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Where there’s a will...
...there’s an octopus saying there’s a more interesting way to write it.
Your will could be a template. Or you could make it your own.
Why not share more than money? Share notes, playlists and memories.
When people think of wills,
they think about things like
wealth, assets, property.
What secret don't you want to
take to your grave?
If you could relive one
memory, what would it be?
What should everyone wear
at your funeral?
What songs are on the
playlist of your life?
It is for the people you leave behind. We know the difference a good plan makes and what it's like when there isn't one.
In 2016 our founder Sam's Mum died suddenly. It was tough enough, but the frustration of legal fees and mess that came with it was overwhelming.
That's why we started Octopus Legacy, so no one else has to go through the same thing.
These people are talking about death and creating their legacy. Join the conversation. Read what they have to say.
Talking about death can be scary, but so are all the other important things in life.
It’s time to ask the questions. Start the conversation.
Death comes with all sorts of questions. Existential, emotional, logistical. Whatever questions you have we can stretch apart together.
Yes, you can make an online will. Writing your will, like most things in the world has gone digital. Our online system was created by lawyers and saves you time and money when making your will. Additionally, for peace of mind, your online will is checked by our expert team who are available when you need help.
Yes it’s possible to write your will. Most DIY options are one size fits all. The benefit of writing an online will is that your will is tailored to the information you provide.
You can write your will or online will without a solicitor, and it’s completely legal. Your online will is created by our solicitor-approved system and was built by a solicitor and expert legal team. It just requires you to input your own details to be completed.
There are some cases where you may want to seek legal advice. If you have a complicated or larger estate then you may need a complex will. If you think this might be you, then you can speak to our wills team free of charge on 020 4525 3605. They can help you find the best option for getting your will sorted.
Writing a will was expensive, which was another reason to put it off. The cost of doing a simple will with a lawyer or solicitor ranges from £150-£300. If you need a complex will it can cost between £300-£1000. Wills are living documents and the government recommends we edit them every 5 years, or when something big happens in our lives. But traditionally this has always been costly, making it hard to do. Traditional will writers either charge you for a new will or for a codicil (edit), which can cost up to £100+.
We wanted to do it differently. Our online will costs £90, and that includes our on-hand expert support. Life changes and wills should too. That’s why we’ve made editing your online will easy. We offer free unlimited changes for the first year and only £10 per year after that.
Yes an online will is 100% legal once the will has been printed and signed by you and two witnesses. Your will comes with easy-to-follow instructions on how to sign it properly.
- Unlimited updates. You can update and amend your online will at any time, no need for a codicil.
- Physical storage (optional). We can store your online will for you if you do not want to do this yourself.
- Support with end-of-life planning. Writing an online will is just the start of a process of getting your ducks in a row to make life easier for the people you care about. You’ll always get first access to our end-of-life planning tools at discount rates.
- Keep updated. Our advisors are experts of the law and if there are any legislation changes we'll update you.
- No pressure. You can cancel any time - just contact us to let us know by phone, email or live chat.
Dying without a legal will in place is called dying intestate.
The average cost of dying intestate is roughly £9,700 and leaves your loved ones in the lurch with decisions to make and a tonne of paperwork to do.
A will isn’t really yours - you never use it - it’s a gift that you’re giving the people you care most about to save them having to sort everything from scratch.
Most likely you will need to update your online will. It is a living document that will evolve as your life and situation changes. The advantage of our online will service is that you can update it any time. This is free for the first year and only £10 per year after that. Just let us know what amends you’d like to make and we’ll send you the updated version to sign with two witnesses. Simple as that.
If you used a more traditional will writing service this is more complicated. You’ll either have to write your will from scratch and incur the cost, or make an amendment, called a codicil, which usually costs £100+. A codicil is basically a legally binding addition / modification to your will.
