A Major Firm Is Exiting Budget Wills — Is Yours Good Enough?

Irwin Mitchell's exit from the budget wills market is a timely prompt for anyone who made a will through a supermarket, bank, or online template to check whether it actually protects what they think it does.

Irwin Mitchell, one of the UK's largest law firms, is in consultation with staff over the closure of its volume wills division — the part of the business that produced standardised wills in high numbers, often through third-party partnerships and at competitive prices. The news, reported in the Law Gazette this week, signals something broader than one firm's strategic decision. For the millions of people in England and Wales who have used budget or corporate will-writing services in recent years, it is a moment worth pausing on.

What Irwin Mitchell's Decision Actually Signals

The withdrawal from the high-volume wills market reflects a deliberate shift toward more complex, higher-value estate work for wealthier clients. Irwin Mitchell's managing partner has stressed that the firm's core private client team remains intact, continuing to offer will-writing, estate planning, and probate services. But the "volume" end of the business — affordable, standardised wills produced efficiently and at scale — is being wound down.

This matters because the volume wills model has become widespread. Supermarkets, banks, insurance companies, online platforms, and national law firms have all offered will-writing at low cost, often using templates and non-solicitor staff to keep prices down. The convenience is genuine. The limitations are less often discussed.

What a Template Will Might Miss

A will produced using a template or without detailed legal advice is only as good as the questions it asks. The standard questions — who inherits what, who acts as executor, who cares for children — are the foundation. But they are rarely the whole picture.

Consider a few common situations where a template will can fall short:

Blended families. If you have children from a previous relationship alongside a current partner, a standard will may not adequately ring-fence assets for those children. Without careful drafting, a survivor can inadvertently inherit everything and later pass it on in ways the deceased never intended.

Business interests. Leaving a business interest without considering business property relief or succession arrangements can create inheritance tax complications and disputes that a template is not equipped to address.

Property held jointly. How you legally own your home — as joint tenants or tenants in common — directly affects what your will can do with it. Many people do not know which applies to them, and a template will not check.

Digital assets. Many template wills do not address cryptocurrency, online accounts, or intellectual property at all.

None of this means that a budget will is worthless. A valid will — even a simple one — is far better than dying intestate. Under the intestacy rules in England and Wales, your estate is distributed according to a fixed legal formula, regardless of your wishes. Unmarried partners, however long-standing, inherit nothing under intestacy. Stepchildren inherit nothing. The results can be deeply unfair and entirely avoidable.

The question is whether your circumstances are more complex than a template can handle — and whether those circumstances have changed since you last made or reviewed your will.

When to Review or Remake Your Will

The Law Society recommends reviewing your will every five years, or after any major life change: marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, buying property, or a significant shift in your financial position. Note that marriage automatically revokes a previous will in England and Wales — a fact that catches many people out.

If any of the following apply, this week's news is a sensible prompt to act:

• You made a will through a bank, supermarket, or online platform more than five years ago
• You have married, divorced, or separated since your will was made
• You have had children or grandchildren, or your family situation has changed
• You have bought, sold, or inherited property since your will was made
• You are unsure whether your will reflects what you actually want to happen

Probate — the legal process of administering a deceased person's estate — is far more costly and time-consuming when a will is unclear, incomplete, or contested. The cost of having a will properly made by a qualified solicitor is modest compared to the value it protects and the family conflict it can prevent.

What Should You Do Next?

QualitySolicitors' first contact team can match you with a wills and probate solicitor near you who can review your existing will or prepare a new one tailored to your circumstances. Whether your estate is straightforward or complex, a properly qualified solicitor will ask the right questions — including the ones that a volume template is simply not designed to raise. Get in touch today for a no-obligation initial conversation.