Electronic Wills are back in the news - but the rules haven't changed (yet)

You may have spotted headlines this week about electronic Wills. A House of Lords committee has written to the Government asking why it still hasn't responded fully to proposals that would let people make a legally valid Will electronically.

Here is what has actually happened, what the law says today in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules), and what it means for you.

What happened this week

On 30 October, the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee published a letter to Sarah Sackman KC MP, the Minister for Courts and Legal Services, pressing the Government over its delay in responding to the Law Commission's report Modernising Wills Law, published in May 2025.

That report made 31 recommendations for updating the law of Wills in England and Wales. The headline proposal: electronic Wills should be capable of being formally valid, on the same basis as traditional paper Wills, subject to an extra formality requirement designed to protect the person making the Will.

The Committee's chair, Lord Foster of Bath, noted that electronic signatures can open bank accounts, buy property and secure a mortgage - "yet while they can be used to amass an estate, they cannot be used to bequeath one".

More than 17 months after the report, the Government has yet to give its full response. In a February 2026 report, the Ministry of Justice said it recognised the current law is outdated, but that reform must not compromise existing freedoms or safeguards.

The electronic Will is not the only proposal

The digital headline gets the attention, but some of the other recommendations would matter just as much to ordinary families:

• Ending automatic revocation on marriage. Right now, in England and Wales, getting married or entering a civil partnership automatically revokes an existing Will, unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage or partnership (we covered the rule in our post on getting married and your Will). The Commission worries the rule enables "predatory marriages", where someone marries a person in order to inherit from them.

• A safety net for clear wishes. Courts would get a power to treat a document or recording as a valid Will where the person's intentions are clear, even if the formal rules weren't followed.

• Lowering the minimum age for making a Will from 18 to 16.

• Clarifying the test for mental capacity to make a Will.

None of these is law yet. They are recommendations, and the Government has not said which, if any, it will take forward.

What the law says today in England and Wales

For now, the rules are the familiar ones under the Wills Act 1837 (as updated). In England and Wales, an ordinary Will is only valid if:

• it is in writing;

• it is signed by you, or by someone else in your presence and at your direction;

• you intend your signature to give effect to the Will;

• your signature is made or acknowledged in front of two or more witnesses, both present at the same time; and

• each witness then signs the Will, or acknowledges their signature, in your presence.

There are narrow exceptions - special provision for members of the armed forces on active service and mariners at sea - but for almost everyone, the list above is what counts.

A Will that exists only electronically - typed on a laptop, signed with an e-signature, or witnessed over a video call - does not currently meet those requirements. During the pandemic, witnessing by video link was temporarily allowed, but that measure ended on 31 January 2024.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules for making a Will, which are different from those in England and Wales. This post covers England and Wales only.

What this means for you

The reform debate is worth watching, but it changes nothing about what makes sense today.

A 2025 survey by the National Will Register found that only 37% of UK adults have made a Will. The biggest risk for most families is not that their Will is on paper instead of a screen - it is that there is no Will at all.

Our advice is simple:

• Don't wait for digital. Reform could be years away, and any future option would still depend on having capacity to use it at the time. A properly made Will now protects your family in the meantime.

• Make it properly. Two witnesses, together, watching you sign - the formality rules are exactly the kind of thing a court will look at if a Will is ever challenged.

• Keep the original safe and findable. A signed original that nobody can find helps no one - see our post on keeping your original Will safe.

• Get the paperwork around it in order. Our free Household Organiser gives your family one place to find accounts, policies and contacts.

If you already have a Will and wonder whether it still does what you need - after a marriage, a house move, a new child or grandchild - that is what our AI Will Check is for. We take your instructions, make sure the Will actually does what you need, and suggest improvements or additions where required.

And if you haven't made a Will yet, the news this week is a useful nudge. The law may be slow to modernise, but your family planning doesn't have to be.

Not sure where you stand? Try the AI Will Check or get in touch - we are happy to help.