Online mirror wills are simply clone wills for couples. More popular and relevant now is just a simple will for both partners. Getting your online will as a couple in this way means that they can be updated more easily and also reflect any personal wishes one may have. We even offer a special deal for couples wanting to write their wills online. Our couples online will package only costs £135, instead of £90 for each will, saving you £45.
- A legally binding will. Our online will tool guides you through the process of writing your will step-by-step, our experts use your answers to create a will that will be legally binding once signed and witnessed.
- Your online will is checked. Our in-house expert reads over it and checks that everything is correct. We'll return your will to you within 7 business days. If we have any questions we'll contact you by email.
- Live on-hand support. Our team of experts are here to support when you need us.
There are two types of will: simple and complex. The kind of will you need depends on your situation.
A simple will is our most popular online will; which lets you name executors, nominate guardians for children and pets, and divide out your estate as you wish.
Our online will is designed to let you make your will with ease. You can do it from the comfort of your own home in just 15 minutes and save money on getting a solicitor to simply fill in a online will template that works for you.
If you think you require a complex will, then you can speak to our wills team for free at 020 4525 3605. This may be the case if you have assets overseas or a particularly large estate.
Our system breaks down this process step-by-step so you know what to include in your online will. We ask you about yourself and your family, your assets and how you would like them to be divided, and the people who you want to execute your online will.
If you have children under the age of 18 you can add guardians in your online will. Appointing a guardian for your children in your will means that they will be looked after in case the worst happens.
We also ask several optional questions about any funeral wishes you may have and any specific gifts or messages you would like to leave.
We believe that every adult in the country should sort their online will, long before it's necessary. But, it becomes even more important when you have children, own sizable assets, or have a large family.
There are both financial and non-financial reasons why sorting your online will is important.
Financially, dying without your will in place is called dying intestate and may cost your family thousands after you have passed away.
Financials aside, having your online will in place can reduce family disagreements, ensure your assets go where you want them to, help plan your funeral, and allocate specific gifts.
You can print your online will at home. No printer, no worries. We’ve got you covered. We offer a print and post service for just £9.99 for exactly that reason. You’ll be given this option at the end of the process.
Yes. Lots of couples choose to write their wills together. We make this even easier with our couples package (online will kit). Save £45 when you write your wills at the same time. Just click here and the option to write a will with your partner will appear in the first few steps.
On average it takes 15 minutes. Yes really, that’s it.
In order to be legally binding, wills written online will still need to be printed, hand-signed and the signature will need to be witnessed by two people.
Life changes. Wills should too. Unlike lots of other will providers, one of the advantages of our online will service is that you can edit it any time.
A will is your chance to have a say in what happen when you die.
It is a legal binding document where you can lay out:
- What you want to happen to any money, property or specific items
- Who you want to look after your pets, or children (under the age of 18) - if you have them.
- Who you want to be in charge of sorting this whole process out.
Generally writing a will is important if any of the following apply to you:
- You’re a homeowner
- You’re a parent or legal guardian
- If you have a partner
- If you’ve recently got married
- If you’ve recently got divorced
Unsure? Take this free 1 minute quiz here to find out if a will is important for you.
Yes you can.
We’ve even created a special section in our online will tool where you can lay out your funeral wishes if you want to.
It's not compulsory, but it can be a huge relief to the people you leave behind. It saves them worrying if they've done you proud.
Knowing they’ve celebrated you in the way you would have wanted can be a huge comfort in a tough time.
Absolutely. We offer a range of services from online wills to over the phone support.
Just call our team on 020 4525 3605.
The team will talk you through the process, provide advice and draft your will based on your wishes.
Making a online will or over the phone is easy and cost-efficient, and most importantly it makes life easier for the people you love when they need it the most.
As long as the will is signed in the correct manner, your telephone will is valid.
You can write your own will on the back of a napkin if you want… As long as it’s signed with two witnesses it will be legally binding.
However, there are ways to write a will that make sure your wishes are crystal clear and less likely to be up for debate or confusion. It’s easy to make mistakes that can prevent your will from becoming legally binding, such as formalities issues, problems with witnesses or legal misunderstandings.
