Modernising Wills: Where Does Reform Stand in 2026?

The law governing how wills are made in England and Wales dates back to the Wills Act 1837. After years of consultation, the Law Commission published a landmark report in May 2025 recommending the most significant overhaul of will-writing law in almost two centuries. Here is what was recommended, where things stand with the Government, and what it all means for you right now.

What the Law Commission Recommended (May 2025)

The Law Commission's final report, Making a Will, sets out a package of reforms designed to modernise the rules so that more people can make valid wills that genuinely reflect their intentions.

The key recommendations include:

• Legally valid electronic wills. The Commission's most prominent recommendation is that wills should be capable of being made, signed, and witnessed electronically — removing the requirement for a physical paper document. This would allow fully digital will-making for the first time in English law.
• Ending automatic revocation on marriage. Under current law, getting married automatically revokes any existing will — a rule the Commission identified as a vehicle for so-called “predatory marriages”, where a vulnerable person is pressured into marriage partly to defeat their existing testamentary wishes. The Commission recommends abolishing automatic revocation on marriage.
• Lowering the minimum age. Under the current law, you must be 18 to make a will (with a narrow exception for members of the armed forces). The Commission recommends reducing this to 16, so that older teenagers can legally set out their wishes.
• A single, clear capacity test. At present, the legal test for whether someone has the mental capacity to make a will comes from a nineteenth-century case. The Commission recommends replacing it with a modern, statutory test aligned with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 — making it more consistent and easier to apply.
• Preserving testamentary freedom. The Commission reaffirmed that people in England and Wales should remain free to leave their estate to whomever they choose, while also recommending targeted improvements to the rules on undue influence and suspicious circumstances.
• A court dispensing power. Under current law, a will that does not meet the strict formal requirements (signed in the presence of two witnesses, for example) is generally invalid. The Commission recommends giving courts a limited discretion to recognise a document as a valid will even where a formal requirement was not met, if the document clearly represents the person's intentions — for instance, an unsigned draft found alongside signed instructions.

These are recommendations by an independent expert body. They do not take effect unless and until Parliament passes legislation.

What the Government Has Said So Far

Shortly after the Law Commission published its report in May 2025, the Government issued an initial response welcoming the work. However, as of 31 May 2026:

• The Government has not published a full formal response to the Commission's recommendations.
• No Wills Bill has been introduced into Parliament.
• No draft legislation has been published for consultation.

Reform of this kind typically moves through several stages — Government response, possible consultation, a bill, parliamentary scrutiny — before becoming law. Beyond that initial welcome, no further formal stages have been completed.

What This Means for Your Will Today

Nothing changes yet. The Wills Act 1837 remains the law. Wills made today, including every will created through WillSafe, must comply with the existing rules: the testator must be 18 or over, must have the required mental capacity, and the will must be signed and witnessed correctly.

If you have already made a will through WillSafe, it is fully valid under current law. You do not need to take any action because of the Law Commission's report.

If you are thinking about making a will, the current rules apply. A WillSafe will made today meets all the formal requirements set out in the existing legislation.

What WillSafe Is Doing

We monitor developments in wills and estate-planning law daily. If the Government publishes a response to the Law Commission's report, introduces a bill, or if any legislation changes the rules for making a valid will, we will:

• Update our templates and guidance to reflect the new requirements.
• Notify existing customers of any changes that are relevant to them.

You do not need to keep checking for updates yourself — we will let you know if anything that affects your WillSafe will changes.