Are free Wills really free, and are they worth it?

Last verified: March 2026 (England & Wales)

A “free Will” sounds attractive. If the paperwork is free, the thinking goes, why pay?

Our view is that most people should avoid free-Will schemes.

That is not because every free Will is invalid or because every provider is acting badly. It is because “free” usually means limited scope, limited time, limited service, and limited thinking. If the service were truly full and tailored, it would not be free.

Free tells you the price. It does not tell you the cost.

A free Will may have a £0 entry price, but the real cost can appear later in pressure, upgrades, missed planning, family disputes, or tax and practical problems that were never properly thought through. 

If you want a Will that is designed around your actual family, your property, your risks, and your wishes, start with a proper Standard Will Service or, where extra protection is needed, one of our Protection Packages.

If you already have a Will from a free scheme and you are not sure whether it still does the job, ask us to review it through a Will MOT.

Quick-read summary

• Most free-Will schemes only cover the absolute basics.
• The moment your circumstances are not basic, the “free” part usually falls away.
• People are often encouraged to donate, leave a legacy, or upgrade once the process starts.
• The real risk is not just hidden cost. It is ending up with a document that is too basic for your family.
• If you own property, have children, are in a second relationship, or want any kind of control or protection, a free Will is rarely the best route.
• You can still support a charity or good cause through a proper Will, on your terms, without pressure and without compromising the planning.

Why “free” is often the wrong starting point

The problem with free-Will schemes is not just price. It is the mindset they create.

They encourage people to think in terms of “I only need something simple” when the better question is “What does my family actually need?”

Many people who start by saying they only want a basic Will later realise they also need to think about:

• who should be the right executors
• what happens if a beneficiary dies first
• whether children or step-children need protecting
• whether the survivor should inherit everything outright
• whether the home is owned in the right way for the outcome they want
• whether there should be any trust wording
• how the Will works alongside LPAs, storage, and future reviews

That is exactly why free-Will schemes so often disappoint. The “free” version tends to cover the document at its simplest, not the planning at its most useful.

Many families are not basic, even when they think they are.

When a free Will might be adequate

There are a few limited situations where a free-Will scheme may produce a usable result.

For example:

• a very simple family structure
• one straightforward estate
• no trust needs
• no blended family issues
• no business, overseas, or unusual assets
• no real need for detailed discussion
• no expectation of wider support

In our view, that is the exception, not the rule.

Even then, the client still needs to ask whether the overall service, explanation, storage, update pathway, and follow-up support are good enough.

The real risks with free-Will schemes

1. The scope is usually narrower than people realise

A free scheme may cover a very basic Will and nothing more.

That often means no real room for tailored advice on:

• blended families
• vulnerable beneficiaries
• trusts
• property protection
• guardianship detail
• business assets
• foreign elements
• more careful contingency planning

Once the case stops being basic, the work usually becomes chargeable anyway.

2. There can be pressure to donate or leave a legacy

The wording may say donation is voluntary. That does not mean clients never feel pressure.

Some people come away feeling they “ought” to donate, or “ought” to leave something in the Will, because otherwise they feel awkward accepting the free service.

That is a poor basis for a legal document.

If you want to support a charity, that should be your decision, freely made, inside a proper planning conversation.

3. There can be pressure to upgrade once you are in the process

This is one of the most common problems.

The client is attracted by “free”, then discovers that their real needs sit outside the free scope. At that point they are already part-way in, emotionally invested, and more likely to accept an upsell.That does not always mean the additional work is unnecessary. Often it is necessary. The problem is that the free offer was never really the whole answer.

4. The service is often narrower than clients expect

A free Will is not just about the words on the page. It is also about:

• how much time you get
• how carefully your circumstances are explored
• whether the meeting is face-to-face, by phone, or form-led
• whether awkward family issues are properly teased out
• whether the adviser is building the right plan or just processing the case

A cheaper or free route often means less time, less depth, and less challenge where challenge is needed.

