What Percentage of People Have a Will in the UK?

Around 44% of UK adults are estimated to have a will, because the most recent figure from a UK government body, the Money and Pensions Service, found that 56% of adults aged 18 and over do not have one (Money and Pensions Service, 2025, as at July 2026, subject to change). No central government register measures this directly.

This is a data piece. It sets out what the named, published sources actually say about how many people in the UK have a will, how ownership varies by age, and how the surveys compare over time. It is honest about the limits of the evidence: the Office for National Statistics has confirmed it does not hold this information, so every headline figure here comes from a survey by a named body, cited at the point of use, with estate-level data from HMRC where relevant. It sits alongside our How to Write a Will guide and our wider estate planning guide. Figures are current as at July 2026 and are subject to change. Where devolved rules differ, they are flagged.

Why there is no official will-ownership figure

No UK government body keeps a central register of who has made a will, so there is no official statistic for the percentage of people who have one. The Office for National Statistics has confirmed in a Freedom of Information response that it does not hold data on the number of wills (ONS FOI response, as at July 2026, subject to change). The figures that exist are survey estimates from named organisations.

Because wills are private documents held by individuals, solicitors or will-storage services rather than logged in one place, the available figures come from population surveys. The most authoritative is from the Money and Pensions Service, a statutory body set up by government, which reported that 56% of UK adults do not have a will (Money and Pensions Service, 2025, as at July 2026, subject to change). Private-sector surveys give broadly similar results, which is why this page treats them as clearly attributed secondary sources rather than official statistics.

Key figures at a glance

The share of UK adults without a will has clustered around the half-to-two-thirds mark across recent named surveys, so the implied share who do have one sits somewhere between roughly a third and a half. Each row below is a published figure from a named source, with its reference period and a link. The most recent government-body figure is that 56% of adults have no will (Money and Pensions Service, 2025, as at July 2026, subject to change).

Will-ownership rows are survey estimates from named organisations, not official statistics; the IHT row is an official HMRC statistic. All figures as at July 2026 and subject to change.

The picture over time

Across the named surveys of the last decade or so, the share of UK adults without a will has moved within a fairly narrow band, broadly half to just under two-thirds, with no single official series to track a trend. The comparison below places the headline survey figures side by side; because they use different providers, samples and questions, they are best read as indicative rather than a like-for-like time series (Money and Pensions Service, 2025, as at July 2026, subject to change).

Sources: Age UK / Brewin Dolphin, 2012; Canada Life / Opinium, February 2024; Money and Pensions Service, 2025. Different methods, not a like-for-like series. As at July 2026, subject to change.

What this means for estates and intestacy

Because a majority of adults have no will, a large share of estates are settled under the intestacy rules rather than by the deceased person's own instructions. If you die without a will in England and Wales, the law decides who inherits, and the rules differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland (gov.uk, as at July 2026, subject to change). Intestacy can mean an estate passes in ways the person may not have chosen.

Separately, only a small minority of estates are large enough to pay Inheritance Tax. In the 2022 to 2023 tax year, 4.62% of the 683,000 UK deaths, that is 31,500 estates, resulted in an Inheritance Tax charge (HMRC, as at July 2026, subject to change). Making a will is a separate question from whether tax is due: each person has a nil-rate band of £325,000, plus a residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000 where a home passes to direct descendants, giving up to £500,000 per person and up to £1,000,000 for a married couple or civil partners who can share unused bands, with the standard rate above the threshold at 40%, reduced to 36% where at least 10% of the net estate passes to charity (gov.uk, as at July 2026, subject to change).

All rows per HMRC Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics, commentary, 2022-23. UK-wide. As at July 2026, subject to change.

What the numbers mean

Read together, these figures suggest that having a will is far from universal in the UK: the most recent government-body estimate puts will ownership at around 44%, since 56% of adults reported having none (Money and Pensions Service, 2025, as at July 2026, subject to change). Because there is no official register, that 44% is an inference from a survey rather than a counted total, and it can move depending on how a survey defines and asks the question.

The age pattern is the clearest signal in the data: ownership generally rises with age, yet a majority of even the 50 to 64 group reported having no will (Money and Pensions Service, 2025, as at July 2026, subject to change). It is worth treating any single headline with care, because different providers, samples and question wording produce figures that range from roughly half to nearly two-thirds without a will. Whether making a will is worthwhile for a particular household depends on that household's circumstances, so many people choose to discuss it with a qualified professional rather than read a national average as a personal prompt.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The survey figures on this page are UK-wide or Great Britain estimates, but the law that applies when someone has no will is not uniform across the UK. England and Wales share one set of intestacy rules, while Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own (gov.uk, as at July 2026, subject to change). Scotland in particular applies legal rights for spouses, civil partners and children that can affect who inherits regardless of a will, so the consequences of having, or not having, a will differ by nation. Inheritance Tax, by contrast, is a UK-wide tax, so the £325,000 nil-rate band and the 40% rate apply the same way across all four nations (gov.uk, as at July 2026, subject to change).

Sources and methodology

There is no official statistic for will ownership, so every will-ownership figure on this page is a survey estimate from a named organisation, checked against that source before publication and cited at the point of use. No number has been estimated, rounded beyond the source, or extrapolated, except that the "around 44% have a will" figure is stated openly as the arithmetic complement of the 56% who reported having none. The sources used are listed below with their reference periods.

• Headline and age figures (56% no will; 53% of ages 50 to 64): Money and Pensions Service, Over half of UK adults don't have a will, 2025. UK government statutory body.
• Comparison survey (51% not written a will; 30% of ages 55+): Canada Life, Over half of UK adults do not have a will, research by Opinium, 2,000 UK adults, fieldwork February 2024. Clearly attributed secondary source.
• Earlier survey (63% no will): Age UK, reporting Brewin Dolphin research, conducted by ICM, 2,028 adults, January 2012. Clearly attributed secondary source.
• No official data confirmation: ONS Freedom of Information response, confirming the ONS does not hold data on the number of wills.
• Estates and Inheritance Tax: HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics, commentary, 2022-23 (683,000 UK deaths; 4.62% taxed; 31,500 estates; £212,000 average tax).
• Intestacy and core IHT rules: gov.uk, Make a will and gov.uk, Inheritance Tax (£325,000 NRB, up to £175,000 RNRB, 40%/36% rates). As at July 2026.

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