Writing a will has never seemed easier. A shop-bought will pack costs a few pounds, and dozens of websites promise a finished document in under fifteen minutes. For a job that sounds so straightforward, it is tempting to tick it off the list and move on.
The problem is that a will only does its job once you are no longer around to correct it. By the time a mistake comes to light, it is often too late to put right, and the people left behind are the ones who pay for it, sometimes literally. This is the exact concern raised in Martin Lewis will writing advice: because will-writing in the UK is not a regulated activity, the protection you have when something goes wrong varies enormously depending on how the will was prepared.
For families across Lancashire, from Preston and Blackburn to Lancaster, Chorley and the surrounding towns and villages, making sure a will is properly prepared can be particularly important when property, family arrangements and other assets are involved.
Below are the five mistakes we see most often with DIY and online wills, and what each one actually means for your family.
1. Getting the signing and witnessing wrong
This is the single most common reason a homemade will fails, and it has nothing to do with what the will says. Under the Wills Act 1837, a will in England and Wales must be signed by you in the presence of two independent witnesses, who must both be present at the same time and then sign it themselves.
Get any part of that sequence wrong and the entire will can be invalid. The catch that trips people up most is who acts as a witness. If a beneficiary, or the husband, wife or civil partner of a beneficiary, witnesses your will, that person loses their inheritance entirely, even though the rest of the document may still stand. Many people ask a close family member to witness without realising they have just cancelled that person’s gift.
An online template cannot watch you sign it. It has no way of knowing whether the formalities were followed correctly, which means the responsibility, and the risk, sits entirely with you.
This can become especially problematic when a will is completed in a hurry at home. Whether you live in Preston, Blackpool, Morecambe or elsewhere in Lancashire, having the signing process properly explained can help avoid a mistake that could create unnecessary difficulties for your family later.
2. Using vague or ambiguous wording
A will has to be read and acted upon by people who cannot ask you what you meant. Everyday phrases that feel perfectly clear in your own head can become the subject of a serious dispute once you are gone.
Instructions such as “share my money between the children” raise more questions than they answer. Which children? In what proportions? What happens if one of them dies before you do? Does “money” include the house, the car and the savings, or only the cash in the bank? Homemade wills are frequently silent on these points.
A particular danger is leaving out a residuary clause, which is the part of the will that deals with everything not specifically mentioned. Without one, anything you forgot to list can pass under the intestacy rules rather than to the people you intended. That is the very outcome a will is supposed to prevent.
For example, someone who owns a family home in Lancashire, savings, personal possessions and other investments may assume that listing one or two major assets is enough. In reality, the estate needs to be considered as a whole. A change in circumstances, such as buying another property or receiving an inheritance, can also affect what needs to be covered.
3. Failing to appoint the right executors and guardians
Every will needs at least one executor: the person who gathers in your assets, settles any debts and carries out your wishes. DIY wills often either miss this out completely or name someone without a moment’s thought.
Common problems include naming a single executor who has since died, choosing someone who has no wish to take on the role, or picking a person who is simply not up to a task that can involve tax, property and paperwork over many months. Naming a substitute executor, in case your first choice is unable to act, is a sensible step that templates rarely prompt you to take.
Parents of young children have even more at stake. A will is the proper place to appoint a legal guardian, so that you decide who raises your children rather than leaving that decision to others. This is one of the most important reasons to have a will at all, and one of the most frequently forgotten in a rushed online version.
This is relevant to families throughout Lancashire, whether they are living in a large town such as Blackburn or Preston or in one of the county’s smaller communities. Family circumstances are rarely identical, which is why a one-size-fits-all template may not properly reflect what you actually want to happen.
4. Overlooking assets that do not pass under the will
A surprising number of people assume that a will controls everything they own. It does not, and this misunderstanding causes real damage.
Property held as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving owner by survivorship, regardless of what your will says about it. Pensions and most life insurance policies are usually paid out according to a separate nomination form held by the provider, entirely outside the will. Gifts you attempt to leave in a will can therefore fail simply because you never owned those assets in the way you assumed.
There is also the matter of changing circumstances. In England and Wales, marriage automatically revokes an existing will unless that will was specifically made in contemplation of the marriage. Countless people walk down the aisle without knowing that the will in their drawer has just been cancelled. Divorce, new children, house moves and the death of a named beneficiary all have consequences too. A will is not a document you write once and forget; it needs to keep pace with your life.
This is worth remembering for homeowners across Lancashire. Moving house, buying a second property, transferring ownership or changing how property is held can all affect estate planning. A will that made sense several years ago may no longer reflect your current circumstances.
5. Storing the will badly, or losing the original
Even a perfectly drafted will is worthless if nobody can find it, or if only a photocopy survives.
Probate is normally granted on the original signed will. If the original cannot be located after your death, the law generally presumes that you destroyed it deliberately, which means it may be treated as though it never existed. A will stuffed in a kitchen drawer, water-damaged in a loft or thrown out during a house clearance can leave your estate to be distributed under the intestacy rules instead.
Attaching anything to the will with a paperclip or staple can also cause difficulty, as marks suggesting a removed document raise awkward questions during probate. Proper, secure storage, and making sure your executors know where the will is kept, is not an afterthought. It is part of getting the job done properly.
This matters whether your family is based in Lancaster, Lytham St Annes, Nelson, Garstang, Kirkham or another part of Lancashire. Your executors may already have enough to deal with after your death without having to search through paperwork trying to establish whether a will exists and where the original is held.
Why these mistakes matter more than the saving
None of the errors above are exotic. They are ordinary, human and easy to make when you are working from a template with no one checking your work. That is the heart of the issue with unregulated will-writing: the cost looks attractive, but the safeguards are thin, and the fault only surfaces when it can no longer be fixed.
Having a will prepared by a qualified solicitor removes almost all of this risk. The wording is clear, the signing is witnessed correctly, your assets are properly accounted for and the document is stored safely. You are also covered by professional regulation and insurance if anything ever goes wrong.
For people in Lancashire, using a local solicitor can also make the process more straightforward. You can discuss your circumstances with someone who understands the importance of getting the legal details right, rather than relying entirely on a generic online questionnaire.
At Marley Solicitors, we offer a straightforward will writing service in Lancashire that gives you certainty rather than guesswork. We help clients across Lancashire with putting their wishes into a properly prepared will and making sure important details are not overlooked.
If you would like your wishes recorded properly, and protected for the people who matter to you, please get in touch with Marley Solicitors and we will guide you through every step.