In May 2025 the Law Commission issued a report with recommendations for reform and modernisation of the law on Wills in England and Wales. The current law dates back to 1837, and whilst society, technology, the nature of one’s assets, and family structures have changed drastically over the last couple of centuries, the law governing Wills has not.
Key Changes
The key changes proposed are as follows:
- Marriage will no longer automatically revoke an existing Will, whereas under the current law it does. In this respect, the current law leaves elderly people vulnerable to being victims of predatory marriages whereby their new spouse will inherit all of their estate on death
- 16 year olds would also be able to make Wills under the changes, whereas currently a person has to be 18 years old to create a valid Will
- Digital Wills will be allowed, subject to the same requirements as Wills which must currently be made on paper (ie they must be signed in the presence of two independent adult witnesses who must also sign)
- The court will be given the power to give effect to a person’s wishes, even if they did not make a valid Will. This could be anything from allowing a Will which does not comply with formal legal requirements to be treated as valid, to allowing any type of document expressing a wish to be treated as a valid Will. The court will also have broader powers to rectify, or correct, a Will which is drafted in such a way that its consequences were not intended
- There will be a new test for whether an individual had capacity to make a Will, which shall be aligned with the Mental Capacity Act from 2005. The current test for capacity comes from the case of Banks v Goodfellow from 1870
- Where a Will is suspicious/made in suspicious circumstances there may be a presumption that it was made as a result of undue influence, and it will be for the person asserting it is valid to prove that undue influence did not take place
Some welcome the changes in an effort to bring the law up to date and safeguard vulnerable individuals, whereas others suggest that the changes may open the floodgates for ever-increasing challenges and disputes about Wills and their validity.
It is extremely important to have a Will in place to ensure that your estate is distributed in such a way as you want it to be, taking into account all potential eventualities, and legal advice from a Wills and Probate lawyer can be crucial. Our expert, award-winning team of Private Client lawyers are able to advise on and prepare thorough Wills to ensure that your wishes are given legal effect.