Velati

Wills for single people without children

Without a will, your things go to whichever relative the law finds first.

If you're single without children, the law's default looks for your parents, then your siblings, then your nieces and nephews, then further out. It will eventually find someone. If it doesn't find anyone at all, your estate passes to the Crown. None of this has anything to do with the people you actually want to leave things to.

Start your will — £95See pricing

Built for

You don't owe anyone the assumption.

Velati's questionnaire branches around your situation. The questions you'll answer — and skip — were designed specifically for single, no children.

The reality

Friends, partners, charities, godchildren, ex-partners — none of them inherit by default

The intestacy rules only recognise blood relatives. A friend you've known for thirty years, an ex-partner you've remained close to, the charity that means the most to you — none of them inherit unless your will says so. For single people without children, the will is often the most personal kind of will there is, and the one most likely to surprise the people who survive you in a good way.

What Velati does for you

Three things, deliberately, well.

  • 01

    Leave gifts that mean something

    Specific items — the painting, the book collection, the watch — go to specific people. We capture the gift, the substitute beneficiary, and what happens if the item no longer exists.

  • 02

    Charitable giving, properly drafted

    We use the registered charity number and the correct legal name, so the gift cannot fail. Charitable gifts are exempt from inheritance tax, which can also reduce the rate paid on the rest of the estate.

  • 03

    Choose an executor who understands you

    Your executor is the person who has to find your accounts, your insurance, your subscriptions, your phone. Often a sibling, often a close friend. We give them a signing pack and a checklist.

A worked example

What your will actually says, in plain English.

Before you pay anything, Velati shows you this screen — your will, written so you can read it. This is a non-personalised example for single, no children. Your real review will use your real names and decisions.

velati / drafts / your-review.pdf

Plain-English review

Your will, in plain English

This is what your will actually does — written so you can read it without a lawyer.

For the will of

Maria Catherine O'Brien

  • Clause 01"My friend Caro inherits everything."

    Your friend Caroline Whitcombe takes the whole of the residuary estate after specific gifts and charitable legacies are paid out.

  • Clause 02"£10,000 goes to Cancer Research UK."

    We've drafted this as a charitable legacy using the correct registered charity number (1089464). It's paid before the residuary estate is divided.

  • Clause 03"My godson Felix gets the bookshop collection."

    A specific bequest of your antiquarian book collection passes to your godson Felix Anderson. If Felix has died before you, the books fall back into the residuary estate.

You'll see this screen before you pay. Nothing is final until you've read it.

Common questions

Things people ask before they start.

  • Do I really need a will if I don't own a house?

    Yes — even more so. The intestacy rules apply to everything: savings, investments, ISAs, the contents of your flat, your car, the things on your phone. Without a will, all of it goes to relatives identified by the rules, not to the people you'd actually choose.

  • Can I leave everything to my pet?

    Pets cannot legally inherit. What we do instead is leave a sum of money to the person who will look after them, with a letter of wishes describing how you'd like the pet cared for. We've done this often.

  • What happens if I have no living relatives at all?

    Without a will, your estate passes to the Crown — the Treasury Solicitor's Bona Vacantia division. If you have anyone in your life you'd rather it went to (or any cause), the will is the only way to make that happen.

Not quite your situation?

Read the page that fits you better.

Decide where your things go. Then think about something else.

Twenty minutes. £95. Done before bedtime.

Start your willRead the Velati guide first