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Read more articles in: Blog, Contested Wills, Rachel Blackburn
14 August 2026
Over recent years, the concept of a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Will has become more and more popular.
These Wills are often cheaper and easier than completing a Will with a solicitor, but before you decide to DIY a Will, there are some important considerations you must make.
A Will is one of the most important documents you will ever produce. It sets out how your beneficiaries will be provisioned for when you pass away.
That is why it is important to understand the pitfalls of a DIY Will should you choose to make one – something we do not recommend!
A DIY Will is what it sounds like: a Will that is completed by a person without any legal oversight. This is typically done online via a template that is either free or offered at a very low cost.
The ease and convenience also make DIY Wills popular, as most of them can be filled out from the comfort of your own home and at your own pace.
If people do not have complicated wishes, they believe that they do not need professional oversight, as they think it is a straightforward procedure.
While a free alternative to using a solicitor may sound like a good idea, choosing to instate a Will without the use of a legal professional can come with a host of problems.
The first case being that your DIY Will may be invalid.
In the UK, a Will must meet specific requirements to be considered valid. These include signing with witnesses, witness qualifications and clear intentions.
If these specifications are not met, your Will may not be valid.
Will templates tend to also be quite ambiguous, with little basis in legal expertise, so unclear language may be used in the drafting of the Will.
If language is vague, your loved ones may face challenges when deciphering what your wishes were in the Will. In turn, this can lead to legal challenges.
Another issue comes with key provisions that should be included in a Will. People drafting Wills without prior knowledge may forget to include some provisions that are needed.
This could be when appointing executors, guardians for children or a residuary clause. If these clauses are not written into your Will, it may be ineffective and invalid.
It is strongly recommended to speak with a solicitor when drafting a Will. Professionals will help you avoid all these mistakes and ensure that your Will is drafted according to your wishes.
If a DIY Will is invalid or incomplete, the Government will then decide what happens to your estate under the rules of intestacy, even if that is not what you wished.
If you are married with no children, your spouse will inherit the whole estate. However, if you have children, your spouse will inherit the first £322,000 of the estate and half of what is left over. The children will then share the other half.
Should you have children and no partner, the children will share the estate equally. This includes adopted children, but excludes stepchildren.
The priority for who is entitled to your estate under the rules of intestacy is as follows:
This can often be a lengthy process. In some instances, it can take as little as six months, or it can take as long as two years depending on the individual circumstances.
While it is possible to create a DIY Will, many of them fail. That is why we strongly urge people to seek legal counsel when they are creating their Will.
Here at Mander Hadley, our talented Wills and Probate solicitors are here to ensure that your wishes are followed out exactly as you intend, in the most cost-effective way.
We ensure that your Will is created properly, so that when you pass away, your family can have peace of mind that they have been provisioned for in a way that will hold up in court.
Don’t create a DIY Will. Instead, get in touch with our team to ensure that it is done properly!
