People may soon be able to make their Wills electronically if proposals into the future of Will writing in England and Wales made by the Law Commission are taken up by the government.
Provision for electronic Wills was one of the key recommendations made by the Commission in its report ‘Modernising Wills’, published on 16 May 2025, following a long-standing review to ensure the law governing Wills is fit for purpose in the modern age.
Wills Law
While a Will is one of the most important legal documents a UK adult can make, the law surrounding Wills has been criticised as unclear and outdated, being primarily a product of the Victorian era and governed by the Wills Act 1837.
Reform is required, the Law Commission believes, to take account of the “changes in demographics, society, technology and medical understanding that have taken place since then”.
Key to the Law Commission’s proposals is the recommendation that Wills should be able to be made in electronic form.
Currently, the formality requirements to make a valid Will are almost the same as they were when the Wills Act 1837 was enacted. These state that:
- A Will must be in writing
- A Will must 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 believes that its proposal to enable electronic Wills to be formally valid rep–resents “an important update to the law of Wills to make it fit for the 21st Century,” with the proviso that a reliable system is used to ensure the security of the Will.
Law Commission Will Report 2025
The Law Commission made a series of recommendations in its report, aimed primarily at “supporting testamentary freedom, protecting testators (including from undue influence and fraud), and increasing clarity and certainty in the law where possible”.
Some of the other main proposals in the Commission’s final report, Modernising Wills Law, included:
- Marriage should not revoke a Will.
Currently, a marriage or civil partnership automatically revokes a Will. However, many people are unaware of this rule, meaning testators’ Wills are often revoked without their knowledge resulting in unintentional intestacies.
The Law Commission found that this rule can also be exploited by those who enter a predatory marriage with a vulnerable person (marrying them to inherit from them), a form of financial abuse which has devastating consequences for the victims and their families.
To combat this, the Law Commission recommends that the rule that marriage or civil partnership revokes a Will should be abolished.
- Lower age of testator.
Currently, you must be 18 to make a valid Will. The Law Commission recommends reducing this to 16.
- Strengthen court’s powers of rectification.
Rectification describes the power of the court to correct a legal document, including a Will, so that it reflects what the testator intended it to say.
The current law on rectification of Wills allows the court to correct a Will where it fails to carry out the testator’s intentions due to a clerical error or because of the failure of the person who drafted the Will to understand the testator’s instructions.
However, courts currently don’t have the power to rectify ‘drafting errors’, such as where the testator or drafter intentionally chose language which did not have the meaning or effect they intended.
Under the proposals, courts will be able to rectify drafting errors 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.
- Courts to infer undue influence.
If someone believes that a Will, or a gift in a Will was made as a result of coercion, under current law, they have the burden of proving it.
However, undue influence can be difficult to prove.
To overcome this, the Law Commission recommends that courts should be able to infer undue influence “where there is evidence which provides reasonable grounds to suspect it”, which will better protect vulnerable testators.
- Testamentary capacity.
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.
Currently legal professionals must consider both the common law test for testamentary capacity in Banks v Goodfellow (1870) and the test set out under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, depending on the issue to be decided.
If the Law Commission’s recommendations are implemented, it will make the law clearer and mean that the test will be the same whether a person’s capacity is assessed during their life, in the context of the making of a statutory will, or after their death.
The government has already given its initial response to the Law Commission’s report and will now consider the various recommendations for reform, along with the Commission’s accompanying draft Bill for a new Wills Act.
Wills Solicitors Portsmouth
At Larcomes, our experienced team of private client solicitors in Portsmouth and Waterlooville advise on all aspects of estate planning, including Wills, deeds of variation, probate and Lasting Powers of Attorney.
Our specialist Wills and Probate solicitors will work with you to assess your individual needs and guide you through the best possible estate and inheritance planning solution for you and your family.
We also have the expertise to deal with high-value assets, including issues such as inheritance tax and trusts.
To speak with one of our Wills and Probate team, please call 023 9244 8100 or make an online enquiry.
Please note that this article is not intended to be legal or professional advice. It is for general guidance only, and updates to the law may have changed since it was published.
