People may soon be able to make Wills electronically, following the publication of a report into the future of Wills law in England and Wales that recommends electronic wills should be formally valid.
The report, ‘Modernising Wills Law’, was published by the Law Commission on 16 May 2025. It includes a series of proposals to ensure legislation governing Will writing is appropriate for the modern age.
Making provision for electronic Wills was one of the key recommendations in the report, with the Commission believing it is “an important update to the law of Wills to make it fit for the 21st century”.
The current law governing Wills in England and Wales is largely a product of the Victorian era, primarily falling under the Wills Act 1837.
The Wills Act 1897 states that for a Will to be legally valid, it must:
- Be in writing.
- Be signed by the testator, or by a person on their behalf.
- The testator’s signature must show an intention for the Will to have legal effect.
- The testator must sign the Will in the presence of two or more witnesses.
- The witnesses must sign and attest the Will.
These nearly 200-year-old requirements fail to expressly cater for electronic Wills.
The Law Commission was tasked with bringing up to date Wills law to take into account changes in demographics, society, technology and medical understanding that have taken place since the Wills Act was enacted.
The final Report is accompanied by a draft Bill for a modern Wills Act, to replace the Wills Act 1837.
If enacted, the proposals promise wide-ranging change.
“The recommendations in our report together with our draft Bill provide a comprehensive, new and modern law of Wills,” said the Commission.
“They will represent the greatest change in the law of Wills since the Wills Act 1837.
“We believe that our recommendations will make the law clearer and more certain, offer greater protection for vulnerable testators, and promote and support a testator’s freedom to choose what will happen to their estate after their death.”
In this blog, our specialist Wills solicitors summarise the main proposals of the Law Commission’s Modernising Wills Law report.
-
Electronic Wills.
A key feature of the Law Commission’s report was the recommendation that provision should be made for electronic Wills.
While acknowledging that electronic Wills could be contentious, the Commission felt the inclusion of electronic Wills was justified.
“As this project is the first general review of Wills law in 200 years, we have concluded that the results must be future proof.
“The law must support testamentary freedom. Enabling Wills to be made electronically is critical to doing so for future generations,” said the report.
The Commission recognises that electronic Wills must be secure and provide the same level of security against fraud and undue influence and provide the same level of certainty and evidence about the testator’s intentions as paper Wills.
It therefore recommended that electronic Wills should be capable of being valid, in the same way as paper Wills, provided that they meet an additional formality requirement: that a reliable system is used to ensure the security of the Will.
In particular, said the Commission’s report, a reliable system must be used that “at the time of the signing of the Will, links any signature with the person whose signature it is, identifies the Will so that it can be distinguished from any copies, and protects the Will against alteration or destruction other than by the testator or a person authorised or directed by the testator to alter or destroy the Will”.
-
Marriage should not revoke a Will.
The Law Commission also recommended that the existing rule that marriage or civil partnership revokes a Will should be abolished.
This rule leads to unintentional intestacies and ‘predatory marriages’ (where someone marries another person to inherit from them) and should be scrapped, it said in its report.
-
Lower age of testator.
The Law Commission proposes reducing the age at which you can make a valid Will from 18 to 16.
-
Testamentary capacity.
Testamentary capacity refers to the mental ability of a person to make a valid Will. Currently, the test for whether a person has the mental capacity to make a Will is found in a case from 1870 (Banks v Goodfellow).
However, there is another mental capacity test that also applies in some cases, which is set out under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
The Law Commission has called for more clarity on the test for testamentary capacity by recommending that only one test should apply: the modern test in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
-
Undue influence.
The validity of a Will can be challenged on the grounds of undue influence. However, this can be difficult to prove.
To overcome this and better protect vulnerable testators, the Law Commission’s proposals include provision that courts should be able to infer undue influence “where there is evidence which provides reasonable grounds to suspect it”.
-
Rectification and dispensing powers.
Currently, a Will that does not comply with the formality requirements in the Wills Act 1837 is not a valid Will, even if it is very clear what a person wanted to happen with their property after they died.
The Commission proposes that, where a person’s testamentary intentions are clear, courts should be given a ‘dispensing power’ making it possible to give effect to those intentions.
In its report, the Commission also recommends extending a court’s rectification powers so that it can rectify drafting errors as well as clerical errors in instances where it is satisfied a Will does not give effect to the testator’s intentions because the drafter failed to understand the meaning or direct effect of the language used in the Will.
Read the full summary of the report here.
The government has provided its initial response to the report, with a full response due by May 2026.
Solicitors for Wills Hampshire
A Will is one of the most important legal documents you need and provides valuable peace of mind and security for you and your family.
You are never too young to make a Will. Everyone over the age of 18 can – and should – make one.
At Bookers & Bolton Solicitors, our experienced Will-writing solicitors are here to make writing your Will as stress free as possible.
From our offices in Alton, Hampshire, our friendly and approachable solicitors assist clients in the local area with their Will writing needs.
If you are too busy to come to the office, we can do your Will remotely, working with you via video call and using our electronic ID system.
Whether you require a solicitor to help you write your Will, need help with the administration of a Will, or require wider inheritance tax and estate planning advice, our lawyers can assist with all of your needs.
For more information about our Will writing services, click here.
