Mirror wills are two near-identical wills, usually made by a couple. Each one leaves everything to the other partner first, and then, after both have died, to the same chosen people, most often the children. They cost £450 with Choice Wills, agreed as a fixed fee before any work begins.
Of all the wills I draw up, mirror wills are probably the most common. A couple sit down at the kitchen table, we have a cup of tea, and by the end of it there are two matching wills that between them sort out where everything goes. They are sensible, they are straightforward, and for most couples they do exactly what is needed. But there is one thing about them that catches people out, and I would rather you heard it from me now than found out the hard way years down the line.
Let me take you through what mirror wills actually are, who they suit, and the catch I mentioned. I will keep it plain.
What mirror wills are
A mirror will is one of a matching pair. Each partner has their own separate will, but the two documents are written to reflect one another, hence the name. In the usual arrangement, my will leaves everything to my wife, and hers leaves everything to me. Then both wills say the same thing about what happens once we have both gone, that the estate passes to the children, or to whoever else the couple have chosen.
The important word there is separate. You each have your own will, signed by you and witnessed properly. They are not one document, and they are not chained together. They simply happen to say the same things. That distinction matters more than it sounds, as you will see shortly.
Who mirror wills suit
Mirror wills work well for any couple who broadly agree on where they want their estate to go. Married couples and civil partners are the obvious case. So are unmarried couples, and in truth they often have more to gain, because an unmarried partner inherits nothing at all under the intestacy rules if you die without a will, however many years you have been together. If that is your situation I would say a pair of wills is not a luxury, it is the thing standing between your partner and a very difficult position. I have written before on whether you still need a will if you are married, and the short answer is yes, but the case for unmarried couples is stronger still.
Where mirror wills are less suitable is where a couple want genuinely different things. If one of you wishes to leave a share to children from an earlier relationship and the other does not, or your affairs are tangled in some other way, then two ordinary single wills written to your own instructions may serve you better. There is no rule that says a couple must have mirror wills. They are common because most couples want much the same thing, not because they are compulsory.
The important catch
Here is the part I make sure every couple hears. Mirror wills are not binding on one another. Once the first of you has died, the survivor inherits, and from that moment they are entirely free to make a brand new will and change everything. Nothing in the mirror wills prevents it.
So mirror wills do not guarantee that your children eventually inherit. They set out your shared intention today, and while you are both alive they can be relied upon. After the first death, the survivor holds the estate outright and may do as they please with it.
A mirror will records what you both want today. It does not bind the survivor to it tomorrow. That is the single thing most couples do not realise until it is explained to them.
The situation people worry about most is remarriage. Say a husband dies, everything passes to his wife under their mirror wills, and some years later she remarries. Two things can then happen. Her marriage automatically revokes her existing will, unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage, so she is back to having no will at all. And even if she makes a fresh one, she may quite naturally wish to provide for her new husband. The children from the first marriage, who both parents once intended to inherit, can find themselves left with far less than was planned, or nothing.
I want to be fair here. In the great majority of cases the survivor honours what the couple agreed. Most people do the right thing. But the law gives them the freedom to do otherwise, and freedom plus time plus a new relationship is how good intentions come undone.
A gentleman came to see me a while ago, a widower in his seventies, wanting to update his own will. In passing he mentioned that his late brother's estate had gone the way I have just described. His brother and sister-in-law had made mirror wills years earlier, meaning to leave everything to their two sons. After his brother died, the sister-in-law remarried, and when she in turn passed away the house went to her second husband's family. The two sons received nothing from the home their father had worked forty years to pay for. Nobody had done anything underhand. The mirror wills had simply done all they were ever able to do, which was less than that family had assumed.
If protecting a share of your estate for your children matters to you, there is a proper answer to this, and it is a property protection trust. In broad terms, instead of leaving your half of the home to your partner outright, you leave it into a trust. Your partner can carry on living there for the rest of their life, but your half is ring-fenced and passes to your children in the end, whatever the survivor decides to do afterwards and whoever they may go on to marry. It is not right for everyone, and it costs a little more than a plain mirror will, but for couples with children it is often the piece that makes the whole plan hold together. It is worth a proper conversation.
Mirror wills vs single wills
A single will is exactly that, one will for one person. A mirror will is a single will that has been written to match your partner's. So in a sense mirror wills are two single wills that agree with each other, prepared together and priced together because the work overlaps.
If you are on your own, a single will is what you need. If you are a couple who want the same things, mirror wills usually make sense and cost less than two entirely separate wills would. And if you are a couple who want different things, you simply have two single wills drawn to your own separate instructions. The label matters less than getting the contents right.
Joint wills
People sometimes ask me about a joint will, and it is worth explaining because it is a different animal altogether. A joint will is a single document covering two people, rather than two separate documents. Both partners sign the one will.
They are rare now, and I generally advise against them. When the first person dies, the one document has to be produced to the probate registry and dealt with, yet it also still needs to serve the survivor, which becomes awkward. They can also raise thorny arguments about whether the survivor is bound not to change it, the very problem people are usually trying to avoid. In practice mirror wills do everything a couple actually want from a joint will, without the complications. In more than twenty years I have never had cause to recommend one.
How much do mirror wills cost?
At Choice Wills mirror wills for a couple are £450, agreed as a fixed fee before I start, so you know exactly where you stand. A single will is £225. If you decide a property protection trust is right for you, that is priced separately and I will set it all out plainly before you commit to anything. The first conversation, at your kitchen table or over a video call, costs nothing and puts you under no obligation.
Mirror wills are a good, sound choice for a great many couples. Just go in knowing what they can do and what they cannot, and if the question of protecting your children's inheritance is on your mind, tell me, and we will look at whether a trust ought to sit alongside them. If you would like to talk it through, do get in touch. It is a straightforward job, and most people feel a good deal lighter once it is done.
Common questions
What is a mirror will?
A mirror will is one of a matching pair, usually made by a couple. Each will leaves everything to the other person first, and then, once both have died, to the same chosen people, often the children. The two documents mirror one another, but each partner has their own separate will.
Can mirror wills be changed after one partner dies?
Yes. This is the point most couples miss. Mirror wills are not binding on each other. Once the first partner has died, the survivor is completely free to make a new will and change who inherits. A property protection trust is one way to protect a share of the home so it reaches your chosen people whatever the survivor decides later.
Do unmarried couples need mirror wills?
They often benefit more than married couples do. An unmarried partner inherits nothing automatically under the intestacy rules, however long you have been together. Mirror wills let each of you leave your estate to the other and set out what happens after that.
How much do mirror wills cost?
With Choice Wills mirror wills for a couple are £450, agreed as a fixed fee before any work begins. A single will is £225. The first consultation is free.
What is the difference between mirror wills and a joint will?
Mirror wills are two separate documents, one each. A joint will is a single document covering two people. Joint wills are rare and I generally advise against them, because they are awkward to administer and can be difficult to change. Mirror wills are almost always the better choice.