5 mistakes not to make with your will

Three in five Which? members with a will say they haven’t updated it in five years, according to our recent survey.

But writing a will isn’t a one-and-done exercise. A will that hasn’t been reviewed, was changed incorrectly or can’t be found when it’s needed may not work in the way you expect – and in some cases can be treated as though it never existed. 

Here, we explore five will mistakes Which? members have made, and the practical steps you can take to avoid them.

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1. Putting it off

In our survey, one in 10 Which? members said they don’t have a will. Around four in 10 of those said it was because they hadn’t found the time: 'I know I should have one, but I can never quite get around to doing it!' one member told us.

If you die without a will (known as 'dying intestate'), your estate is distributed according to set legal rules. The rules differ in the devolved nations but are based on spousal and family connections: there’s no provision for unmarried partners or stepchildren, and the rules don’t take into account the closeness of your relationships or who is in most need.

Several Which? members said that providing for people who wouldn’t inherit under intestacy rules was a key motivation for writing their will.

Dying without a will can also make it harder for your loved ones to settle your affairs. Instead of a named executor, which a will would give, someone must step in as administrator (or ‘executor dative’ in Scotland). They’ll need to check that no valid will exists and, if necessary, apply for letters of administration (LoA) or confirmation before they can deal with your estate. 

• Find out more: how to make a will.

CASE STUDY

'My brother died without a will'

When Jane Wilde's brother died intestate in 2023, she was left to administer his estate. ‘I was worried that he had not made a will but found it hard to broach the subject and had not done so,’ Jane told us.

Valuing the estate proved difficult, as Jane knew little about her brother’s finances. She discovered unpaid debts and soon began receiving calls from debt collectors. 

‘It was really overwhelming,’ she said. While the experience put her under strain, Jane said most of the people she dealt with were sympathetic. ‘There’s plenty of help available if you know where to look,’ she added.

Under the intestacy rules, Jane inherited her brother’s estate outright. But she chose to use a deed of variation to pass on the money in line with what she believed he would have wanted. Jane shared the estate between family members, three charities and two of her brother’s close friends. ‘I felt I should recognise the support given to my brother,’ she said. ‘It was wonderful to have the opportunity to give money to others.’

2. Not updating it

The government recommends reviewing your will every five years and after major life events, such as marriage or civil partnership, or the birth or adoption of a child. 

In our survey, three in five of those with a will said they hadn't updated it in the past five years.

Some changes automatically affect your will. In England, Northern Ireland and Wales, a civil partnership or marriage can revoke an existing will, so you’re at risk of dying intestate until a new one is made. (Marriage doesn’t void a will in Scotland.)

In all four nations, divorce treats a former spouse as though they’ve died. While the will itself remains valid, you'll need to write a new one if you want your former spouse to remain a beneficiary or executor. 

Even if your circumstances haven’t changed, it’s still worth checking that your will reflects your wishes. More than four in 10 members who had updated their will in the past five years said they did so because they wanted to change how their estate would be distributed. 

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3. Not making changes properly

Once a will has been signed and witnessed, it can’t be altered, and you should never amend the original document.

For minor changes, such as appointing a new executor or adding a small gift, you can use a codicil. This document allows you to make limited amendments and must be signed and witnessed in the same way as your will.

One Which? member ran into problems when administering his father-in-law’s estate due to a small error in a codicil. His father-in-law had made a mistake when writing the date and corrected it with his initials, but didn’t sign it. 

The member eventually received probate after three months of back-and-forth with the probate registry (which grants probate in England and Wales), but described the experience as time-consuming and stressful. 

If you need to make more substantial changes, you’re usually better off writing a new will. Multiple codicils, or using them to make major changes, can create confusion about your wishes and increase the likelihood of your will being challenged. A new will should clearly state that it revokes all previous wills and codicils.

• Find out more: how to make a will for free.

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4. Not storing it in a safe place

It’s important to store your will in a safe place, as your estate could be treated as intestate if your will is lost or damaged. 

In our survey, half of those who have a will said it’s stored with a solicitor. Regulated solicitors have a duty to make sure wills they hold are securely looked after and, in the unlikely event that your will does go missing, there are steps you or your executor can take to track it down.  

You can also choose to store your will with a will-storage service, HM Courts and Tribunal Service in England and Wales, or the Register of Deeds in Scotland for a fee. 

Four in 10 members with a will in our survey said they store it at home. This avoids storage costs, but it’s important to keep it somewhere it’s unlikely to be damaged (such as in a fireproof chest) or accidentally thrown away. If it’s kept in a safe, your executor will need to know the combination.

Make sure your executor knows where your will is stored. In our survey, one in 10 members said they haven’t told their executor where their will is, and a further 8% couldn’t remember whether or not they had.

Only one in six of those with a will said they’d registered it with the National Wills Register, a central database that records where a will is stored. Doing so can help an executor track it down if it goes missing.

• Find out more: 'Do I need a solicitor and accountant to write my will?'

CASE STUDY

What happens if your will goes missing?

When Graham Mortimer and his wife decided to update their wills last year, they discovered that the conveyancer storing them had stopped trading. Graham said they tried to track down the documents but, after many unanswered emails and calls, no trace could be found. 

The couple eventually rewrote their wills with a solicitor, but the experience left Graham frustrated. ‘How can you have a legal document you’re trusting to someone for safekeeping just disappear?’ Graham said.

Which? lawyer James Buchan says there are steps you can take to track down a missing will. ‘If your will was stored with a regulated solicitor, there should be a record of where it is. In England and Wales, the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Law Society should be your first point of call. The SRA may hold the documents itself, or they may have been passed to a successor firm.

‘If it was stored with an unregulated firm, you may be better off rewriting it.'

Different regulatory bodies operate in the devolved nations: in Scotland, solicitors are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland, while the Law Society of Northern Ireland oversees solicitors in Northern Ireland.

5. Not keeping it in good condition

One in five members with a will told us they don’t know what condition it’s in. While physical damage doesn’t necessarily invalidate a will, it can be interpreted as evidence of tampering or an attempt to revoke it, which could lead to probate delays or legal challenges.

Paperclip marks and removed staples can also cause problems, as they may be taken as evidence that documents or pages have been removed. 

One Which? member told us he was questioned by the probate office about staple marks in his wife’s will after removing the staple to make a certified copy. Although the explanation was accepted, his advice was to avoid removing staples if possible.

• Find out more: how to choose an executor

Our research: We surveyed 1,360 Which Connect panel members in October 2025.