People may soon be able to make Wills electronically if the government takes up recommendations by the Law Commission to reform the law governing Will writing in England and Wales.

On 16 May 2025, the Law Commission published its final Report: Modernising Wills Law, which includes a series of proposals designed to modernise the law of Wills to ensure it is fit for purpose in the modern age.

The report is the culmination of a long-standing review of the law surrounding Wills, which has largely remained unchanged since the Victorian era, and is governed by both legislation (primarily the Wills Act 1837) and case law, some of which has been developing for hundreds of years.

Significant changes in demographics, society, technology and medical understanding have taken place since then, which is why the Commission felt reform was necessary.

“Most people will live longer than their ancestors did, and, as a consequence, more people will suffer from ill health and a decline in their mental capacity that are commonly associated with old age,” the Commission said.

“The property that the average person owns may be more valuable than it was in the past. Not so long ago, documents would have been in paper form only; but documents in electronic form are now far more prevalent than paper documents.

“We therefore think that reform is necessary,” said the Commission in the introduction to the report.

In this blog, our experienced Wills solicitors summarise the key findings of the Law Commission’s final Report: Modernising Wills Law.

• Electronic Wills.

The validity requirements for a valid Will are set out in the Wills Act 1897, which unsurprisingly does not expressly cater for electronic Wills.

In its report, the Law Commission recommends that electronic wills should be capable of being valid, in the same way as paper wills, provided that they meet an additional formality requirement: that a reliable system is used to ensure the security of the Will.

In particular, a reliable system must be used that:

• At the time of the signing of the Will, links any signature with the person whose signature it is.
• Identifies the Will so that it can be distinguished from any copies.
• Protects the Will against alteration or destruction other than by the testator or a person authorised or directed by the testator to alter or destroy the Will.

• Marriage should not revoke a Will.

Once a person makes a will, they can choose to revoke it. However, under the current law a person’s will is automatically revoked if they get married or form a civil partnership.

This leads to unintentional intestacies, believes the Law Commission, and can also open the door to financial abuse through predatory marriage (where someone marries another person with the sole intention of inheriting from them).

The Law Commission therefore recommends in its report that the rule that marriage or civil partnership revokes a will should be abolished.

• Testamentary capacity.

The test for whether a person has the mental capacity necessary to make a Will is currently found in a case from 1870, Banks v Goodfellow.

However, there is another mental capacity test that also applies in some cases, and this is set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The Law Commission found that it is “unprincipled and confusing” to have two tests to govern mental capacity in the context of Wills and recommends that the test set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 should apply to all assessments of testamentary capacity.

• Children making Wills.

Currently, only those aged 18 and over can make a valid Will.

The Commission concluded that the age at which a person can make a valid Will should align with the law on mental capacity and should therefore be lowered from 18 to 16.

• Courts given a dispensing power.

Currently, a Will that does not comply with the formality requirements in the Wills Act 1837 is not a valid Will, even if it is very clear what a person wanted to happen with their property after they died.

The Commission believes that where a person’s testamentary intentions are clear, there should be a mechanism making it possible to give effect to those intentions.

It recommends that it should be possible for a court to dispense with the formality requirements in relation to an invalid will – “a dispensing power”.

• Rectification powers for the courts.

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.

Currently, a court’s rectification powers for Wills are limited to ‘clerical’ errors rather than any mistakes made in drafting.

Under the proposals, a court will be able to rectify drafting errors as well where it is satisfied that a Will does not give effect to the testator’s intentions because the drafter failed to understand the meaning or effect of the language being used.

• Testamentary undue influence.

If someone believes that a Will, or a gift in a Will was made as a result of coercion, they currently have the burden of proving it.

However, undue influence can be difficult to prove.

To overcome this, the Law Commission has recommended that courts should be able to infer undue influence “where there is evidence which provides reasonable grounds to suspect it”.

• Gifts.

The Law Commission recommends that the rule invalidating a gift in a Will to a witness, or to their spouse or civil partner, should be extended so that gifts in a Will are also invalidated where they are made to:

• The cohabitant of a witness.
• A person who signed the Will on behalf of the testator.
• The spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of a person who signed the will on behalf of the testator.

Read the Law Commission’s full report Modernising Wills Law by clicking here.

The Commission has also produced a draft Bill for a new Wills Act.

It is now for the Government to consider and respond to the Law Commission’s recommendations. It has already given its initial response and must provide a full response within a year.

Wills Solicitors Blackheath

At Beverley Morris & Co. Solicitors, our Blackheath-based team of specialist Wills solicitors has extensive experience in Wills, Trusts and Inheritance issues.

We regularly act for beneficiaries, individuals, executors and trustees and provide legal advice that is clear and easy to understand.

To speak with one of our specialist Wills and Probate team, led by Lori Harley and Tina Chan, please get in touch by calling 020 8852 4433, emailing privateclient@beverleymorris.co.uk or filling in this contact form.

For more information about our Wills and Succession Planning legal services, please click here.