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When you are named as executor, the will is the document that defines your entire task. Yet most wills are written in a mix of legal formality and plain English that can be confusing at first reading. This guide walks through the structure of a typical will, explains every key term in plain English, and tells you what to look for. It describes the law of England and Wales: the Wills Act 1837 does not extend to Scotland, where the formalities for a valid will differ and a spouse and children have legal rights in the estate that a will cannot defeat. Northern Ireland differs again. For first steps as a newly appointed executor, see our executor first steps guide.
Before you analyse the will's contents, confirm that you are working with the correct document. Section 20 of the Wills Act 1837 limits how a will can be revoked: by a later will or codicil executed in the required manner, by a written declaration of an intention to revoke executed with the same formality, or by burning, tearing or otherwise destroying it with the intention of revoking. A later will therefore does not automatically wipe out an earlier one — it revokes the earlier will where it says so, and otherwise only so far as the two are inconsistent, so an earlier will can survive in part. A codicil (an amendment to the will) may change key provisions.
If you find multiple documents, work out the order and whether each was validly executed before acting on any of them; applying for probate on the wrong document can lead to the grant being revoked. See our guide to finding the will for a full search checklist.
UK wills follow a broadly consistent structure, though the length and complexity vary enormously from a single-page DIY will to a multi-page professionally drafted document. Here is what you will typically find, in order:
The will opens with a statement identifying the testator (the person who made the will) by full name and address, confirming that this is their last will and testament, and revoking all previous wills. It will include the date the will was made. This section confirms: who made the will, when, and where they lived.
This clause names the executor(s) — the person(s) responsible for administering the estate. A well-drafted will also appoints one or more substitute executors in case the primary executor cannot or will not act. This is important: if no substitute is named and the executor cannot act, the estate may need Letters of Administration instead.
Note how many executors are named. Section 114(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 provides that a grant shall not be made to more than four persons in respect of the same part of the estate, so at most four can take the grant. If an executor is named but wishes not to act, they can formally renounce or have "power reserved" — see our guide to power reserved for executors.
Where the will creates a trust (for example, where minor children are beneficiaries), trustees are appointed to hold assets on behalf of beneficiaries until conditions are met. Guardians may be appointed for minor children. Trustees are often the same people as the executors, but not always.
These clauses leave specific named items to specific people: "I give my engagement ring to my daughter Sarah" or "I give my car to my son James." Make a list of every specific gift, the item, and the named recipient. Check whether any of these items no longer exist — if the deceased sold the car before death, the gift lapses (called "ademption") and the beneficiary receives nothing in its place.
A pecuniary legacy is a specific sum of money: "I give £10,000 to my nephew David." These are paid from the estate before the residue is divided. List every pecuniary legacy, the amount, and the recipient. Check whether there are index-linking clauses (the legacy increases with inflation from the date of the will). See our guide to pecuniary legacies for how they interact with the rest of the estate.
This is the most important clause in most wills. The "residuary estate" is everything left over after specific gifts, pecuniary legacies, debts, taxes, and expenses have been paid. A typical residuary clause reads: "I give the residue of my estate to my spouse absolutely." Or it may divide the residue between multiple beneficiaries as shares or percentages.
If there is no residuary clause, any assets not covered by specific gifts fall into a "partial intestacy" — they are distributed according to the intestacy rules rather than the will, so part of the estate goes to whoever the statutory order says rather than to whoever the will names. See our guide to what the residuary estate means.
Many professionally drafted wills include a section setting out the powers of the executors and trustees — for example, the power to sell assets, invest funds, or lend to beneficiaries. You do not need to read these in detail at the start; they become relevant during administration.
The final section records the execution. Under section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 the will must be in writing and signed by the testator (or by someone else in their presence and at their direction); the signature must be made or acknowledged in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time; and each witness must then attest and sign the will, or acknowledge their signature, in the presence of the testator — though not necessarily in the presence of each other.
Section 15 deals with a witness who benefits. A gift to an attesting witness, or to that witness's spouse, is void so far as it concerns them — the spouse point is the one people miss. The will itself remains valid, and the witness can still give evidence about its execution.
