We’ve long advocated for Will making while you’re young – but it’s a hard task! If you are in your twenties, thirties or forties, Will Making can feel like a job for another decade. It is easy to think of wills as something people deal with after retirement, after the children are grown, or after life has settled down.
But life does not move in a straight line. Careers change, relationships change, children arrive, homes are bought, businesses start, and sometimes the unexpected happens far earlier than anyone would choose. That is exactly why getting into Will making while you are young is such a sensible step. It is not gloomy. It is organised, protective, and surprisingly practical.
In England and Wales, a will gives you a clearer say over what happens to your money, property and possessions, who should deal with your estate, and who should care for your children if they are still under 18. Done properly, it can also reduce uncertainty and stress for the people you love most.
Why think about Will Making while you are still young?
The simplest reason is the one most people try not to dwell on: life is short, and none of us knows what is around the corner. A will is not a prediction that something bad is about to happen. It is a way of making sure that if life takes an unexpected turn, your wishes are not left unspoken.
Without a valid will, the rules of intestacy decide who inherits. That can produce outcomes you would never have chosen yourself. For example, an unmarried partner does not automatically inherit under the intestacy rules in England, no matter how long you have been together. If you want your wishes to be followed, it makes sense to put them in writing while you can.
If you want a fuller overview of what a will should cover, our guide on how to write a will in England is a helpful next step.
What if you lost capacity before you got round to it?
This is one of the strongest reasons to start young, and it is often overlooked.
To make a valid will in England, you must understand what you are doing, what assets you have, and how your decisions affect the people who might expect to benefit. In other words, capacity matters. If illness, injury or cognitive decline later affects your ability to make those decisions, creating or changing a will becomes far more difficult.
That does not mean every person who loses capacity is left without options, but the process can become more complex, slower and more expensive. It may require a court application for what is known as a statutory will. Most people would far rather make their own decisions clearly and calmly now than leave family members trying to resolve everything later.
This is also where planning beyond a will becomes important. A will covers what happens after death, while a Lasting Power of Attorney helps protect you if you are alive but unable to make decisions yourself. The two work well together.
Why does Will Making matter if you have children, or plan to?
If you have children under 18, your will can do far more than distribute money. It can name the people you would want to step in as guardians if both parents died. That is a huge responsibility, and it is not something most parents want left uncertain.
Even if your children are very young and your finances still feel modest, a will lets you set out who should look after them and who should manage money on their behalf. It creates a clearer framework at what would already be an emotionally overwhelming time for your family.
And if you do not have children yet? That is not a reason to wait forever. Many younger adults make a simple will now and update it when life changes. That can be much easier than starting from scratch later, especially once home ownership, marriage, children or business assets enter the picture.
How does a will help protect your assets?
When people hear the phrase “protect your assets”, they sometimes imagine complex estate planning. In reality, basic Will Making is often about something much more grounded: making sure the right people receive the right things, with less confusion and less room for conflict.
Your assets might include more than you first think. Savings, a car, jewellery, investments, a pension death benefit, a business interest, digital accounts, and your share of a property can all matter. A will helps you think through what you own and where you want it to go.
It also lets you choose the people who will handle the practical side of your estate. Those people are called executors. If you are unsure about the terminology, our estate planning glossary explains common terms in plain English.
If you own a home with someone else, have children from different relationships, or want to leave unequal shares for sensible reasons, it becomes even more important not to rely on default legal rules. A properly prepared will gives structure to decisions that could otherwise become messy very quickly.
What questions should young adults in England ask themselves?
Good Will Making starts with honest questions. For example:
- If I died this year, who would sort everything out?
- Would my partner actually be protected under the law, or am I just assuming they would be?
- If I have children, who would care for them?
- What happens to my share of the home?
- Do I want to leave specific gifts to certain people?
- Who do I trust to act as my executor?
- Have I made things easier for my family, or harder?
These are not just legal questions. They are family questions, practical questions, and in many cases kindness questions.
Will Making is about control, not just paperwork
One reason younger people put this off is that a will can sound formal and distant. But in practice, it is one of the clearest ways to stay in control of your own affairs.
You choose who benefits. You choose who takes responsibility. You choose who should care for your children. You reduce the chance of avoidable disputes. And you stop leaving some of the biggest decisions of your life to chance.
If you are ready to look at the practical side, our online wills service is designed to make the process simpler and easier to understand.
When should you make or update a will?
The best time is usually sooner than people think. If you are an adult with people you care about, responsibilities you carry, or assets you own, there is already a case for having a will in place.
After that, review it whenever life changes in a meaningful way. In England, that often includes:
- getting married or entering a civil partnership
- having children
- buying a property
- separating or divorcing
- starting or selling a business
- receiving a significant inheritance
- changing your views about who should inherit or act as executor
Marriage is especially important because it can revoke an existing will unless that will was made in a way that properly anticipates the marriage. That is one more reason to keep your documents current instead of treating Will Making as a one-time task to forget about.
So, is Will Making worth doing while you are young?
Yes, because youth is not a shield against uncertainty. More importantly, being young is often exactly when life starts becoming legally and financially more complex.
If you have children, a partner, a home, savings, a business, or simply strong views about what should happen if the worst occurred, making a will early is a smart move. It protects your voice while it is fully your own. It protects your family from guesswork. And it gives you a stronger foundation for the next stages of adult life.
If you want to get started, you can book your will planning appointment here or explore our step-by-step guidance on writing a will in England.
Common questions.
It can still be a very good idea. Even if you do not have children or a large estate, a will lets you decide who inherits, who acts as executor, and who handles your affairs. It also avoids relying entirely on intestacy rules.
The intestacy rules decide who inherits your estate. That may not match your wishes, especially if you are unmarried, in a blended family, or wanted to leave gifts to specific people.
Yes. In England, your will is an important place to appoint guardians for children under 18. That can provide clarity about who you would want to care for them if both parents died.
A valid will depends on you understanding what you are doing, what you own, and who may be affected by your decisions. If capacity is lost later, making or changing a will can become much more difficult and may involve the Court of Protection.
Often, yes. Marriage can revoke an existing will unless it was drafted in contemplation of that marriage. That is why it is sensible to review your will whenever a major life event happens.
Yes, provided the will itself is validly made and properly signed and witnessed under the rules that apply in England. The key point is not whether the process starts online, but whether the final will is correctly prepared and executed.
