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Last Will and Testament (England and Wales)

A last will and testament is a document made by one person, the testator, setting out how their estate is to be distributed after their death. It appoints executors to administer the estate.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The executor named in the will is the person given legal authority to administer the estate after death - collecting in assets, paying debts and expenses, and distributing what remains in accordance with the will. An executor typically needs to obtain a grant of probate before dealing with most assets. Under section 114(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981, no more than four people can take a grant of probate in respect of the same property at the same time.

As a general rule, a gift to a beneficiary who dies before the testator lapses and does not take effect, unless the will names a substitute beneficiary - which is why this template includes a substitute-beneficiary option for each gift. A statutory exception exists under section 33 of the Wills Act 1837 (as amended): a gift to the testator's own child or remoter descendant who dies before the testator, leaving descendants of their own who are alive at the testator's death, passes to those descendants instead, unless the will shows a contrary intention.

It depends on how the property is owned. Property held as beneficial joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving joint owner by survivorship, outside the will, regardless of what the will says. Property held as tenants in common - where each owner has a distinct, separately disposable share - does pass under the will, to the extent of the testator's share.

Under section 18 of the Wills Act 1837, marriage automatically revokes an earlier will, unless that will was expressed to have been made in contemplation of the specific marriage and states that it is not to be revoked by it. A will made before a marriage that does not contain such a statement will generally need to be replaced or updated once the marriage takes place.

Yes. A will can be changed at any time before death, either by making a new will that revokes the earlier one, or by a separate codicil, each executed with the same formalities as a will - signed and witnessed in accordance with section 9 of the Wills Act 1837. A will has no legal effect until death, so it can be updated as circumstances change.