Each will needs two independent witnesses present at the same time. Under the Wills Act 1837, you sign in the presence of two witnesses who are both there together, and who then each sign in your presence — the same routine for each partner's will, separately.
Your partner must not witness your will — anyone who witnesses a will loses anything left to them under it, and your partner is the main beneficiary of yours.
This template is a guide only — a starting point, not legal advice, and does not replace a solicitor. Consider professional advice for a mutual-wills agreement, a second family, a partner abroad, or either estate near the inheritance tax threshold.
Two separate wills, each valid on its own, written to match. Each partner leaves everything to the other, then to the same people — usually the children — if the other has already died. Same executors, same substitute, same guardians.
They are not one document with two signatures. Each will is signed and witnessed separately, on its own attestation page. Sign your own will: the two documents look almost identical, so before you sign, read the name in the first line of Clause 1 aloud and check it is yours — a husband and wife have each signed the other's mirror will by mistake and needed the Supreme Court to put it right (Marley v Rawlings [2014] UKSC 2).
They are not mutual wills. A mutual will is a binding agreement not to change your wills, enforced by the courts after the first death. This template creates no such agreement — either of you may change your will at any time, including after the other has died. If you want the survivor bound, that is a solicitor's document, not this one.
Nobody who is given anything under a will may witness it — nor may their husband, wife or civil partner. A gift to a witness, or to the witness's spouse or civil partner, is void under the Wills Act 1837 s.15. That rules out your partner, your children, the final substitute in clause 6, anyone named in clause 5, and all their spouses and civil partners — choose two witnesses who take nothing under either will.
The clauses work whether you are married, civil partners, or unmarried — but two things differ: transfers between spouses and civil partners are exempt from inheritance tax, while an unmarried partner's estate above the nil-rate band is taxed, and an unmarried partner has no right under the intestacy rules, so the will is the only thing that gives them anything. If you are engaged, or about to form a civil partnership, marriage or civil partnership revokes a will made before it unless the will names the person you expect to marry and says it is not to be revoked by that marriage — merely mentioning the engagement is not enough. This template does not carry that wording; make the wills after the wedding, or take advice before it.
If you separate, divorce or dissolution treats your former partner as having died on the day it ended — their gift and appointment as executor fall away, and the rest of the will stands. Separating without divorcing changes nothing, and if you were never married or civil partners a break-up changes nothing either — this will keeps giving everything to your former partner until you change it. If the relationship ends, for any reason, make a new will at once. Your home, if you own it together: property held as joint tenants passes to the survivor automatically, outside the will, and clause 6 cannot send a joint tenant's share anywhere else — if you want your share to go to your children instead, the joint tenancy must be severed while you are both alive (HM Land Registry form SEV; Practice Guide 24).
If you die together, the law presumes the younger survived the elder where it cannot be known who died first — without a survivorship clause that would send the elder's whole estate through the younger's will, to the younger's family alone. Clause 6's 28-day survivorship condition stops that.
The pack's contents, in the order they appear.
Identical structure, seven clauses each — Will A is the will of the first partner, Will B the second. Blanks are shown as rules with the field named in brackets. Three clauses are adapted for a couple; the rest are unchanged from the single will template.
This is the last will and testament of ______ [full legal name], born ______ [date of birth], of ______ [address], made by me on the ______ day of ______ ______. I declare this to be my last will, and that I am of sound mind and make it freely.
Names you so there is no doubt whose will it is — each partner completes their own copy of this clause. Write your full legal name exactly as it appears on formal documents. The date here must be the same date you sign at Clause 7.
I revoke all earlier wills and codicils made by me.
Cancels every earlier will and codicil you personally made, so two documents can never be argued against each other. The sentence stands as written.
I appoint my [wife / husband / civil partner / partner] ______ [full name] of ______ [address] to be the executor and trustee of my will. If she or he is unable or unwilling to act, or does not survive me by 28 days, I appoint ______ [full name] of ______ [address] to be the executor and trustee of my will in her or his place.
