Law Commission Proposals: What’s Changing for Wills in 2025

At Maitland Walker LLP, we understand that making a will is about peace of mind – you want to know that you are in safe hands with your advisers. 

The Law Commission has recently recommended some important changes to the way wills may be made and interpreted in England and Wales. These proposals are designed to modernise the law — but they also raise new questions about how best to plan for the future. 

Here’s what you need to know. 

Electronic Wills — A Sign of the Times? 

The Commission has proposed making electronic wills legally valid. That could mean writing, signing, and storing your will entirely electronically – removing the need for a ‘wet signature’. It’s a modern idea — but it brings challenges. 

Security is the key concern – could the will be ‘hacked’? what safe guards are in place to make sure that the will truly reflects the testators wishes? How do we deal with influence? This may see a rise in will disputes.  It will remain important therefore to avoid expensive litigation, to ensure a will is professionally drafted, that safeguards are maintained and to ensure that the will is correctly signed. 

Giving Courts More Flexibility 

Another proposal is to allow courts to approve wills that don’t meet the current formalities — such as being improperly signed or witnessed — if there’s clear evidence that the person intended it to be their will. 

While this may help the proof will be in the detail – what process will be in place for the applications to court? How different  it could also lead to more legal disputes, especially where family members disagree on what was intended. A professionally prepared will, signed and witnessed correctly, remains the best way to protect your wishes and minimise risk. 

Changing the rule that marriage or civil partnership revokes a will  

Currently, getting married or entering a civil partnership automatically revokes your will, unless it is expressly written in ‘contemplation’ of marriage or civil partnership.   If this happens and you don’t make a new will, your estate will be distributed under the rules of intestacy — which may not reflect your wishes. 

The law commission has proposed that marriage or civil partnership should no longer revoke a will, which would simplify things.  However, it does risk old wills being left unchanged despite significant life changes such as new marriages or civil partnership resulting in an undesired outcome.   It would still be important therefore to review your will after any major life change — marriage, divorce, children, or buying property. 

Lowering the Age for Making a Will 

At present, only people aged 18 and over can make a will. The proposed change would allow 16 and 17 year olds to make legally binding wills.  This may be a useful step for younger people who have significant assets (perhaps because of an inheritance).  If this is proposal is implemented, it will be interesting to see whether accompanying guidance will be provided for use in assessing a young person’s understanding and to ensure that no undue influence is being exercised.   

The younger a person is when they write their first will, the more important it will be to regularly review the will to ensure that it is relevant to the young person’s changing circumstances.  

What Should You Do Now? 

Even if these proposals aren’t implemented straight away, they highlight the need to keep your will up to date — and the value of having it professionally prepared.