5. Storage, updates, and follow-up may be weaker or unclear

People often focus on getting the Will signed and forget to ask:

• where the original will be stored
• how it is retrieved later
• what happens if the provider stops trading or the arrangement changes
• whether future updates are easy or expensive
• whether anyone will help the family use the document in practice

That matters. A Will is only useful if it can be found, understood, and relied on later.If secure storage matters to you, compare that properly too. Our Document Storage page explains how our own storage service works.

A Will is not finished when it is signed. It is finished when it can still be found and used properly years later.

Why “I only need something basic” is often wrong

This is where most mistakes begin.

Clients often say they only need a simple Will because they do not yet realise what needs thinking through.

Common examples include:

• a couple assuming everything can just pass outright to the survivor
• parents assuming “the children get it equally” is enough
• second marriages where both sides want fairness but not the same outcome
• people wanting one child protected without excluding the others
• homeowners not realising the way the home is owned matters
• clients assuming a basic Will will somehow cover later complications automatically

A proper consultation often reveals that what looked simple was only simple on the surface.

This also applies to union, employer, and campaign-based offers

The issue is not who fronts the offer.

Whether the free Will is offered through a charity, a union, an employer, a membership body, or a campaign month, the same question still applies:

Is this genuinely the right service and the right document for the client?

If the answer is no, the badge on the front does not rescue it.

Better ways to support a good cause

If supporting a charity matters to you, you do not need a free-Will scheme to do it.

You can still:

• include a gift to charity within a properly drafted Will
• keep control over the rest of the estate planning
• decide the amount and structure in your own time
• avoid feeling pressured into a donation just because the service started as “free”

That is usually the stronger position: generosity by choice, not generosity by pressure.

Cases

The “free” Will that stopped being free

A couple started with a free-Will offer thinking they only needed mirror Wills. Once their home, children from earlier relationships, and their wish to protect the survivor without disinheriting either side were properly discussed, the matter was no longer basic. The free offer got them in the door, but it did not solve the real problem.

A proper planning conversation led to a better structure and a clearer result.

The donation that felt optional, but did not feel comfortable

A client used a free-Will scheme and later said the awkward part was not the Will itself. It was the feeling that they ought to donate or leave a legacy because otherwise they were somehow taking advantage.

That is precisely why we prefer a straightforward paid service. The client pays for the work, keeps full control, and decides separately whether to support any charity.

The basic Will that was too basic

A widowed parent assumed a simple Will was enough because everything was “obvious”. On review, the document did not deal well with replacement executors, did not reflect how the property was actually owned, and left too much to later assumption. What looked cheap at the front end would have created confusion and risk later.

Are free-Will schemes always bad?

Not always. A genuinely simple client may receive a usable basic document. Our view, though, is that most people should avoid free-Will schemes because most families need more than the absolute basics.

Are they really free?

Sometimes only at the narrowest level. The basic Will may be free, but anything more tailored may not be. There may also be indirect pressure around donations, upgrades, storage, or future changes.

What is the biggest risk?

Usually not invalidity. The bigger risk is ending up with a Will that is too basic for the real-life family, property, and planning issues involved.

Do free-Will schemes usually cover trusts?

Not in the way most clients would hope. Once trust planning, protection, or more tailored drafting is needed, the work often moves outside the free scope.

What if I already have a free Will?

Do not panic. The sensible next step is to have it reviewed. A Will MOT can help confirm whether it is still fit for purpose or whether a rewrite is the cleaner answer.

Can I still leave money to charity in a proper paid Will?

Yes. Of course. A paid service does not stop you giving. It simply lets you give on your terms inside a plan that also works for your family.

Is a paid Will always expensive?

Not necessarily. More importantly, price alone is the wrong measure. The right question is whether the document, explanation, and support are actually good enough for what your family may have to deal with later. You can see our current Services & Fees here.

Next steps

If you are considering a free-Will scheme, pause and ask a better question:

Will this give me the right plan, or just the cheapest starting point?

If you want a Will that is properly thought through from the start, look at our Standard Will Service.

If your circumstances need more control, protection, or trust planning, look at our Protection Packages.

If you already have a Will from a free scheme and want to know whether it still works, start with a Will MOT.

This article is general information only, not individual advice.