Naming each other is usual and practical; the substitute is essential, because this clause most often operates when your partner has already died. Name the same substitute in both wills. If only one person is acting as executor when a home has to be sold to divide a share for a grandchild under 18, they will usually need to appoint a second trustee first — a sole trustee cannot give a valid receipt for the proceeds of land (Trustee Act 1925 s.14(2)). A solicitor can arrange it quickly.
If on my death any of my children are under 18 and have no other surviving parent with parental responsibility, I appoint ______ [full name] of ______ [address] as their guardian(s).
In a couple's wills this clause takes effect when you have both died — provided you are both the child's legal parents with parental responsibility and no child arrangements ('lives with') order is in force for that child. A step-parent without parental responsibility cannot appoint a guardian by will for the other partner's children (Children Act 1989 s.5(3)), and where a 'lives with' order names one of you, that parent's appointment can take effect on their death alone (s.5(7)–(9)). If either applies to you, see a solicitor before relying on this clause. Name the same guardians in both wills, and ask them first.
I give the following specific gifts, free of tax, to the people and organisations named. Each gift fails if the person dies before me, unless I say otherwise: ______ [item or sum of money] to ______ [full name].
Describe each item so only one thing can be meant, and name the person fully. For a charity, give its full registered name and registered charity number. A specific gift lapses into the residue if the person named dies before you, unless the gift itself says otherwise — unlike clause 6, it does not pass to that person's children automatically. To send a specific gift to the recipient's children instead, write it into the gift: 'to my daughter Eleanor, but if she dies before me leaving children who survive me, to those children equally.' Remember that anyone named here, and their spouse or civil partner, must not witness the will.
I give all the rest of my estate, after payment of my debts, funeral and testamentary expenses, and any tax due, to my [wife / husband / civil partner / partner] ______ [full name] absolutely, if she or he survives me by 28 days and is able to take this gift.
If she or he does not survive me by 28 days, or if for any reason this gift to her or him fails or is void, I give my residuary estate to such of my children, whether born or adopted before or after the date of this will, as survive me by 28 days, and if more than one in equal shares absolutely. My children living at the date of this will are ______ [names]. If any child of mine dies before me, or survives me but dies within 28 days of my death, leaving a child or children of their own who survive me by 28 days, that child or those children take, equally between them, the share their parent would have taken, absolutely.
If none of my children, and none of their children taking a share under the paragraph above, survives me by 28 days and is able to take, I give my residuary estate to ______ [name of final substitute beneficiary] absolutely.
The 28-day survivorship period handles a couple dying together (Law of Property Act 1925 s.184) and an estate passing twice in quick succession. The children's share states in words what Wills Act 1837 s.33 would otherwise imply, and the final substitute prevents a partial intestacy if the whole family dies. This gift covers every child you have, including any born or adopted after you sign. Make a new will whenever your family changes even so, so that your guardians, executors and specific gifts stay right. Unlike clause 5, the final substitute line must be completed. Left blank — and with your partner, children and grandchildren all gone before you — your estate would pass under the intestacy rules. Many people name a registered charity here: a charity cannot die before you. Whoever you name must not witness the will. A child under 18 takes at 18; your executors hold the share for them in the meantime. Any other age, or any condition, is a trust and needs a solicitor.
Signed by the above-named ______ as their last will, in our joint presence, and then by us in theirs. We were both present at the same time when the testator signed.
Followed by your signature and the date, then each witness's signature, printed name, address and occupation. Nobody who inherits under either will may witness it — nor may their husband, wife or civil partner.
This is a worked example only, written in plain language to show how the clauses fit together. Use the numbered clauses in the two wills above as the actual wording of your will — do not copy this example's shortened sentences.
Note that David Whitmore is named in both wills — so David, and his wife or civil partner if he has one, could not witness either.
