The two witnesses must be in the same room as the testator when the testator signs; (5) WHY THIS MATTERS FOR ONLINE WILL SERVICES: some online will services promoted video witnessing during 2020-2022. A will signed and video-witnessed before 31 January 2022 may be valid under the temporary legislation (subject to the specific requirements being met). A will signed after 31 January 2022 must have been witnessed with the witnesses physically present; (6) WHAT TO DO IF YOUR WILL WAS VIDEO-WITNESSED AFTER 31 JANUARY 2022: the will is likely invalid. Make a new will immediately with two witnesses physically present.

The witnessing requirements for an online will are identical to those for a solicitor-drafted will: (1) WHO CAN BE A WITNESS: a witness must be: (a) An adult (18 years old or over in England and Wales); (b) Present in the same room as the testator when the testator signs; (c) Of full mental capacity; (d) Physically sign the will in the testator's presence; (2) WHO CANNOT BE A WITNESS: (a) A beneficiary under the will or the spouse/civil partner of a beneficiary: under WA 1837 s.15, the gift to a witness (or their spouse/CP) is void, although the will itself remains valid. This is the most common witnessing error — choose witnesses who do not stand to benefit under the will; (b) A person under 18; (c) A person who lacks mental capacity to understand they are witnessing a legal document; (d) The testator themselves (cannot witness their own will); (3) IDEAL WITNESSES: neighbours, colleagues, friends — anyone of adult age who is not a beneficiary and is not married to or in a civil partnership with a beneficiary. They do not need to know what the will says. They do not need a solicitor's certificate. They are simply attesting that they witnessed the testator sign; (4) BLIND WITNESSES: a blind person cannot attest a will in England and Wales (they cannot see the signature being made); (5) ONE WITNESS: a single witness is not sufficient. WA 1837 s.9 requires TWO witnesses present simultaneously; (6) SIMULTANEOUS PRESENCE: both witnesses must be present at the same moment when the testator signs. It is not valid for one witness to sign and leave before the second arrives. All three signatures (testator + 2 witnesses) ideally occur at the same session; (7) ATTESTATION CLAUSE: a well-drafted online will includes an attestation clause ('Signed by the testator as their last will in our presence and then by us in theirs'). The attestation clause creates a presumption of due execution — the court will presume the will was properly executed unless there is evidence to the contrary. Include it.

An online will or DIY will kit is suitable for many people with straightforward estates, but there are situations where a solicitor's advice reduces the risk of errors: (1) RISKS OF A DIY ONLINE WILL: (a) Ambiguity: poorly worded clauses can be interpreted in unexpected ways. 'I leave my house to my children equally' raises questions if a child predeceases you, or if the house has a mortgage; (b) Forgotten assets: online questionnaires may not prompt for all asset types (overseas property; pension nominations; trust interests; digital assets; business interests); (c) Testamentary capacity: if there is any doubt about the will-maker's mental capacity, an online self-completed questionnaire does not document the capacity assessment. A solicitor applying the Golden Rule (Kenward v Adams) provides much stronger protection against later challenges; (d) Inheritance tax: an online service cannot advise on NRB/RNRB optimisation, trust structures, or lifetime gifting strategy. A DIY will that leaves everything to a surviving spouse may be perfectly valid but lose the RNRB on the first death if children are not included in the structure; (e) Witnessing errors: the most common ground for will invalidity is witnessing errors — beneficiaries who witness, or witnesses not present simultaneously. DIY wills have higher rates of witnessing errors than solicitor-drafted wills; (2) WHEN A SOLICITOR IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: (a) Business interests (shares; partnerships; buy/sell agreements); (b) Overseas assets; (c) Second marriages or blended families; (d) Trusts for vulnerable beneficiaries; (e) Capacity concerns; (f) Large estates (above £325,000 net — IHT implications); (g) Disputes anticipated; (3) WHEN A DIY WILL KIT IS SUITABLE: (a) Simple estate; (b) Married couple with children from the same relationship; (c) Leaving everything to spouse or children straightforwardly; (d) No business interests or overseas property; (e) No capacity concerns; (f) WillSafe UK will kits are drafted by solicitors to comply with WA 1837 and include plain-English guidance on completion and witnessing.

Online will services generate a legally valid will document from a questionnaire — validity depends on following the WA 1837 s.9 signing and witnessing requirements correctly: (1) HOW ONLINE WILL SERVICES WORK: (a) The user completes an online questionnaire covering: personal details; assets; beneficiaries; executors; guardians for children; specific gifts; residuary estate; funeral wishes; (b) The service generates a will document (PDF or Word file) from the answers; (c) The user prints the document; (d) The user signs the printed will in the presence of two adult witnesses (not beneficiaries); (e) Both witnesses sign in the user's presence; (f) The will is stored safely (home safe; National Will Register; with a solicitor); (2) IS AN ONLINE WILL LEGALLY VALID: yes, provided: (a) The document meets WA 1837 s.9 requirements (in writing; signed; witnessed by two adults simultaneously present; witnesses sign); (b) The testator had testamentary capacity when signing (Banks v Goodfellow test); (c) The testator was not subject to undue influence; (d) The will was not made by a blind, deaf, or otherwise impaired person without appropriate adaptation; (3) COST RANGE FOR ONLINE SERVICES (2026): (a) Free services (Which? Free Will Month; October charity will-writing months): £0 for simple wills, with a charitable donation encouraged; (b) Low-cost online services: £10-£100 (questionnaire only; no legal review); (c) Mid-range (legal-quality templates with guidance): £25-£150 (e.g. WillSafe UK kit from £35); (d) Premium online services (with solicitor review and advice): £150-£500; (4) STORING AND UPDATING AN ONLINE WILL: (a) Print and sign the original — keep in a fireproof safe, or deposit with a solicitor or the National Will Register; (b) Update after major life changes: marriage (revokes existing will under WA 1837 s.18); divorce (voids gifts to ex-spouse under WA 1837 s.18A); birth of children; major asset changes; (c) Do not amend a signed will with a pen or correction fluid — make a codicil or a new will; (5) WILLSAFE UK: the WillSafe UK will kit provides solicitor-drafted templates for England and Wales, plain-English guidance notes, and a signing instruction card to ensure the witnessing step is carried out correctly.