If you are 55 or over, you can have a basic will written for free this October by a participating solicitor. That is Free Wills Month 2026, and honestly, I think it is a good thing. Anything that finally gets people to stop putting off their will has my support.
But I have spent more than twenty years sitting across the table from families. And some of the wills that have landed on my desk afterwards worried me. Not because they were free.
Because nobody had asked the right questions.
So before you book an appointment, here is what I would want you to know, including the one document Free Wills Month does not cover at all. Everything below applies to the law in England and Wales.
When: throughout October 2026 (it also runs every March)
Who: people aged 55 and over; couples qualify for mirror wills if one partner is 55+
What is covered: a basic single or mirror will, written or updated by a participating solicitor
What may cost extra: trusts and more involved arrangements
Do you have to leave a gift to charity? No, it is entirely your choice
Not covered: Lasting Powers of Attorney (we are taking 15% off ours this October)
Free Wills Month brings together a group of UK charities who fund participating solicitors to write or update basic wills for people aged 55 and over. It runs twice a year, in March and October. You book directly with a solicitor taking part in your area, and the appointment has to happen within the campaign month.
The charities pay for it because gifts in wills are a vital source of their income. They hope you will consider leaving them something. You do not have to.
Online Wills and Probate does not take part, and I want to be open about why. It has nothing to do with the charities. I help clients include charitable gifts in their wills all the time, often with a useful inheritance tax benefit. It is because our will process takes at least two hours and works through a 21-page fact-find. That does not fit inside a free appointment model, and I would rather not shorten it.
None of these are trick questions. A good solicitor, paid or free, will be glad you asked them.
This is the one that matters most. I have seen wills that were produced in thirty minutes. Quick, yes. But in half an hour, how much can anyone learn about your family, your property, the people you want to look after and the ones you would rather did not end up with anything?
Ask how long you will have. Ask whether there is a questionnaire to complete beforehand. If the answer is “about twenty minutes”, think carefully about whether that is enough for your life.
Free Wills Month covers basic wills. Plenty of people assume theirs is basic when it is not. If any of these apply to you, your will needs more care:
If that is you, ask up front whether there will be a charge, and how much. Better to know now than to be squeezed into a template that does not fit.
Expect the question. It is a fair one, given who is paying. A well-run appointment will mention the option once, explain how it works, and move on whatever you decide.
If you do want to leave a gift, there is a genuine upside worth knowing about. Leave at least 10 per cent of your net estate to charity and the inheritance tax rate on the rest of your taxable estate can drop from 40 to 36 per cent. For the right family, that can be a meaningful sum.
One client came to us after a will written elsewhere had named the solicitors themselves as executors. Nobody had properly discussed it with him. Professional executors are sometimes the right choice, particularly where there is no family to call on, but they charge for the work, usually from the estate. If a firm is named, you should know exactly how their fees will be worked out, and that it is written into the will.
This is where rushed wills fall down most often, in my experience. Funeral wishes left out entirely. Not a word about online accounts, photos or digital currency. One will I reviewed had limited the client to six beneficiaries, even though he wanted to leave small gifts to several friends and charities.
Ask whether there is room for your funeral wishes, your digital assets, and as many beneficiaries as you need. You might also want a digital executor, someone you trust to deal with your online life.
A will that is not witnessed properly can be invalid. I have seen it happen. In England and Wales you sign in front of two independent adult witnesses who are both present at the same time, and anyone who inherits under the will, or their spouse, should not be a witness (if they are, they lose their gift). Ask who will oversee the signing, whether the finished will is checked before you sign, and who you can contact if your circumstances change later.
If you already have a will that was written quickly, I have set out the problems I have found in free and rushed wills in more detail, along with how a will health check works.
Here is what rarely comes up in a Free Wills Month appointment. A will only works after you have died. It does nothing at all if a stroke, an accident or an illness leaves you unable to make decisions while you are still here.
