If you've ever held a sleeping child and felt the weight of being responsible for them, you already understand why this article exists. A will isn't really about money. For parents of children under 18, it's about who looks after them, who manages their inheritance, and how you make sure their lives keep their shape if you're not there.
Around half of UK adults don't have a will. Among parents of young children, the figure is barely better - which is striking, because this is the group with the most to lose by not having one.
This guide covers what a will does for a parent in England and Wales: appointing guardians, protecting young children's inheritance, and the practical steps to put a sensible will in place quickly and calmly.
Why a will matters more once you have children
Without a will, the intestacy rules decide everything. Those rules date from the Administration of Estates Act 1925 and they were not designed with modern families in mind.
If you die without a will and you have children:
- The court decides who looks after them - not you.
- Your estate may be split awkwardly between a surviving spouse and the children, with the children's share sitting on a statutory trust until they turn 18.
- An unmarried partner inherits nothing automatically, even if they've been raising the children with you for years.
- Stepchildren you've raised but never adopted are invisible to the rules and inherit nothing.
A will overrides all of that. It is the single document that lets you, rather than a default rulebook, decide what happens.
Appointing guardians
This is the single biggest reason parents of young children need a will. A guardian is the person who steps into your role if both parents die before a child turns 18. Without a named guardian in a will, a court chooses - usually after a contested family hearing.
A few practical points:
- You can name guardians jointly (a couple) or singly. If you name a couple, think about what happens if they later separate.
- Always ask first. It's a serious commitment and most people are honoured to be asked, but it shouldn't be a surprise.
- Name a substitute in case your first choice can't act.
- Talk it through with the other parent - your wills should align.
(If thinking about this nudges you to act, start your will online - it takes 15-30 minutes and you can finish later if you need to.)
Our full guide on appointing guardians goes deeper into the conversation, including how to handle disagreements between you and the other parent, and what happens if a guardian later changes their mind.
Who manages your children's inheritance?
Children under 18 cannot legally inherit money outright. Whatever you leave them is held on trust until they reach a specified age. Your will appoints trustees - the people who manage the inheritance until the children take it.
Trustees and guardians are often the same people, but they don't have to be. Many parents deliberately split the roles: one set of people raise the children day to day, a different (often more financially confident) set look after the money. That can prevent awkward conflicts of interest.
You also choose the age the trust pays out. The default at 18 is often too young - many parents specify 21 or 25 instead, sometimes with staged amounts:
- A modest amount at 18 (so they're not penniless during university).
- Half at 21.
- The remainder at 25.
This is the kind of structure a guided will builder can draft cleanly.
Life insurance, pensions and the will
For most young families the headline assets aren't a paid-off house and savings - they're life insurance and pension death benefits. Both usually pay out outside the will to whoever you've named on the policy or scheme nomination form.
Two things to check today:
- Is your nomination up to date? If your nomination still names a parent or sibling, your partner and children won't receive it directly. Most providers let you update online in five minutes.
- Is the lump sum payable into a trust, or directly to a beneficiary? Paying a large life-insurance lump sum directly to young children isn't ideal - a trust is usually the right home for it.
A common structure is a life-interest or discretionary trust named in the will, with the life policy written into trust on the same terms. This keeps the lump sum out of your estate for inheritance tax and gets it to the children through trustees you trust.
For complex estates, we recommend you seek assistance from a Trusted Hands Advisor or your own legal advice.
Inheritance tax for young families
Most young families won't pay inheritance tax. The nil-rate band of £325,000 plus the residence nil-rate band of £175,000 (where you leave the home to direct descendants) means a couple can pass on up to £1 million between them tax-free, and these allowances are frozen until April 2030 under current UK government policy.
What does affect young families more often:
- A life-insurance lump sum outside trust is part of your estate and can push it over the threshold.
- A jointly-owned home with significant equity adds quickly.
- Pension death benefits paid as a lump sum to your estate (rather than directly to a beneficiary) count too.
A guided builder will flag these. Our inheritance tax guide walks through the numbers.
What if you and your partner aren't married?
Cohabiting couples are the group at the highest legal risk if one of them dies without a will. The intestacy rules don't recognise unmarried partners at all. Your partner can be left navigating a 1975 Act claim against their own children's estate to keep the home you bought together.
If you're cohabiting, a will isn't optional. It's the only document that gives your partner certainty.
> Ready to put your will in place? Trusted Hands turns these decisions into a 15-30 minute guided builder. Start free → - only pay when you download.
What a parent's will typically contains
A standard will for a parent with children under 18 covers:
- Executors - the people who carry out the will (often two, with a substitute).
- Guardians - who looks after the children if both parents die.
- Trustees - who manages the children's inheritance.
- Specific gifts - sentimental items, modest cash gifts to relatives or godparents.
- Residue - the bulk of the estate, usually to a spouse or partner first, then to the children equally on trust to a chosen age.
- Funeral wishes - non-binding but helpful for those left to organise things.
- Letter of wishes - a non-binding personal letter that can sit alongside the will, explaining choices and leaving messages for the children.
Signing requires two witnesses present at the same time, both 18 or over, neither of whom is a beneficiary. The signing rules come from Wills Act 1837 section 9 - small to follow, fatal to get wrong. Our will mistakes guide covers the common pitfalls.
What if you die without a will?
We have a fuller article on dying without a will in the UK, but the headline for parents is this: the court appoints guardians, an administrator (not an executor of your choosing) handles the estate, the rigid intestacy formula decides who inherits, and your children's shares sit on a default statutory trust until 18 with no flexibility.
It is rarely the outcome a parent would have chosen.
> Ready to start your will? Trusted Hands turns these decisions into a 15-30 minute guided builder. Start free → — only pay when you download.
Frequently asked questions
At what age should I write my first will?
Whenever you have someone who depends on you. For most parents, that's the moment your first child arrives - or even during pregnancy. Don't wait until the children are older; the risk window is right now.
Can my ex-partner become guardian if I die?
If your ex is the child's other legal parent, they automatically retain parental responsibility unless that's been formally removed by a court - regardless of who you appoint as guardian in your will. A guardian appointment really matters when both legal parents have died, or when the other parent doesn't have parental responsibility.
Do my partner and I need separate wills?
Yes - even if the contents are nearly identical. Each adult needs their own will. Most couples make mirror wills: two separate but matching documents.
Should I leave money straight to a 5-year-old?
You can, but it isn't released until the child reaches 18 (or whichever age you specify in the will), and trustees manage it in the meantime. Most parents prefer to set the release age higher than 18 and to give trustees discretion to use the funds for education, housing or maintenance before then.
What if both my partner and I die together?
Wills usually include a 30-day survivorship clause so that, if you and your partner die in close succession, your estate passes as if your partner had died first - which keeps the children's inheritance route clean and avoids assets bouncing through two estates with double administration.
Ready to write your will?
Trusted Hands is a guided, plain-English will builder. You answer simple questions, see your draft as you go, and only pay when you're ready to download.
- Free to start - no card details to begin
- Smart Will Engine - only asks what's relevant to your situation
- Fixed price - no hourly bills, no surprises
- Annual updates option - keep your will editable as life changes