Our Will Specialist's Guide To Mirror Wills

Mirror Wills are the most popular type of Will prepared for couples who wish to put in place Wills on similar terms.

These types of Wills are the most cost effective to prepare for couples and are straightforward to put in place.

Mirror Wills are excellent value for money for married couples, civil partners, siblings, or other couples.

Each person has an individual Will document, but the terms of the Wills can largely reflect or ‘mirror’ the other person’s wishes.

Each individual would be entitled to change or cancel their own Will in the future without the other person’s permission or giving them notice.

See our Will writing process here.

Mirror Wills can deal with the following in your Will:

• Appointment of executors and trustees to manage and administer your estate.

• Appointment of guardians for minor children or dependents.

• Specific gifts or legacies for friends, family, or charities.

• Stipulation of funeral wishes.

• Confirmation as to who you wish your estate to go to, and in what shares. This may be family, friends, or charities. This is especially important if you wish to benefit a partner who you cohabit with but are not married, or in a civil partnership with.

Why might Simple Mirror Wills not be suitable for us?

A Simple Will does not suit all clients, especially in the modern day where family and financial arrangements can be more complicated. See our Simple Wills page for further explanation of when a more complex Will may be beneficial.

What if I want to be seen alone or separately and don’t want to share my financial information?

Mirror Wills may not be suitable where you do not wish to discuss your affairs, wishes or finances with the other party. In these cases, it would be advisable to see our Will specialists alone for a private and confidential appointment to discuss a single Simple Will.

This would be appropriate where you perhaps wish to exclude your spouse or civil partner due to ongoing or imminent separation, divorce, dissolution or if you have always kept your finances private and separate.

What is the difference between a Mirror Will and a Mutual Will?

It is easy for clients to confuse the terms ‘Mirror Wills’ and ‘Mutual Wills’. However, these are very different types of Wills and have very different consequences for future Will updates.

What is a Mutual Will?

Simply put, a Mutual Will is an agreement between two individuals (minimum) to make their Wills at the same time on agreed terms. These terms are usually captured in a single document signed by both parties. The document becomes legally binding and is a contractual agreement between the parties.

When one party to the Mutual Will dies, the survivor is unable to change the terms of the Will. If the survivor breaches the agreement and put in place a new document contrary to the previously agreed terms, then the beneficiaries of the Mutual Will, will have the right to bring a claim for breach of trust to ensure the terms of the original agreement are upheld.

This can become very complicated, and it can be difficult to ascertain whether a Mutual Will is in place if this is not disclosed or are not fully understood by the survivor to be binding.

Where both parties wish to change the Mutual Will and have the capacity to do so, then new Wills can be put in place.

When are our Mirror Wills valid?

For a Will to be legally valid it requires signing and witnessing by two independent witnesses. As part of our Will writing process, we can provide witnesses to your Will at our offices or send you instructions on how to have your Will witnessed.

When we meet to discuss your instructions, your Will is not complete at this stage.