The problems with cheap and DIY wills: an honest look

We would never tell you that a cheap will is always a bad idea. For a very simple situation, a basic will done carefully can be fine, and a careful DIY will is far better than no will at all.

But we see the fallout from wills that went wrong, and it is only fair to tell you what actually goes wrong, so you can decide with your eyes open.

When a simple will is genuinely fine

Let us start with the honest bit, because it is easy to skip.

If your wishes are genuinely straightforward, you are leaving everything to one or two people, you have no previous marriage, no business, no property abroad, no beneficiary who needs protecting, and nothing unusual about how you own your home, then a simple, carefully made will can absolutely do the job.

The key word is carefully. Most of the problems below come from carelessness rather than from cheapness.

Problem one: it is not signed or witnessed correctly

This is the big one, and it is the most common single reason a will fails.

A will must be signed by you in the presence of two witnesses who are both present at the same moment, who then each sign while you watch. Not one now and one later. Not a signature added at the kitchen table and witnessed the following week.

There is a second trap that catches people constantly. A witness, or the husband, wife or civil partner of a witness, cannot benefit under the will. If your daughter witnesses the will that leaves her the house, the will stays valid but her gift fails. She gets nothing. People ask the nearest available adults to witness, and the nearest available adults are usually family.

Get the execution wrong and the whole will can be invalid, which means the intestacy rules decide who inherits instead of you. Our guide on dying without a will sets out exactly what those rules do.

DIY kits rely on you getting all of this exactly right, on your own, from written instructions.

Problem two: the wording is ambiguous

"I leave everything to my family" sounds perfectly clear until a family has to work out what it means. Which family? In what shares? Does it include the stepchildren? What about the grandchildren of a child who died first?

Other classics: leaving "my house" when you have moved since; leaving a named bank account that was closed years ago; leaving "my car" without saying what happens if there is no car; appointing an executor without naming a replacement.

Vague or contradictory wording is one of the commonest causes of disputes, and disputes are slow, expensive and painful. They are also paid for out of the estate, which means the money comes out of what you were trying to leave people.

Problem three: it cannot ask you questions

A template cannot ask questions, and questions are where nearly all the value is.

It will not notice that you have a child from a previous relationship who is not mentioned. It will not ask whether your home is owned as joint tenants, in which case your share passes automatically to the co-owner whatever your will says, which is a genuine shock to a lot of people. It will not flag that a beneficiary receives means-tested benefits and a lump sum could cost them their entitlement. It will not raise the business, the property abroad, or the fact that your chosen executor lives in Australia.

It will not tell you that a trust might suit your situation better than an outright gift, which is something we cover on our trusts page.

These are exactly the things that matter most, and a form cannot see any of them.

Problem four: it goes out of date

A will made ten years ago may not reflect your life now. Children are born, relationships end, assets change, executors die or fall out with the family.

One rule catches people out more than any other: in England and Wales, marriage or entering a civil partnership revokes an earlier will automatically, unless the will was specifically made in contemplation of that marriage. People remarry, never think about it again, and die intestate without ever knowing they had.

Divorce works differently. It does not revoke the will, but your former spouse is generally treated as having died before you for the purposes of gifts and appointments, which can leave gaps the will never anticipated.

Problem five: it creates a false sense of security

The worst outcome of all is thinking you are protected when you are not.

An invalid or unclear will can be worse than no will, because the family assumes it is sorted and only discovers otherwise at the point where nothing can be done. Nobody checks a will while its author is alive, so a defect sits undetected for decades and surfaces at precisely the moment it cannot be fixed.

What it costs to fix afterwards

This is the arithmetic that matters.

A straightforward professionally drafted will costs a couple of hundred pounds. Sorting out a defective one after a death means an application, and if anyone disagrees with anyone else, legal costs that can run into thousands, paid from the estate. That is before the delay, which is typically measured in months, and the strain on a family that is already grieving.

A cheap will that works is a bargain. A cheap will that fails is one of the most expensive documents you will ever sign.

What about online will services?

Online services sit somewhere between a DIY kit and a professional. The better ones use decent drafting and ask reasonable questions. They are a real improvement on a paper kit from a stationer.

The limits are still worth knowing. Most are still a questionnaire, so they can only respond to what you thought to tell them. Most still rely on you to arrange signing and witnessing correctly at home, which is where the biggest risk sits. And very few will spot the thing you did not know to mention.

If you are doing it yourself, do it well

If your situation really is simple enough and you would rather do it yourself, we would genuinely rather you did that than made no will at all. So do it properly:

• Get two independent adult witnesses in the room at the same time, neither of them benefiting under the will and neither married to someone who does
• Sign first, in front of both, then have them sign while you watch
• Do not staple, unstaple, paperclip or attach anything to the will, because marks raise questions at probate
• Name replacement executors and beneficiaries in case your first choices die before you
• Say what happens to the residue, meaning everything not specifically given away
• Store it safely and tell your executors where it is, which our guide on storing a will covers
• Review it after any marriage, divorce, birth or house move

Our honest view

The value of using someone is not the paperwork. It is the conversation: someone asking the right questions and making sure the thing is valid at the end of it.

If you would like that, we offer it on a fixed fee with a free first chat, from £195 for a single will. You can see our prices or get in touch. And if your situation really is simple enough that you are comfortable doing it yourself, we would rather you did that than leave it undone.

General information, not legal advice.