An online will can be a happy medium - a way of sorting your will quickly, easily and without breaking the bank, but still getting the expert support you need to have confidence in it for years to come.
Online will providers provide testators with the tools to write their own wills. These services do not include execution of the will documentation; it is the testator’s responsibility to print it off and arrange for its execution in accordance with the applicable laws.
It depends on the nature of the relationship with your partner upon your death. If you have written a legally valid online will in place at the time of your death, your estate will pass according to the terms outlined within the document.
If you die without a will, your estate will pass according to the rules of intestacy. If you married or in a civil partnership with your partner, they will either get all of your personal property, the first £270,000 of your estate and half of the remaining estate, or all of your personal property and the entirety of your estate with interest from the date of your death, based on whether you have living descendants or not respectively. If you are not married to or in a civil partnership with your partner, they cannot inherit under the rules of intestacy and can only apply to a court for a financial provision.
Likewise, if you are divorced or your civil partnership has been legally ended, your partner cannot inherit under the rules of intestacy.
However, if you are separated from your partner without having divorced or legally separated,they can still inherit under intestacy, following the same procedural rules as married partners or those within a civil partnership.
The original versions of legal documents, such as wills are the only legally binding versions. Scans, photocopies and computer records are not legally valid because they don’t have the original signatures on them. That is why most wills will usually be found at people’s homes, but they can also be stored by professionals or the Probate Service.
Wills written online, as any other kind of will can be registered at the National Will Register. Original wills, stored outside of the house, may be overlooked because executors and beneficiaries are unaware of their existence or location. In consequence, any kind of will, including wills written online, can be tracked through the National Will Register in case the original cannot be easily found elsewhere.
For a online will to be legally valid and binding, it must be signed by and in the presence of two independent witnesses over the age of 18, in addition to the testator themselves being an adult with mental capacity making the will voluntarily.
During the Coronavirus Pandemic, the government amended section 9 of the Wills Act 1837, the legislation dealing with making wills, to allow you to witness a will via a video-call or facetime. This applies to wills made on or after 31 January 2020 and provisionally lasts until 31 January 2024.
It couldn’t be easier. To update or amend your will you just need to login to your account and use the navigation bar to go to My Will. From there you can update and amend each element and section as and when you need.
Our legal team will then review these changes and either email or print and post the amended PDF version of your will for you to sign in front of witnesses.
There are two main ways to get an online will for free.
Through your trade union or employer – Check whether yours has any partnership with an online will writing service.
Through charities you support – Partnerships between charities and online will writers to provide wills to their supporters. In return, you might consider leaving said charity a legacy.
To write a legally binding will you need to be:
- A legal adult
- Have testamentary capacity
- Making your will voluntarily
Once signed, the legally enforceable parts of your will, such as how your estate is divided, who your executors are and your beneficiaries all become legally binding.
There are three main types of gifts you can include in your online will:
- Residuary Gift: A percentage share of your estate You can leave certain percentages of your estate to friends, family or charities.
- Pecuniary Gift: A set amount of money You can also leave a fixed cash gift for example £1,000 to a friend, family member or charity. These gifts come out of your estate first, and then whatever is left over is divided according to your wishes.
- Specific Gift: A particular item If you have a specific item that you want to give someone you can do this too, such as a car or jewellery, or a work of art.
If you die without a will in place, your assets are dealt with according to laws of 'intestacy'. These laws are the government's way of deciding how everything you own is split up. However, the persons who inherit under intestacy may not be the persons you want to ultimately receive your assets.
Dying without a will could then cause additional stress and complications to your loved ones at an already distressing time. Therefore, making a will is one of the most important things you can do to make sure that your wishes are clearly laid out to deliver the outcome that you want and ultimately will give peace of mind to your loved ones.
If you’re in a civil partnership when you die your will will be dealt with in the same way as a married couple.
This means that if you have a will then the wishes laid out in your online will will be followed.