| Term | Plain-English meaning |
|---|---|
| Testator | The person who made the will (the deceased). |
| Executor | The person(s) appointed to administer the estate and carry out the will's instructions. |
| Beneficiary | Anyone who receives a gift under the will or through intestacy. |
| Residuary estate | Everything left after specific gifts, debts, taxes, and expenses are paid. |
| Specific bequest | A gift of a specific named item (e.g. a piece of jewellery, a car). |
| Pecuniary legacy | A fixed sum of money left to a named person. |
| Per stirpes | "By the branch" — if a beneficiary has died, their share passes to their children in equal shares rather than lapsing. |
| Issue | All lineal descendants — children, grandchildren, and so on. Does not include stepchildren unless they are expressly named. |
| Life interest | A right to receive income from or use an asset for the rest of one's life, after which it passes to someone else (the "remainderman"). |
| Remainder / remainderman | The person(s) who receive an asset when a life interest ends. |
| Chattels | Personal possessions — furniture, jewellery, clothing, vehicles. Usually excludes money and investments. The will may define what it means by "chattels" — read this carefully. |
| Encumbrances | Debts secured against a property (e.g. a mortgage). Where a will leaves a property "subject to any encumbrances," the beneficiary takes the property but also the mortgage. |
| Trustee | A person who holds assets on behalf of beneficiaries under the terms of a trust created by the will. Executors often become trustees once the estate is administered. |
| Power reserved | Where one executor does not apply for probate at the same time as the others, but retains the right to join later. The Grant is issued to the acting executors with power reserved to those who did not join. |
| Ademption | Where a specific gift fails because the item no longer exists in the estate at death (e.g. the deceased sold the car before dying). |
| Lapse | Where a gift fails because the beneficiary died before the testator (unless a substitution clause or the Commorientes rules apply). |
The will names one or more executors. Check each name carefully:
Once you have read through the will, create a simple schedule:
If the will leaves specific items and sums of money but does not deal with the rest of the estate, there is a partial intestacy. The assets not covered by the will are distributed under the intestacy rules rather than the will, which frequently produces a result nobody in the family expected — the statutory order takes no account of what the testator would have wanted with the remainder.
If the will creates a life interest trust — for example, leaving the home to the surviving spouse for life, with the remainder to children — the administration is considerably more complex. The property must be held in trust, the life tenant's rights must be respected, and specific inheritance tax rules apply to interests in possession. The trust also outlives the administration: the executors typically become the trustees and the obligations continue for years.
Section 21 of the Wills Act 1837 governs this. An obliteration, interlineation or other alteration made after execution has no effect unless it is executed like a will — which in practice means the testator's signature and the witnesses' subscription in the margin, or near the alteration, or against a memorandum referring to it. So an uninitialled alteration is normally disregarded and the original wording stands. There is one important exception in the same section: where the original words are not apparent — a crossing-out so heavy that the text underneath cannot be read — the alteration does take effect, operating as a revocation of that part. A codicil (a separate document amending the will) must itself be validly executed.
If one of the witnesses to the will is also a beneficiary, their gift is void under section 15 of the Wills Act 1837 — they lose their inheritance. The same applies to a gift to the witness's spouse. The will itself remains valid, and the property in question falls into residue. This is a common mistake in home-made wills.
If the will does not appear to have been properly signed and witnessed — no testator signature, only one witness, witnesses who were not present at the same time when the testator signed or acknowledged — the will may be invalid under section 9. An invalid will means the estate passes on intestacy, or under an earlier valid will, so nothing should be distributed until the point is settled.
Nothing obliges an executor to instruct anyone. These are the situations where the consequence of reading the will wrongly falls on the executor personally, which is why they are the ones people most often take advice on:
The common thread is that the executor carries the risk of the interpretation, not the beneficiaries. See our guide to when you need a solicitor for probate.
Compare the dates. The later will revokes the earlier one where it expressly says so, and otherwise only so far as the two are inconsistent, so it is worth reading both rather than assuming the later one supersedes everything. If you cannot determine which is later, or if both are undated, the order of execution has to be established before either is proved. Applying for probate on the wrong will can result in the grant being revoked.
No, unless the will expressly says so. In England and Wales "issue" means lineal descendants — biological and legally adopted. Stepchildren are not automatically included. Where it is unclear whether a particular child falls within a class gift, that is a question of construction, and distributing on the wrong reading is the executor's own risk.
Many wills include a "survivorship clause" requiring a beneficiary to survive the testator by a fixed period (typically 28 or 30 days) to inherit. If the beneficiary dies within that period, the gift fails and falls into the residue (or to the substitute beneficiary, if one is named). This clause is designed to avoid assets passing twice in quick succession and triggering two sets of IHT.
A letter of wishes is a separate, non-binding document in which the testator expresses preferences about how they would like certain matters handled — for example, how trustees should exercise their discretion, or wishes about personal possessions not covered by specific gifts. It is not legally enforceable, but trustees and executors are expected to take it into account. Look for it alongside the will.
You can ask. If the will was professionally drafted, the firm that wrote it will usually hold a copy and can explain what a provision was intended to do. They are not obliged to act for you, and whether there is a charge is a matter for the firm — worth establishing before the conversation rather than after.