Most people see a Will as something you write in your 70s, once the mortgage is paid off and the grandchildren are grown.
It’s why, according to the National Wills Report 2025, only around:
- 1 in 5 people aged 18–24, and
- Only a third of 22–34-year-olds
Have a will in place, compared with over half of over-55s.
But a Will isn’t about your age. It’s about whether your life has started to get complicated enough that you’d want a say in what happens next.
For a lot of people, that happens a lot earlier than 70.
Why Life Events Are a Better Reason to Invest in a Will Than Age
If any of the below apply to you, it’s worth having a will, regardless of what’s on your birth certificate:
Property
Buying your first home changes the shape of your estate as soon as you get the keys.
If you’ve bought with a partner, how you own it (as joint tenants or tenants in common) decides what happens to your share when you die.
A Will lets you confirm what you want to happen rather than leaving it to a legal default.
Relationships
England and Wales has no such thing as a “common law spouse.”
If you live with a partner and haven’t;
- Married, or
- Entered a civil partnership,
They have no automatic right to inherit from you under the law. No matter how long you’ve been together or what’s on the mortgage.
This is one of the single biggest reasons young adults need a Will, and one of the least understood.
Children
Once you have children, a Will does two jobs at once:
- It sets out who inherits, and
- It lets you name a guardian for any child under 18 if the worst happened to you (and their other parent).
Without this named in writing, that decision can end up contested between relatives.
Blended Families
Stepchildren have no automatic inheritance rights under UK intestacy law.
If your household includes children from a previous relationship, a new partner, or both, a Will is the only way to make sure everyone you intend to provide for actually is.
Business or a Change in Finances
Starting a business, coming into savings, inheritance, or a change in your financial position are all good prompts to make a Will.
Your estate isn’t static, and your Will shouldn’t be either.
What Happens if You Don’t Have a Will
If you die without a valid Will, you don’t get to decide who inherits. The rules of intestacy do, and they follow a fixed legal order regardless of what you’d have wanted.
Under the current rules:
- An unmarried partner inherits nothing: It doesn’t matter how long you lived together or however you’d have wanted things split.
- A surviving spouse or civil partner only gets the first £322,000 of the estate: (plus personal belongings and half of anything left, if there are children). The rest can be split with children in ways couples rarely expect.
- Stepchildren and close friends are not recognised at all.
- Unmarried without no children: Your estate typically passes to parents, then siblings. Not a partner, regardless of how important they are to your life.
None of this is a guess or a worst-case scenario — it’s the default legal outcome set out by gov.uk, and it applies the moment you die intestate, at any age.
A Will Isn’t Just About Money
Many people think a Will just dictates what happens to their money after they die. While that’s important, it’s not the only thing it does. There are several other reasons to create a Will.
- Choosing your executor: This is the person who handles everything, rather than it defaulting to whoever intestacy rules pick.
- Naming a guardian: for children under 18.
- Digital assets: Instructions for social media accounts, photos, crypto, and other online accounts that don’t come with a paper trail.
- Funeral wishes: Burial or cremation, and anything specific you’d want.
- Pets, gifts and personal items: Leaving something specific to a friend, sibling, or charity that intestacy rules would otherwise skip.
- Future-proofing: A well-drafted Will can account for children not yet born, so you’re not rewriting it with every life change.
“But I Don’t Really Have Anything Worth Leaving”
This is the single biggest reason people give for not having a will as cited by 27% of UK adults surveyed by the charity Will Aid. Other reasons include cost (21%), lack of time (18.5%), and discomfort talking about death (16%).
It’s worth addressing head-on, because it’s the actual barrier stopping most under-35s from acting on everything above:
- You don’t need to own a house for a will to matter: A car, savings, a share of a deposit, or the right to say who raises your children is enough to justify one.
- Cost and time are smaller than most people assume: A straightforward single Will is usually a fixed fee and a short appointment.
- It’s not permanent: You should update your Will as your life changes. Marriage, a new baby, moving house, a new business. Nobody expects you to get it perfect at 25 and never touch it again.
How Ringrose Law Can Help
Making a Will isn’t about expecting the worst. It’s about making things clearer for the people you care about, whatever stage of life you’re at.
Our Wills & Probate team can talk you through what your Will needs to cover for your circumstances.
Get in touch with Alisha White on 01636 594460, or visit us on Castlegate, Newark, to talk through your will.
FAQs
Do I need a solicitor to write a will?No, but DIY or template Wills carry a much higher risk of being invalid, ambiguous, or failing to reflect situations like cohabitation or blended families. These are the exact circumstances where a Will matters most.
I’m not married, can my partner still inherit if I don’t have a will?
No. Unmarried partners have no automatic inheritance rights under intestacy rules in England and Wales. Regardless of how long you’ve lived together.
Can I include my social media accounts and digital assets in my Will?
Yes, a Will can include instructions for an executor to manage or close digital accounts. You can also leave a letter of wishes with login details and preferences (this shouldn’t go in the Will itself, since Wills become public documents after probate).
Do I need to own a house to need a will?
No. Savings, a car, a share of a deposit, or wanting a say in who’d raise your children are all reasons to have one.
Can I update my will later?Yes, a Will should evolve with your life. Marriage, divorce, a new child, a house move or a change in finances are all good reasons to review it.