Twelve rules decide whether a mirror pair on this template stands. Each is paraphrased here in plain words and linked to the provision itself; the source is the authority, not this page.
| Provision | What it says | Where it bites in this template | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wills Act 1837, section 9 | A will must be in writing and signed by the testator, or by someone at their direction and in their presence. The signature must be made or acknowledged in front of two or more witnesses present at the same time, and each witness must then sign, or acknowledge their signature, in the testator's presence. | Clause 7 of each will, and the signing routine: two witnesses, together, then each signs. | read ↗ |
| Wills Act 1837, section 15 | A gift to a person who witnesses the will, or to that witness's husband, wife or civil partner, is void. The will itself stays valid. | Why nobody who inherits — nor their husband, wife or civil partner — may witness either will: the gift to them would be void. | read ↗ |
| Wills Act 1837, sections 18 and 18B | Marriage, or forming a civil partnership, revokes a will made before it, unless the will was made in expectation of that particular marriage or partnership. | Why an engaged couple should marry before signing, or take advice, rather than after. | read ↗ |
| Wills Act 1837, sections 18A and 18C | On divorce, annulment or dissolution, the former spouse or civil partner is treated as having died on the day the marriage or partnership ended: gifts to them lapse and their appointment as executor falls away. The rest of the will stands. | Why clause 3 names a substitute executor and clause 6 a substitute beneficiary, in both wills. | read ↗ |
| Wills Act 1837, section 20 | A will is revoked only by a later will or codicil, by a written declaration executed in the same way as a will, or by the testator destroying it, or having it destroyed in their presence, with the intention of revoking it. | Clause 2 in each will, and why every earlier original is destroyed once the new wills are signed. | read ↗ |
| Wills Act 1837, section 33 | A gift to the testator's child or remoter descendant who dies before the testator, leaving descendants of their own, passes to those descendants unless the will shows a contrary intention. | Why clause 6 states in words what happens if a child dies first leaving grandchildren, rather than leaving it to the statute. | read ↗ |
| Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, section 1(1)(ba) and (1A) | A spouse or civil partner, a former spouse or civil partner who has not remarried, a partner who lived with the deceased for two years, a child, a person treated as a child of the family, and anyone being maintained by the deceased may apply to the court on the ground that the will does not make reasonable financial provision for them. | Why the limits section sends second families, unmarried partners, and dependants to a solicitor. | read ↗ |
| GOV.UK, Make a will | To be legal, a will must be made by someone 18 or over, made voluntarily, made by a person of sound mind, made in writing, signed in the presence of two witnesses who are over 18, and signed by those two witnesses in the testator's presence. | The checklist both of your wills are built to satisfy. | read ↗ |
| Video-witnessed wills | A temporary rule made during the pandemic allowed witnesses to be present by video link for wills made between 31 January 2020 and 31 January 2024. It has ended: witnesses must be physically present. | Why each attestation page says 'in our joint presence' and means the same room. | read ↗ |
| Law of Property Act 1925, section 184 | Where it cannot be known which of two people died first, the younger is presumed in law to have survived the elder. | Why clause 6's 28-day survivorship condition exists — without it, a couple dying together would send the elder's whole estate through the younger's will, to the younger's family alone. | read ↗ |
| Inheritance Tax Act 1984, section 18 | Transfers between spouses and civil partners are exempt from inheritance tax. Transfers between unmarried partners are not. | Why the tax position differs for married and unmarried couples on this template. | read ↗ |
| Children Act 1989, section 5 | Only a parent with parental responsibility may appoint a guardian for a child by will. Where a child arrangements order names the child as living with the appointing parent, that parent's appointment of a guardian takes effect on that parent's death alone. | Clause 4 in a second family. | read ↗ |
Sources read on 16 September 2026. The Law Commission's report Modernising Wills Law (May 2025) recommends, among other things, ending the rule that marriage revokes a will and allowing electronic wills. Those are recommendations; none is law yet.
The most common mirror-wills failure is asking the wrong person to witness.
When a template is not enough for a couple — and the cost of getting it wrong.
Two complete wills, institutional Valoren aesthetic. Copper-ruled clauses. Both attestation pages. The partner-must-not-witness warning in red. No account required.
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What the free pack cannot do — and what the drafted pair adds.
Related reading: does marriage revoke a will · how much does a will cost · do I need a solicitor for my will
The same clauses, prepared from your answers and checked
The single will each mirror will is built from
Why the pair is made after the wedding, not before
The wishes that belong beside the wills, not in them
A small change to one will without remaking it