Modernising Wills law: the first rewrite in nearly 200 years

On 16 May 2025 the Law Commission published its report, Modernising Wills Law, including a draft Bill to replace the Wills Act 1837 - the first wholesale change in almost 200 years. The Government gave an initial response acknowledging that the current law is outdated; its full response, and any Bill, are still awaited. The four headline recommendations:

Electronic Wills

The most complicated reform, and broadly welcomed. With only around half of UK adults holding a Will, an electronic route should widen access - provided the formality safeguards are robust: reliable linking of testator and witnesses to signatures at the moment of signing, a distinguishable original, and protection against unauthorised alteration or destruction. Paper Wills remain fully available for those who prefer them.

Testamentary age reduced to 16

Sixteen and seventeen year olds would gain the ability to decide where their assets pass, rather than defaulting to the intestacy rules. It sharpens the need for public understanding of what intestacy actually does - which is widely misassumed at every age.

Marriage would no longer revoke a Will

Currently, marriage or civil partnership automatically revokes an existing Will - a rule most people have never heard of, and one that has enabled predatory marriages: covert marriages to vulnerable individuals, contracted to inherit under intestacy. Removing automatic revocation closes that route, though it raises its own questions under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. Either way, the standing advice is unchanged: review your Will after every significant life event.

Stronger court powers

Four strands: wider powers to tackle undue influence, including gifts to a witness's cohabiting partner; shifting the burden of proof to those who benefit where circumstances are suspicious; incorporating the Banks v Goodfellow capacity test into the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice, unifying the framework; and a dispensing power allowing the court to uphold a Will where intentions are clear but formalities were not met. We support these - and note that recorded instruction meetings, which have always been our standard practice, are exactly the evidence the new dispensing power would look to.

Key takeaways

• A draft Bill would replace the Wills Act 1837 - electronic Wills, age 16, and an end to revocation by marriage
• Court powers on undue influence, capacity and validity would all strengthen
• Recorded, professional process becomes more valuable under the reforms, not less

Until any change becomes law, the current rules - including revocation by marriage - remain fully in force.