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Written question asked by Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour) on Monday, 6 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 8 July 2026. It was answered by Sarah Sackman (Labour) on Tuesday, 14 July 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Wills: Mental Capacity

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has been made as to the potential merits of introducing a mandatory requirement for adults with capacity to take out a will.

Answer

It is a fundamental principle of the law of England and Wales that a person can give his or her property to any person of his or her choice on death by making a valid Will. This is known as testamentary freedom.

Where a person dies without a valid Will, the intestacy rules apply. These set a fixed statutory hierarchy of relatives who have the right to inherit an estate where there is no Will, with priority given to a surviving spouse or civil partner, followed by children and other descendants. Where the deceased has no blood relatives, their estate passes to the Crown.

The Law Commission recently conducted a comprehensive review of the Law of Wills making a series of recommendations. They did not as part of this landmark review recommend mandating adults with capacity to take out a Will. The Government will respond to its recommendations in due course, but I can confirm we have no plans to require individuals, where they have the requisite mental capacity, to make a Will.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
16341
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Mental capacity Wills
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk