Peers have criticised the Ministry of Justice for “inaction” on electronic wills, 18 months after the Law Commission recommended making them valid. As the Law Gazette reported last week, the Lords justice committee has given the courts minister two weeks to explain the delay. The law may still require wet ink, but the client journey for wills went digital some time ago.
The bigger picture: will-making is already digital, apart from the signature
Lord Foster’s letter makes a simple point. People can open bank accounts, buy property and take out mortgages with electronic signatures. They can build an estate digitally but not pass it on that way. The Law Commission’s Modernising wills report made 31 recommendations in May 2025, including valid electronic wills, a court power to infer undue influence, and abolishing the rule that marriage revokes a will. Under the Law Commission Act 2009, the government should have responded within a year.
For solicitors, the important point isn’t when the signing ceremony changes. It is that clients already behave as if it has. They look for will writers on their phones, compare prices online, read reviews, and expect to book an appointment without a phone call during office hours. Only the final step of the process still needs paper and two witnesses in a room.
Online will-writing services, banks and charity free-will schemes have built their business around that journey. When electronic wills arrive, they will be ready on day one. The question for high street law firms is whether they will be too.
What independent solicitors need to know about the wills enquiry
A will is often the first matter a client ever brings to a law firm, and it frequently leads to more. An LPA, a property purchase, and in time the probate. Families who make wills with a firm often return to it when someone dies. Losing the wills enquiry means losing the relationship that follows.
That makes the first step of the journey worth looking at closely. Someone searching “solicitor to write a will near me” on a Sunday evening will decide quickly. They will choose whoever appears in local results with good reviews, shows a clear price, and lets them book or get a quick reply. If your firm shows none of those things, it won’t matter how good your private client team is.
The reform agenda also gives firms something new to talk about. If Parliament acts on the Law Commission’s recommendation that marriage should no longer revoke a will, many people will need clear advice about what that means for them. Every change in wills law is a reason for clients to review their arrangements, and a firm that explains it clearly and early gets the enquiry.
What forward-thinking firms are already doing to win will clients
You don’t need to wait for legislation to modernise the client journey. Independent firms winning wills work today are doing the following:
- Publishing fixed fees for wills and LPAs. Clients compare prices before they call. A clear starting price filters out time-wasters and reassures serious buyers that there will be no surprise bill.
- Answering every enquiry fast. Wills enquiries often come in evenings and weekends. A call answered by a person, or a web enquiry returned the next morning, will beat a voicemail picked up on Tuesday afternoon.
- Offering a hybrid process. They take instructions by video call or an online questionnaire, then hold a short in-person signing appointment. That is as close to an electronic will as the law currently allows, and clients like it.
- Keeping Google Business Profiles active. Fresh reviews mentioning wills, posts about wills law reform, and accurate opening hours all help a firm appear in local results.
- Writing service pages that answer real questions. Pages that explain who needs a will, what happens without one, what it costs and how long it takes. This content serves human searchers and AI assistants alike.
How this connects to growth: own the front door before reform opens it wider
When electronic wills become law, the barrier to entry for online providers will drop further. Clients will no longer need to visit anyone to sign, so the firm that wins the instruction will simply be the one they find and trust first. That makes lead generation for law firms in private client work a visibility and responsiveness contest, and it rewards firms that start now.
The good news for regional law firms is that wills are still a local, trust-based purchase. People want a solicitor they can meet, in a town they know, with reviews from neighbours. Local SEO and a well-managed online presence turn that preference into enquiries. Well-targeted search ads can add volume on top, as long as you track which ones produce instructions.
The firms that struggle will be those whose route in is still a phone number on a dated website, answered only during office hours. That approach already loses clients today, and after reform it will lose more.
Don’t wait for the MoJ to modernise your client journey
The government may take another year to legislate, or longer. That gives independent firms time to get their digital front door in order before the online players gain a further advantage. Firms that treat this as a deadline rather than a debate will be the ones local clients find first when wills law catches up with the rest of their lives.
If your wills and private client enquiries are not where they should be, we can help. Our lead generation service for law firms combines a website built to attract clients with a UK call centre that qualifies every enquiry before it reaches you, so your team spends its time on clients ready to instruct.