If you don’t have a will in place then your estate will be divided up according to the rules of intestacy. When you have a civil partner this means that your surviving partner will inherit all of the personal property that belonged to you and the following depending on whether you have any surviving descendents…
If you have surviving descendents e.g. children then your partner will get:
- The first £270,000 of your estate (everything else you owned) and half of the remaining estate.
- Your surviving descendants e.g. children will get the other half of the remaining estate.
f you don’t have any surviving descendents then your partner will get everything.
If you have a legally valid will in place, your will will determine what happens to your estate, gifts and any children under 18 years old.
However, if you don’t have a will in place it’s a little more complicated.
If you have a partner, but you aren’t married your estate will be divided up according to the rules of intestacy. Intestacy rules only provide for married partners or blood relatives.
This could mean that your partner gets nothing if you’re not married. They can always apply to the court for financial provisions to contest this.
If you don’t have a partner when you die, your estate will be divided up according to the rules of intestacy. Intestacy rules provide for any of your blood relatives or other close relatives if you don’t have children or grandchildren.
Mirror Wills are two wills, for two different people, usually a married couple, that have virtually identical wishes.
E.g they might both want to leave the entirety of their estate to their respective partner, with their children as back up beneficiaries.
It is a great way to communicate joint wishes simply.
However, whilst both wills are mirrored, they are still separate legal documents.
So if any major changes occur, both people need to update their online wills to ensure they are still matching.
An executor is the person named in a will who is responsible for sorting out the estate of the person who has died.
You can choose them in our online will under the section: Executors.
A will is a legal document which outlines what happens to your worldly possessions when you die. In order for a online will to be legally binding and to follow the rule of wills, it must tick a few legal boxes.
- The person writing the online will must be an adult and of sound mind
- The will must be signed in the presence of and by two independent witnesses
- These witnesses must be:
- Over 18 years old
- Have a clear view of the person writing the will signing it If all of these boxes are ticked then the rule of the will has been followed.
Traditionally, updating your will can be costly and complicated. Most solicitors charge fees to amend your will, otherwise known as a 'codicil' and some even make you start from scratch each time.
The government recommends you update your will every 5 years - making this process expensive and stressful.
But life changes and wills should too.
That’s why when we built our online will service we made it extra easy to amend and update over time. We offer free unlimited changes for the first year, and a £10 per year subscription that allows you to update your online will any time after that.
In order for a will to be legally valid, it has to be witnessed and signed by two independent adults. They are there to check that the will writer knows what's happening and isn't being pressured into signing.
A witness must be over 18 years old.
They can't be:
- Related to the will writer
- A beneficiary of the will
- Married or in a partnership with any beneficiaries
Most people choose neighbours, friends or colleagues as their witness. You can also choose a professional such as a solicitor or GP.
Firstly, if your children are under 18, it is important to write a will so that you can have a say in who would look after them if you and any co-parents or guardians were to die. If you and any co-parent or guardian were to die the court will appoint guardians, which might not reflect your wishes.
Secondly, it allows you to provide for them, either directly if the child is over the 18, or through a trust, for children under 18.
Lastly, sorting your Will allows you to give particular items you own to your children, ranging from practical gifts like a car to sentimental ones.
If you’re a homeowner your will is the place you can say who you’d like to inherit it - and the same applies to any money, savings or possession that you have.
If you own the property on a ‘joint tenant’ basis, your share of the property will automatically pass to the other co-owner on your death. However, if you own the property on a ‘tenant in common’ basis, your share in the property will pass using the rules of intestacy if you do not have a Will, meaning it would pass to your closest living relative according to government rules, which might not reflect your wishes.
Deciding what happens to a house you’ve worked hard for is usually the kind of thing most people want to have a say in.
Writing your will allows you to do just that.
Octopus Legacy is not a regulated body by the SRA. Therefore, our will and LPA products are not regulated. Our Probate service is regulated by the SRA under our subsidiary Octopus Legal Services.