Legal News | 22.05.25

Modernising Wills

Last week, the Law Commission published its final recommendations to reform the law of Wills in England and Wales. The current Wills Act dates from 1837 and the surrounding law has not been comprehensively reviewed for nearly 200 years. Significant shifts in both society and technology have prompted the need for reform and the recommendations look to modernise the law whilst ensuring that those making Wills retain testamentary freedom and are protected from fraud or undue influence.

The recommendations are far-reaching and include:

• Electronic Wills: allowing Wills to be made electronically, subject to them meeting an additional formality requirement that a reliable system is used to ensure the security of the Will.
• Abolishing the law that revokes a person’s Will when they marry or enter a civil partnership: a Will is automatically revoked when a person marries or enters a civil partnership. The Commission recommend that this rule should be abolished to protect individuals from predatory marriages and financial abuse.
• Reducing the minimum age at which a person can make a Will from 18 to 16.
• Adopting a single test for mental capacity: there are currently two separate tests for testamentary capacity in English law. The recommendation is that a single test should be adopted and applied to all assessments of testamentary capacity.
• Invalidity of gifts to witnesses: the rule invalidating a gift in a Will to a witness, or to their spouse or civil partner, should be extended so that gifts in a Will are also invalidated where they are made to the cohabitant of a witness to the Will or to a person who signed the Will on behalf of the testator (or their spouse/civil partner or cohabitant).
• Making it easier for a person’s wishes to be given effect: currently, a Will that does not comply with the formality requirements in the Wills Act 1837 is not valid even if it is very clear what a person wanted to happen with their property after they died. Where a person’s intentions are clear, the recommendation is to give the Courts power to dispense with formal requirements.

The government has already acknowledged the Commission’s recommendations, and a full response is required within a year. Solicitors and professional bodies await the government’s response with interest.

If you would like to discuss your own Will (or are looking to make a Will), please speak to the Private Client Team at Wansbroughs.