Wills Law Reform Stalled: Is Your Will Still Valid?

Peers have told the government that its response on wills law reform is overdue. In a letter reported this week by Today's Wills and Probate, Lord Foster of Bath, chair of the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee, pressed courts minister Sarah Sackman on what is holding things up, more than 17 months after the Law Commission published its Modernising Wills Law report. Ministers promised further announcements in due course. The committee's view is that "the course is now due". While that argument carries on, the rules on making a valid Will remain rooted in the Wills Act 1837, and they catch people out every year.

Why Digital Wills Still Aren't Legally Valid

The committee wants ministers to explain how digital wills will be made legally valid on an equal basis with paper ones. For now, they aren't. To be valid, a Will must be in writing and signed by you, or by someone at your direction, in the presence of two witnesses who are there at the same time and who then sign it themselves.

That means instructions in a note on your phone, an email to your children or a voice recording are not a valid Will. Nor is a document drafted by an AI tool, unless it's printed and signed correctly, and even then nobody has checked whether it does what you want. The temporary rules that allowed witnessing by video ended in January 2024.

How Marriage Can Cancel Your Will

This is the rule that surprises people most. Under current law, getting married or forming a civil partnership automatically revokes an existing Will, unless it was made in contemplation of that specific marriage or partnership. The Law Commission has recommended abolishing the rule, but it's still in force.

The result can be stark. Someone who remarries in later life and doesn't make a new Will may die intestate, leaving the intestacy rules rather than their own wishes to decide who inherits. Children from an earlier relationship can lose out, even where everyone assumed the old Will still stood.

Divorce works differently. It doesn't cancel your Will, but your former spouse is generally treated as having died before you, so gifts to them and their appointment as executor usually fall away. The rest of the Will stands, which may leave gaps you never intended.

Small Mistakes Can Still Sink a Will

Unlike some other legal systems, England and Wales has no general power allowing a court to rescue a Will that fails on a technicality, even where your intentions are clear. The Law Commission's proposed dispensing power would change that. Until it does, a missing witness signature can undo the whole document.

Other errors are less dramatic but just as costly. If a witness, or a witness's spouse or civil partner, is also a beneficiary, the Will can remain valid while that person loses their gift. That's a common trap for homemade Wills signed at the kitchen table with a relative looking on. Handwritten changes made after signing can also cause problems, because they usually need to be properly signed and witnessed too.

The Law Commission also recommended lowering the minimum age for making a Will from 18 to 16, widening the court's power to correct errors and strengthening protections around capacity and undue influence. None of these changes is in force.

What the Delay Means for You

With no timetable on the table, it's unwise to plan around reforms that may be years away. Instead, take a few minutes to check your position against the law as it stands today:

• Have you married or formed a civil partnership since making your Will? If so, it may no longer be valid.
• Have you divorced? Check who now inherits and who acts as executor.
• Was your Will witnessed properly? Look for two witness signatures and make sure neither witness benefits.
• Have you changed it by hand? Don't assume the changes count.
• Are your wishes stored only on a device? Treat them as a guide for your family, not a legal document.

What Should You Do Next?

If any of those questions gave you pause, it's easy to put right, and much easier now than leaving your family to deal with it later. Our first contact team can match you with an experienced Wills solicitor near you in the QualitySolicitors network, who can review your existing Will or help you make a new one that's valid, clear and up to date. Just get in touch and we'll take it from there.