That is the job of a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). There are two types:
Without one, your husband, wife or grown-up children cannot simply step in to run accounts in your sole name or speak for you about your care. They would need to apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order. It typically takes months, costs considerably more than an LPA, and the court decides who is appointed. Not your family.
Martin Lewis has urged every adult over 18 to make one for years. I agree with him, and I would go a step further: for many of the people I speak to, especially those with young children or a mortgage, the LPA is the more urgent of the two documents. And you can only make one while you still have the mental capacity to do it. You can read more in our complete guide to Lasting Powers of Attorney.
Our fee for a single LPA drops from £300 to £255, or from £600 to £510 for both types together. Use code 15OFF by 31 October. The Office of the Public Guardian’s £92 registration fee per LPA is separate and not discounted.
Here is my honest view. If you are single or married with no children from previous relationships, own your home outright with your spouse, and want everything to go to each other and then to your children equally, a free will from a careful solicitor may serve you perfectly well. Go for it. Just ask the questions above.
If your life has more moving parts, and most people’s do, the will is worth investing in. It is one of the most important documents you will ever sign. The price you pay is less important than the time someone spends understanding what you actually want.
Our wills are written by experienced professionals, backed by a qualified solicitor, and built around a properly thorough conversation about your life. Solicitor expertise, without the bill. You can write a will that actually reflects your wishes, and while you are thinking about your family’s protection, take advantage of 15 per cent off our Lasting Power of Attorney service until 31 October. Prefer to talk it through? Call us on 01858 451 042.
If this guide helped, please share it with someone who needs it. And if they go on to use our service, there is a £25 Love to Shop voucher waiting for you through our refer a friend scheme.
Free Wills Month is open to people aged 55 and over. Couples can usually have mirror wills written free of charge as long as one partner meets the age requirement. The scheme covers basic single or mirror wills, written or updated by participating solicitors, and appointments must be booked and held within the campaign month. If your will needs a trust, or your circumstances are more involved, the solicitor may charge a fee. It is worth asking about this before your appointment rather than finding out on the day.
No. The charities that fund Free Wills Month hope you will consider leaving them a gift, and many people choose to, but there is no obligation. A good adviser will mention the option once, explain how it works, and accept your answer either way. It is also worth knowing that if you leave at least 10 per cent of your net estate to charity, the inheritance tax rate on the rest of your taxable estate can fall from 40 per cent to 36 per cent.
A free will can be perfectly sound. The quality depends on the person writing it and the time they spend with you, not on the price. Where problems arise, it is usually because the appointment was too short to uncover the details that matter, such as an unmarried partner, children from a previous relationship, a business, or digital assets. If your situation is uncomplicated, a free will from a careful solicitor may serve you well. If it is not, a longer, more thorough process is worth paying for.
Free Wills Month runs twice a year, in March and October. The October 2026 campaign runs throughout the month, and you need to both book and attend your appointment within October to qualify. Participating solicitors have a limited number of free appointments, so availability can run out, particularly in the second half of the month. You can find participating solicitors near you through the official Free Wills Month website by entering your postcode.
Free Wills Month covers wills, not Lasting Powers of Attorney. An LPA is a separate legal document that lets someone you trust make decisions for you if you lose mental capacity during your lifetime. Each LPA must also be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, which charges its own fee. Some firms run their own LPA offers alongside the campaign. At Online Wills and Probate, we are taking 15 per cent off our LPA fee throughout October 2026.
Most adults in England and Wales benefit from having both, because they do different jobs. A will only takes effect after you die and decides who receives your estate. A Lasting Power of Attorney works while you are alive, giving someone you trust the legal authority to manage your finances or make health and care decisions if you cannot. Without an LPA, your family may need to apply to the Court of Protection, which takes months and costs considerably more.
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Free Wills Month is a good thing. But a will is one of the most important documents you will ever sign, and it deserves more than a quick appointment. Here are the questions I would ask first.
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