Free will services exist. Here's what £79 buys — and when free is genuinely fine.
TL;DR
Annual charity campaign every November. A participating solicitor writes your will for free, with a suggested donation to charity (£100 single, £180 couples).
Catch: Only runs in November. Limited solicitor availability — slots fill up fast. You get what the solicitor offers, no digital tools.
Charity-sponsored online will tool. Partnered with major UK charities who fund the platform in exchange for prompting users to leave a charitable gift.
Catch: Limited customisation. Charity-funded model means you'll be prompted to donate. No digital asset support, basic template approach.
Government guidance on what a will should contain, plus basic template language. Technically everything you need to write your own will.
Catch: No digital assets. No error checking. No guidance through the process. You're on your own — miss something and it could be contested.
Write your own will on paper. Legally valid in England and Wales as long as it's signed and witnessed correctly. Cost: pen + paper.
Catch: High error rate. No legal formatting guidance. Ambiguous language is easy to write and easy to contest. Most homemade wills contain at least one error.
| Feature | Free Will Services | Exit State Free | Exit State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £0 | Free to build | £79 once to unlock |
| Drag-and-drop allocation | |||
| Maths done for you | |||
| Plain-English legal wording | |||
| Digital Assets + Crypto | |||
| Download / Print will | |||
| Witness management | |||
| Error checking | |||
| Edits for life | |||
| Ongoing edits | £79 once — no renewals | ||
| IHT optimisation tips |
Simple estate — one property, one main beneficiary, straightforward wishes
No digital assets, cryptocurrency, or complex online accounts to manage
You don't need to update your will regularly
You just want something in place quickly while you sort out the rest later
You plan to update with a solicitor once your estate gets more complex
A free will is better than no will. Always.
If you die without a will in the UK, intestacy rules decide who gets what — and they don't care about your wishes. Any will, even a basic one, is better than leaving it to the courts.
You own cryptocurrency or digital assets that need specific handling instructions
You want to leave gifts to charity and benefit from IHT reduction (40% to 36%)
You have a blended family — step-children, multiple partners, complex beneficiaries
You want witness management with guided validation so nothing gets missed
You want to keep editing it after signing, as life changes
You want the percentage maths done for you, not left to a blank form field
Farewill charges £100 for their online will, plus an optional £10 a year if you want to change it later. Exit State is £79, once, and changes are included. Prices checked 8 September 2026. The solicitor figure is the average paid by people who used one, from MoneyHelper's May 2025 survey — not a quote for any particular firm.
Solicitor
£328 avg
Farewill
£100
Exit State
£79
Free Will
£0
Free will services don't guide you on Inheritance Tax (IHT) optimisation. They create the document but don't help you make smart tax decisions within it.
Here's the thing most people don't know: if you leave 10% or more of your net estate to charity, the IHT rate on the rest drops from 40% to 36%.
That's not a loophole — it's built into UK tax law. But free will services never tell you about it, because they're not designed to.
An estate of £500,000
Without charitable gift: 40% IHT on taxable portion
With 10% to charity: 36% IHT on taxable portion
Potential saving: £6,500
Exit State walks you through this. Free wills don't.
Yes. A free will is legally valid in England and Wales as long as it meets the requirements of the Wills Act 1837: you must be 18+, of sound mind, and the will must be signed in the presence of two independent witnesses who also sign it. The tool you use to write it doesn't affect its validity — the witnessing process does.
Gov.uk provides guidance on what a will should include and how it should be structured, but it doesn't offer a will-writing tool. You still need to write the will yourself or use a service. It's useful background reading, but it won't catch errors or walk you through the process.
Will Aid is an annual charity campaign that runs every November. Participating solicitors write basic wills in exchange for a suggested donation to charity (£100 for a single will, £180 for couples). It's a great option if you can wait until November and book early — slots fill up fast.
Building your will is free. Drag beneficiaries onto your assets, Exit State does the percentage maths and generates the plain-English legal wording — no charge. Unlocking it costs £79, once: download and print, witness management, and edits for as long as you are here. You never pay again. No subscription, no hidden charges either way.
Create your will on Exit State, and once properly signed and witnessed it supersedes your previous will. You don't need to destroy the old one — the most recent valid will takes precedence. Build it free, unlock when you're ready to sign.
Build your will for free. Download, print, get witness management, and keep it editable for life — £79, once.
No credit card needed. Eight questions.
Last updated March 2026. Free will services change what they offer — check theirs before you decide.