Make electronic wills valid, empower courts to infer undue influence and abolish the rule that marriage revokes a will, the Law Commission has today told the government.

With the law governing wills dating back to the Victorian era and no comprehensive review for nearly 200 years, the commission said its recommendations will clarify the law and ensure it is ‘fit for purpose in the modern age’.

‘Most people will live longer than their ancestors did, and as a consequence, more people will suffer from ill health and a decline in their mental capacity,' the commission said. 'The property the average person owns may be more valuable than it was in the past. Not so long ago, documents would have been in paper form only, but documents in electronic form are now far more prevalent.’ 

Recommending provision be made in the law for electronic wills, the commission said the pandemic highlighted the advantage of being able to witness wills remotely and provision for electronic wills is in place internationally. However, a ‘reliable system’ would be required to distinguish an electronic will from any copies and protect against alteration or destruction.

Will

The law governing wills dates back to the Victorian era, with no comprehensive review for nearly 200 years

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The commission said it is too difficult to challenge a will on the basis of undue influence. To better protect vulnerable testators, courts should be able to infer undue influence ‘where there is evidence which provides reasonable grounds to suspect it’.

The current law automatically revokes a will if a person with a will marries or enters a civil partnership. Consultation respondents told the commission that most people are unaware of this. The commission was also concerned that the rule could be exploited for the purpose of a ‘predatory marriage’. The commission recommends abolishing the rule.

Other proposals include lowering the age at which a person can make a will from 18 to 16.

Law commissioner Professor Nick Hopkins said the recommendations will ‘modernise wills law to promote testamentary freedom, bringing with them greater certainty, clarity and fairness’.

The report and a draft bill have been laid before parliament.