Why online wills overtook traditional UK will writing
A decade ago, "making a will" in the UK meant booking two solicitor appointments and paying £300–£500. Today, more than half of new wills written in England and Wales each year are drafted through online services. The shift wasn't driven by tech enthusiasm — it was driven by three boring realities:
- The legal product is genuinely identical. The Wills Act 1837 sets the bar for validity: 18+, sound mind, signed in front of two independent witnesses who also sign. A will that meets those criteria has the same legal force whether it was drafted online or by a Magic Circle solicitor.
- The production model changed. A solicitor charges for office overhead, hourly billing, and two physical appointments. An online service replaces all three with a structured questionnaire that captures the same information in 15 minutes, plus a qualified estate planner reviewing the draft before release. Same inputs, lower cost.
- The Pandemic-era remote witnessing window opened minds. Between 2020 and 2024, England and Wales temporarily allowed wills to be witnessed by video link. Hundreds of thousands of people made wills that way and discovered the world didn't end. Trust in non-traditional will-making routes climbed fast and never came back down.
The remaining cases where you genuinely need a solicitor — significant Inheritance Tax exposure, business succession, multi-jurisdictional assets, contested family — are real but they're a minority of UK estates. For everyone else, the online route is now the rational default.
What to check before choosing an online will service
Five criteria separate the legitimate online will services from the ones that will leave your family with an invalid document at probate. Ask each provider:
- Is every will reviewed before release? By "reviewed" we mean a qualified estate planner or will-writer reads the draft and flags problems. Some online providers skip this — the questionnaire output goes straight to your inbox. That's a quiet £30 saving for the provider and a quiet risk transfer to you. ClearLegacy reviews every will before release.
- What happens if a question doesn't fit your situation? A good service has human escalation built in. A bad service has a chatbot or a form that only accepts canned answers. If your family is even slightly non-standard (step-children, unmarried partner, second marriage, vulnerable beneficiary), this matters a lot.
- Are signing instructions plain English and platform-appropriate? Most DIY-will failures happen at the witnessing step. A good service gives you a signed-page PDF, names the witnessing requirements clearly, and walks you through who can and cannot witness.
- What's the amendment policy? Life changes — marriage, divorce, a new child, a beneficiary's death — and the will needs to keep up. Some services charge £75 per change. ClearLegacy includes one free amendment in the first 12 months.
- Is the fee genuinely fixed? Watch for storage subscriptions (£15–£40/year), update fees, "premium support" tiers, or executor-service upsells. Compare apples to apples on the total cost of ownership, not just the headline figure.
How to actually judge an online will service
"Best" only means something when you know what you're optimising for. The legal validity of the finished will is the same across every reputable provider — they all have to comply with the Wills Act 1837. The differences are price, review process, turnaround, and whether you want phone contact or a clean self-service experience.
Here's an honest read on the main UK options:
ClearLegacy — £69 single / £99 mirror
- Best for: people who want the lowest price and a fast turnaround
- Review: estate-planner review before release
- Turnaround: 24 hours
- Format: online questionnaire, no phone call required
- Watch out for: we don't currently do active IHT planning beyond what a standard will covers
Farewill — £100 single / £165 mirror
- Best for: people who want telephone hand-holding through the questionnaire
- Review: includes a 30-minute phone consultation
- Turnaround: typically 5 working days
- Format: online form plus optional phone
- Watch out for: 50% more expensive than ClearLegacy for what's essentially the same legal product
Co-op Legal Services — from £150
- Best for: people who already use Co-op for other services and trust the brand
- Review: solicitor-supervised
- Turnaround: typically 2–3 weeks
- Format: phone or online
- Watch out for: more than double the price of ClearLegacy
High-street solicitor — £150–£400
- Best for: complex estates that genuinely need a solicitor (trusts, foreign assets, business succession)
- Review: full solicitor handling
- Turnaround: 1–3 weeks plus appointment scheduling
- Format: face-to-face
- Watch out for: paying solicitor rates for a will a solicitor isn't actually needed for
DIY paper kits — £20–£40
- Best for: nobody, really
- Review: none
- Turnaround: instant
- Format: paper template
- Watch out for: high failure rate at probate, usually on witnessing or signature mistakes that a review would have caught
Why we think ClearLegacy is the best for most people
For the vast majority of UK adults — straightforward estates, named beneficiaries, no unusual circumstances — the £69 ClearLegacy will is the right product. Same legal standing as Farewill or a solicitor, faster, half the price, no phone call required. We'll refer you to a solicitor during review if your situation needs one — we'd rather lose the sale than sell you the wrong product.
ClearLegacy pricing — fixed fees, no surprises
Single Will
£69 one-off
For one person. Legally valid in England & Wales. Reviewed by a qualified estate planner within 24 hours.
