A will is a snapshot. It describes your wishes, your family, your finances and your priorities at one specific moment in time. The day you sign it, it's perfect. The day life changes, it isn't.
This article makes the case for an updateable will - and why, in 2026, it should be the default rather than the exception.
The problem with a will you can never change
A traditional, one-off will is bought, signed, filed away, and quietly forgotten. Most people never look at it again until the next major life event - and even then, the cost and friction of writing a new one means many simply don't.
Surveys consistently find that over half of UK adults with a will have a will that's at least five years out of date. The most common reasons:
- They got married or divorced and never updated.
- They had a child who isn't named.
- An executor has died, moved abroad, or fallen out with them.
- A specific gift refers to a house that's been sold.
- The named beneficiary they wanted to look after has since died first.
Each of these can quietly turn a valid will into a misaligned one. Each can cause real harm to a family who assumed everything was in hand.
What "updateable" actually means
An updateable will is not a different legal document. It is the same Wills Act 1837 will - the same drafting, the same witnessing, the same enforceability. What's different is the surrounding service:
- You can log in any time and re-issue the will with new information.
- The new will, once signed and witnessed, automatically revokes the old one.
- Older drafts are retired in your account so no-one is left wondering which version is current.
- The will is tied to a Family Vault that updates alongside it - new insurance, new accounts, new funeral wishes all stay in sync.
With Trusted Hands, this is the Annual Subscription with Family Vault. The subscription costs less per year than most people spend on coffee in a single month.
When you would actually use it
A will is rarely written and forgotten. The events that most people don't expect to happen do happen:
- Marriage - in England and Wales, marriage automatically revokes a previous will (unless it was specifically made in expectation of that marriage). Without an update, you die intestate from your wedding day.
- Divorce - your ex is treated as having died for the purposes of the will. This rarely produces the outcome you actually want.
- A new child - new guardians, new beneficiaries, sometimes a new substitute executor.
- Loss of a beneficiary or executor - your substitutes step in, but you'll usually want to add fresh ones.
- Major changes in finances - a windfall, an inheritance, a redundancy.
- A change of heart - someone you trusted is no longer someone you trust, or vice versa.
Each of these is a "this year" event for somebody, not a hypothetical. The Update Your Will page covers each in more detail.
Why people don't update wills that need updating
Three reasons keep coming up:
- Cost. Solicitor-drafted wills are typically £200-£500 per rewrite. The mental friction of paying again is enough to make people delay.
- Effort. Booking an appointment, going through the questions again, finding new witnesses. It feels like a project.
- Memory. Life events that should trigger an update slip past. Marriage, new home, new child - all are busy times. The will gets pushed to "after this is sorted" and never picked up.
A subscription model fixes all three. The cost per update is zero (it's covered by the small annual fee). The effort is low (the builder remembers everything from your last version). The memory aspect is helped by life-event reminders.
Subscription vs one-off - which is right for you?
A one-off will is fine if:
- Your life is unusually stable and unlikely to change much.
- You're happy to revisit your will every few years yourself and write a new one each time.
- You don't need a Family Vault for additional documents.
- You want a no-strings, low-cost approach.
A subscription is worth it if:
- Your circumstances are likely to change - new house, new child, marriage, divorce.
- You want the Family Vault for the documents your executors will actually need.
- You'd rather always have a current will and current documents than rebuild from scratch each time.
- You like the safety net of life-event reminders.
There is no wrong answer - both produce a legally compliant will. The difference is what happens between today and the moment your will is actually needed.
The compounding effect
The real value of an updateable will isn't a single update. It's the cumulative effect of a will that's never significantly out of date.
A will that's been gently refreshed five times across a decade reflects the family you actually have, the assets you actually own, and the people you actually trust right now. A will written once in 2014 and never touched might reflect none of those.
For the £12/year a subscription costs, that's a meaningful difference.
Frequently asked questions
Does updating my will affect my inheritance tax position?
It can - in either direction. An update is a chance to make better use of available relief (charitable bequests, the residence nil-rate band, life-interest trusts) or accidentally undo earlier planning. For estates near or above the thresholds, take advice on the IHT side. See our inheritance tax guide.
Do I need to re-sign and re-witness every time?
Yes - every signed will needs to comply with the Wills Act 1837 formalities (in writing, signed, two adult witnesses present at the same time). The Trusted Hands builder produces a print-ready PDF; you sign and witness as you would any will.
Can I cancel a subscription if I no longer need it?
Yes. The subscription can be cancelled at any time. Your existing signed will stays valid; you simply lose the ability to re-issue future updates and the active write-access to the Family Vault.
Is the annual cost worth it for just one or two updates over many years?
Some people sign up for one focused update (around a marriage or new child), then cancel. That's a perfectly valid use of the service. Others keep it as a long-term insurance policy against drift. Both are fine.
A will that grows with your life.
Trusted Hands lets you re-issue your will any time, with the Family Vault keeping the rest of your important documents current alongside it.
- Build your will online from £49
- Add the annual subscription for unlimited updates + the Family Vault
- Life-event reminders so you don't have to remember
- Cancel any time - no lock-in