How to Make a Will Without a Solicitor

You can make a will without a solicitor in England and Wales, and it will be legally valid provided it meets the Wills Act 1837 rules: it is in writing, you are 18 or over and of sound mind, and you sign it in front of two independent witnesses who then sign it as well. The harder question is whether your estate is simple enough for a homemade will to be safe.

Many wills that reach probate were not drafted by a solicitor, and most are accepted without a problem. The sections below set out the legal requirements, the process, who can witness, what each route costs, and when advice pays for itself. Figures are current as at August 2026 and subject to change.

Can you legally make a will without a solicitor?

Yes. There is no legal requirement in England and Wales to use a solicitor, a will writer or any other professional to make a valid will. The Wills Act 1837 sets out what a will must contain, and none of it involves a lawyer. A correctly made homemade or online will has the same legal force as one drafted by a solicitor.

What a professional adds is judgement: spotting tax exposure, drafting clauses that say exactly what you mean, and reducing the risk of a later dispute. For a straightforward estate, a carefully made DIY or online will can do the job. Our wider estate planning guide shows how a will fits alongside the rest of a plan.

What makes a homemade will legally valid?

For a will to be valid in England and Wales, five things must all be true. Miss any one and the whole will can fail, in which case the estate is shared under the rules of intestacy, which may not reflect what you wanted.

• You are 18 or over. Younger testators cannot make an ordinary will.
• You have mental capacity. You understand what a will does, roughly what you own, and who you are providing for.
• It is in writing. Typed or handwritten are both acceptable; there is no set form of words.
• You sign it. You sign the will, or direct someone to sign in your presence and on your behalf.
• Two witnesses sign. Both must be present at the same time when you sign, then sign the will themselves while you watch (Wills Act 1837, section 9, as at August 2026).

How to write your own will, step by step

To write your own will, list what you own and who you want to benefit, appoint executors and any guardians, set out your gifts and a catch-all residuary clause, then sign and witness it correctly. Working through it in order helps you avoid the gaps that cause most homemade wills to be challenged.

1. List your assets and debts. Property, savings, investments, pensions, vehicles and valuables, less any mortgage or loans, so you can see the whole estate.
2. Decide who inherits, and name substitutes. Say who receives specific items or sums, and who takes their place if a beneficiary dies before you.
3. Choose your executors. Pick one to four people you trust to carry out the will; two is common so one can act if the other cannot.
4. Appoint guardians for children under 18. Name who would look after any minor children, having asked them first.
5. Include a residuary clause. State who receives everything left over after gifts and debts. Leaving this out is a leading cause of partial intestacy.
6. Put it in writing and check the wording. Use plain, specific language and read it against your asset list so nothing and no one is missed.
7. Sign and witness it correctly. Follow the execution rules in the next section exactly; this is where most homemade wills go wrong.
8. Store it safely and tell your executors. Keep the signed original somewhere secure and make sure your executors know where it is. You can deposit a will with the probate service for a one-off fee of £24 (gov.uk, as at August 2026). Our guide on how to write a will covers drafting and storage in more detail.

Who can witness your will, and who cannot?

Your will must be signed in front of two witnesses who are both present at the same time, and who then sign it themselves while you watch. Any adult aged 18 or over can witness, but a beneficiary, or the spouse or civil partner of a beneficiary, must not. If they do, the will stays valid but that person loses their gift.

Remote or video witnessing, allowed temporarily during the pandemic, ended on 31 January 2024, so both witnesses must now be physically present with you (gov.uk, Making a will, as at August 2026, subject to change).

Is your estate simple enough to do it yourself?

A DIY or online will is usually safe for a simple estate: UK assets only, a settled family, adult beneficiaries and no inheritance tax planning driving the structure. It gets risky when trusts, businesses, blended families, overseas property or an inheritance tax bill are involved, because a small drafting error can be costly to unpick after death.

Inheritance tax is a common trigger for advice. The nil-rate band is £325,000, and the residence nil-rate band adds up to £175,000 where a home passes to direct descendants, so many estates up to £500,000 for a single person, or £1,000,000 for a couple, pay no inheritance tax. Both bands are frozen until 5 April 2031. Above £2,000,000 the residence band is withdrawn by £1 for every £2 of extra value, and estates above the threshold are taxed at 40%, or 36% if at least 10% goes to charity (gov.uk, Inheritance Tax, as at August 2026, subject to change). If your estate is near or above these figures, the way your will is structured can change the bill, which is where our inheritance tax guide and tailored advice tend to pay for themselves.

What does it cost to make a will without a solicitor?

Making a will without a solicitor ranges from a few pounds to around £200. A printed will kit is the cheapest but the easiest to get wrong; a regulated online or will writing service sits in the middle with more support; a solicitor costs more but adds tailored drafting. Cost should follow the complexity of your estate, not the other way round.

Typical market ranges as at August 2026; they vary by provider and complexity, and some charities run free or low-cost will schemes at certain times of year. Subject to change. See our pricing for how we work.

The mistakes that make homemade wills fail

Most homemade wills that cause trouble fail for a handful of avoidable reasons, and nearly all of them happen at the signing stage or in the wording. Witnessing slips, a missing residuary clause and vague gifts are the usual culprits, and each one can send part or all of the estate down a route you never intended. Checking your draft against the list below before you sign removes the majority of the risk.

• Witnessing errors. A beneficiary or their spouse witnessing the will, or the two witnesses not being present at the same time.
• No residuary clause. Anything not specifically gifted passes under intestacy, often to unintended people.
• Vague wording. Phrases such as "share my money fairly" invite disputes over what you meant.
• Not updating after marriage. Marriage or a civil partnership usually revokes an existing will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage.
• Handwritten changes after signing. Amending a signed will can invalidate the change or the whole document.
• Nobody can find it. An unstored will your executors cannot locate may be treated as if it never existed.

Frequently asked questions

These are the questions people most often ask before writing a will without a solicitor. In short, it is legal in England and Wales, a correctly signed and witnessed homemade will is as valid as a solicitor's, any two independent adults can witness it, and marriage usually revokes an earlier will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage. The detail on each sits below.