Start Single WillMirror Wills
£99 for both
Two matching Wills for couples. Save £39 versus buying two singles. Both reviewed and emailed within 24 hours.
Start Mirror WillsHow we compare on price
| Provider | Single Will | Mirror Wills | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| ClearLegacy | £69 | £99 | Online · estate-planner reviewed · 24-hour turnaround |
| Farewill | £100 | £165 | Online · review-by-phone |
| Co-op Legal Services | £150+ | £245+ | Phone or online |
| High-street solicitor | £150–£400 | £250–£600 | Face-to-face appointments |
| DIY kit (WHSmith etc.) | £20–£40 | £40–£80 | Paper · no review |
Prices are typical published rates at time of writing (May 2026). Sources: provider websites; Law Society for solicitor ranges.
Common worries about online wills (and what the answer actually is)
Three concerns come up repeatedly when people consider an online will. Each has a clear answer:
- "Will Google find out I cut someone out of my will?" No. Your will isn't a public document until probate, which only happens after death. The drafting process is between you and the provider, encrypted in transit and at rest. ClearLegacy never publishes, shares, or sells customer data.
- "What if the company goes bust before I die?" The will itself is the only thing that matters — and you hold the signed original. If your online provider closes tomorrow, your already-signed will is still legally valid forever. You don't need the provider to survive for the document to work.
- "Will my family be able to find it?" Tell at least one trusted person — typically your executor — where the signed original is stored. Options: a fire-proof safe at home, with your solicitor for safekeeping, or registered with the National Will Register (Certainty) for ~£30 so executors can locate it post-death. ClearLegacy emails you the will to keep; we don't store the signed original.
Frequently asked questions
It depends what matters to you. ClearLegacy is the cheapest reviewed option (£69) with the fastest turnaround (24 hours). Farewill includes a phone consultation but charges 50% more. The legal product is the same.
No. Cheapness reflects overhead structure, not legal quality. Every ClearLegacy will is reviewed by a qualified estate planner before release, and the legal status of the finished document is identical to a solicitor-drafted will.
Farewill is £100 for a single will (£31 more than ClearLegacy) and includes a 30-minute phone consultation. ClearLegacy is online-only, faster (24-hour turnaround vs 5 days), and £31 cheaper. Same legal product.
Co-op Legal Services starts at £150 for a single will — more than double ClearLegacy. They have brand familiarity and high-street presence; ClearLegacy doesn't. Legal validity is the same.
For straightforward estates, an online will is the right choice — same legal standing, fraction of the cost. For estates with discretionary trusts, foreign assets, business interests or contested family circumstances, use a solicitor.
Will-writing is not a reserved legal activity in England and Wales, so will-writing services don't need SRA regulation. What matters is whether the service produces wills that meet the Wills Act 1837 — which all reputable providers (including ClearLegacy) do.
ClearLegacy turns around most wills in 24 hours from completion of the questionnaire. Farewill is typically 5 working days. Solicitors are 1–3 weeks plus appointment time.
Farewill has the largest market share and the highest brand recognition. Co-op Legal Services has the longest high-street heritage. ClearLegacy is the cheapest reviewed option with the fastest turnaround. All three produce legally valid wills under the Wills Act 1837 — "trust" is mostly a function of price transparency and turnaround for the user.
Farewill is cheaper (£100 vs £150+) and faster (5 days vs 2 weeks at Co-op). Co-op has high-street presence and brand familiarity if that matters to you. Both are 30–120% more expensive than ClearLegacy (£69), which is the same legal product without the overhead.
For a typical estate, yes — a reviewed online will and a solicitor-drafted will are the same legal document. Both must meet the Wills Act 1837. The solicitor premium pays for office overhead and (for complex estates) bespoke advice — not legal validity. For complex estates with trusts or business interests, the solicitor premium is worth it.
Will Aid (every November) and Free Wills Month (March and October) are the two main free-will schemes. Will Aid is run by participating solicitors with an optional charity donation; Free Wills Month is for people over 55 only. Outside those windows, the cheapest professionally reviewed option is around £69.
Compare on four points: (1) price — fixed fee vs hourly; (2) review — is it read by a qualified person before release?; (3) turnaround — 24 hours, 5 days, or 3 weeks?; (4) what's included — amendments, storage, mirror-will discount. ClearLegacy is £69 fixed, qualified-planner reviewed, 24-hour turnaround, with one free amendment in the first 12 months.
Yes. Farewill is an established UK will-writing company, founded in 2015, with the largest market share in the online-will category. The product is legally identical to ClearLegacy's; the differences are price (£100 vs £69), turnaround (5 days vs 24 hours), and whether a phone consultation is included.
Ready to put a legally valid will in place?
Single Will £69. Mirror Wills £99. Reviewed by a qualified estate planner within 24 hours. No subscription, no hidden fees, no hourly billing.
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