A will only works if it is valid, clear, and actually reflects your current life. Get any of the following wrong, and you can end up with a document that looks complete but fails when your family needs it most.

1. Using a beneficiary, or their spouse, as a witness

Under the Wills Act 1837, a will must be signed in the presence of two independent adult witnesses, who then also sign it. If a witness is also a beneficiary, or married to one, the witnessing itself is still valid, but the gift to that person is void. This is one of the most common, and most easily avoided, mistakes in DIY wills, and people frequently do not discover the error until it is too late to fix.

2. Leaving wording open to interpretation

Phrases that feel clear to you when you write them can be read multiple ways by a court years later. "My belongings to my children" raises immediate questions: which belongings, which children if some have died first, in what shares? Ambiguous wording is one of the leading causes of contested wills in England and Wales, and a contested estate can cost the family £10,000 to £50,000 or more in legal fees to resolve, money that comes directly out of the inheritance everyone was waiting for.

3. Forgetting that marriage automatically revokes an existing will

This catches a surprising number of people out. In England and Wales, getting married automatically cancels any will you made beforehand, unless that will was specifically made in contemplation of the marriage and says so. Many people remarry, assume their existing will still applies, and unknowingly die intestate as a result, with their estate then governed by the rules of intestacy rather than their own wishes.

4. Not naming a guardian for children

If you have children under 18, your will is where you appoint a testamentary guardian, the person who would care for them if both parents died. Without this appointment, the court decides who takes on that role, a process that can take time and may not reflect what you, or your children, would have wanted.

5. Choosing the wrong executor, or not having a backup

Your executor deals with everything: valuing the estate, paying debts and tax, and distributing what is left. Naming someone unable or unwilling to act, without naming a replacement, can leave your estate without anyone legally able to administer it smoothly. It is worth naming at least one alternate executor, and having an honest conversation with whoever you choose before you finalise anything.

6. Overlooking blended family circumstances

If you have stepchildren you have not legally adopted, a standard will that simply says "to my children" will not include them, however long you raised them as your own. Equally, leaving everything outright to a second spouse, with no further protection, means there is nothing stopping them from later leaving the entire estate elsewhere, including away from your own children. Blended families almost always need more thought than a simple, default will structure.

7. Not telling anyone where the will is, or storing it badly

A perfectly valid will is useless if nobody can find it when it is needed. Wills get lost in house moves, left in drawers nobody checks, or stored with a long-closed solicitor's firm. Keep your original will somewhere secure, tell your executor exactly where it is, and consider professional storage, many providers will hold the original for you at no extra cost.

The pattern behind all seven

Every mistake on this list is avoidable, and none of them require a complicated estate to cause real damage. They happen because a will is treated as a one-off task to tick off, rather than a document that needs to be done properly and kept up to date. Getting it checked by someone who knows what to look for, even if you have already drafted it yourself, is one of the cheapest forms of insurance available.

Already have a will, or about to write one? Get it checked properly. Book Consultation with Everlasting Legacy and we will review it for exactly these issues before they become a problem for your family.

This article provides general information about the law in England & Wales and is correct at the time of writing. It is not a substitute for advice tailored to your individual circumstances. Please speak to a qualified adviser before making decisions about your estate.