New UK Wills Law Could Usher In Dynamic, Flexible Tax Planning for a Digital Era
The UK may soon experience one of the most transformative shifts in personal estate planning in nearly two centuries. The Law Commission's Modernising Wills Law report lays the groundwork for long-overdue changes that could revolutionize how people draft, update, and execute their wills — especially for globally mobile individuals and high-net-worth families seeking smarter tax strategies.
With the Wills Act 1837 still at the foundation of today’s probate system, the proposed reforms are set to modernize the UK’s approach to testamentary planning. The changes not only aim to reflect digital lifestyles and complex family dynamics, but also promise to unlock greater flexibility and efficiency in estate and inheritance tax planning.
A Digitally Enabled Shift
At the core of the Law Commission's proposal is a dramatic update to the formalities around will-making. It introduces provisions for electronic wills, remote execution, and more adaptive testamentary practices, enabling individuals to update their wills in real time from anywhere in the world.
This could be a game-changer for estate planning professionals and their clients. The old model of static, paper-based wills signed in-person may soon give way to a dynamic, living document approach — one that can evolve with an individual’s life events, from marriages and divorces to business exits and cross-border relocations.
Dynamic Drafting: The New Normal
For wealth planners, this creates an opportunity to rethink will drafting strategies entirely.
No longer constrained by the rigidity of hard-copy documents, advisers can now explore new structures such as:
- Conditional bequests based on future events (e.g., age milestones or life achievements)
- Staggered gifting schedules to spread out tax burdens
- Trust structures that adjust based on family circumstances or asset performance
With global clients increasingly operating across multiple jurisdictions and tax systems, the ability to make real-time amendments could help align testamentary intentions with changing financial landscapes — and better navigate inheritance tax risks.
However, this increased flexibility must be matched with increased responsibility. Advisers will need to instil discipline in updating documentation, managing compliance, and ensuring that updates don’t inadvertently cause conflicts or invalidate portions of the estate plan.
Inheritance Tax Reliefs & Strategic Timelines
The draft Wills Act could also influence how tax reliefs are accessed and documented.
Business Relief (BR) and Agricultural Relief (AR), for example, typically require the testator to hold qualifying assets for a minimum of two years. With digital wills, precise timestamps and electronic audit trails could be used to verify asset ownership periods and remove doubt during HMRC reviews.
Executors and advisers alike would benefit from reduced delays in relief applications and a lower likelihood of dispute over asset qualification timelines.
Lifetime Gifting Becomes Simpler (But Not Risk-Free)
Lifetime gifting has long been a staple of inheritance tax mitigation, with tax-free allowances such as the £3,000 annual exemption playing a central role.
Under the new regime, individuals could update their wills immediately after making a gift, reinforcing their intentions and aiding compliance with the seven-year rule (which taxes gifts made within seven years of death).
Yet while electronic flexibility simplifies the process, it also increases the risk of oversight. Poorly documented gifts or unclear beneficiary designations may still leave estates vulnerable to tax challenges.
To guard against this, advisers should encourage clients to:
- Record all gifts over the £3,000 exemption threshold in a secure digital ledger
- Reflect these transactions promptly in their wills
- Review and reconcile both records annually or after any significant gift
Witnessing Rules Under Review
Another critical reform recommendation seeks to expand the rule invalidating gifts to witnesses. This would now include cohabitants of the testator and anyone signing on their behalf. However, courts would also be empowered to uphold a gift if doing so is "just and reasonable."
This added scrutiny aims to protect vulnerable individuals and ensure that gifts aren't the product of manipulation or conflict of interest. For wealth advisers, this change underscores the importance of:
- Ensuring proper witnessing procedures — even in digital formats
- Maintaining detailed records of gift rationale and execution
- Avoiding potential conflicts by involving neutral third-party witnesses where possible
Embracing the Digital Advantage
For estate planners and clients alike, the move toward electronic wills and flexible testamentary structures is not just a legal convenience — it’s a strategic advantage.
By viewing wills as living documents, advisers can embed smarter tax planning, incorporate real-time wealth changes, and maintain regulatory alignment with evolving tax laws in multiple jurisdictions.
Best practices may soon include:
- Maintaining both digital and printed copies of the most recent will
- Setting calendar reminders for milestone-based reviews (e.g., birthdays, asset changes, business exits)
- Creating a shared lifetime gift tracking spreadsheet, stored alongside the will
- Linking documents via secure cloud platforms or encrypted estate planning portals
A Call to Action for Advisers
These sweeping changes will place new demands on professional advisers — from tax consultants and estate lawyers to private bankers and wealth managers.
It’s no longer enough to simply craft a tax-efficient will at a single point in time. Advisers must:
- Help clients integrate estate planning into broader financial strategy
- Educate families about the risks and responsibilities of dynamic wills
- Establish clear digital recordkeeping standards for will updates, gifts, and asset changes
- Stay vigilant about compliance, particularly where multiple tax regimes are involved
Ultimately, these reforms can be seen as a welcome evolution — a recognition that legacy planning should reflect the reality of modern life: fast-paced, digitally enabled, and global in nature.
Looking Ahead
With government support behind the Law Commission’s recommendations, there’s a strong likelihood that most proposals will become law. Royal Assent could follow as early as mid to late 2027, offering ample time for the legal and financial planning communities to adapt.
For those involved in managing estates, the message is clear: start preparing now. Build flexible, tech-forward processes. Reassess current clients’ wills. Update internal templates and protocols. And above all, treat every will not as a static directive — but as a strategic, evolving part of each client’s financial legacy.
Call Parachute Law today on 0207 183 4547
Related Reading:
New Wills Law Could Unlock Dynamic Estate Planning and Tax Efficiency for UK Families
Probate Waiting Times Halved: What Families and Charities Need to Know in 2025
