Anywhere from nothing at all to £650 or more — and the difference is rarely about quality. It's about who does the work, what your estate contains, and what happens after you sign.
Here is the honest version of the price list.
Planning your own will? Right place. Dealing with someone else's estate? → What to do when someone dies · Do you need probate?
There are five ways to make a will in England & Wales, and they span from free to several hundred pounds. The table below is what each route typically costs in 2026, what you actually get for it, and — the column most price guides leave out — when it's genuinely the right choice.
What's included
The form, nothing else
Right when…
Estate is simple and you'll follow the signing rules to the letter
What's included
A solicitor-drafted simple will, seasonal windows, age limits apply
Right when…
You qualify and can wait for the window
What's included
A structured will, checking varies by provider
Right when…
Simple estate, you want it done this week
What's included
The will plus registration plus Will Watch — the part that keeps it valid
Right when…
You want the document and the aftercare, honestly priced
What's included
Advice, drafting, liability cover
Right when…
Anything on the "see a solicitor" list below
Market ranges, checked 2026-07-05 against independent price-comparison sources. Solicitor fees vary by region and firm — always confirm a fixed fee in writing before instructing.
A will that fails costs your family far more than any will-writing fee. The classic failures are not exotic — a signing witnessed by a beneficiary or their spouse (their gift is void), a will that was valid until a later marriage quietly revoked it → does marriage revoke a will?, an executor who died years before the testator, a document nobody can find.
The cost of a failed will lands on the people you wrote it for.
Some of the largest sums a household holds are not controlled by any will — however much it cost. A will priced £10 or £650 leaves all three untouched.
There is no legal requirement to use a solicitor — and there are situations where not using one is a false economy. The list below is curated from the same assessment our own intake runs. Full honest triage
A trust is needed or sensible — second families, minor children's shares, property arrangements: drafting trusts is genuine legal work.
A disabled or vulnerable beneficiary — the wrong gift structure can cost them means-tested support.
Foreign property or assets — two legal systems, one document; sequencing matters.
A business or farm — reliefs and succession need engineering, not a paragraph.
A blended family — fairness between a current partner and children from before needs mechanics, not hopes.
You expect a challenge — estrangement, dependants left out, unequal shares: evidence of advice is itself protective.
The estate is near or over the inheritance-tax threshold — the will is now a tax instrument.
Anyone would call your capacity into question — a solicitor's file note is the classic safeguard.
If any of these is you, the solicitor fee is the cheap option.
Typically £150–£400, checked 2026-07-05 against independent price-comparison sources.
Confirm a fixed fee in writing — regional variation is real, and city firms can run higher.
Yes — Free Wills Month (March and October, for anyone 55 or over, with only one person in a couple needing to qualify) and Will Aid (November, suggested donation £120 for a single will or £200 for mirror wills).
Genuinely solicitor-drafted; the trade-off is timing windows and simple-will scope.
Fully — if signed per the Wills Act: in writing, signed, two witnesses present at the same time, neither a beneficiary nor married to one.
Most DIY failures are signing failures, not paperwork failures.
Usually less than two single wills: £250–£600 at solicitors (checked 2026-07-05); £229 at Valoren, including registration and Will Watch for both.
Trusts, foreign assets, business property, complex family arrangements — complexity in the estate, not the length of the document.
Generally no — a nomination form held by your scheme guides that instead.
See who gets your pension when you die for the full picture.
No — this page is England & Wales; Scottish succession law differs.
Informational, not legal advice, and covers England & Wales only. Market ranges checked 2026-07-05 — always confirm a fixed fee in writing before instructing a solicitor.
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