In May 2025, the Law Commission published its long-awaited proposals to modernise the law of wills — the most significant review in over a century.

The reforms are designed to reflect modern life, digital behaviour and evolving case law. At the time, the proposals were widely welcomed across the sector, including by our charities team, particularly given the potential implications for legacy administration and contentious probate work.

The Draft Wills Bill – Key Proposals

The proposed reforms include:

• Allowing wills to be made digitally.
• Giving courts discretion to dispense with strict execution formalities in appropriate cases.
• Replacing the common law test in Banks v Goodfellow with the statutory test under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Reducing the minimum age for making a will to 16.
• Abolishing the rule that marriage automatically revokes a will.

Professional bodies including STEP and the Institute of Legacy Management broadly supported the reforms, particularly the proposed judicial discretion where a testator’s intentions are clear but formalities have not been perfectly followed.

At the same time, questions have been raised about the safeguards required to protect vulnerable individuals — particularly in the context of digital wills.

Where Are We Now?

Despite strong initial support, progress has been slow.

In November 2025, the President of the Law Society, Mark Evans, publicly criticised the lack of movement, warning that failure to modernise risks undermining access to justice and the protection of testamentary wishes.

Nine months on from the original report, there has still been no draft legislation introduced. However, the Ministry of Justice recently commented in its periodic report on Law Commission recommendations, acknowledging that the current law is outdated and confirming that reform remains under consideration.

The Government emphasised that any changes must preserve existing safeguards — a clear signal that digital reform will be approached cautiously.

What This Means for Legacy Teams

For now, the position remains unchanged. The Wills Act 1837 continues to govern execution and validity.

However, the direction of travel is clear. If enacted, the reforms would significantly affect how wills are created, challenged and administered — particularly for charities dealing with informal documents, electronic records and capacity disputes.

We remain in a “watching brief” phase, but the issue has not fallen off the agenda.

We will continue to monitor developments closely and update charity legacy teams as soon as there is substantive progress.

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