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Advice / persuasion / influenceAdvice / persuasion / influence
Will Writer
Will writers help people plan what happens to their money and belongings after they die. They write legal documents that make sure families know what their loved ones wanted, and it all gets sorted out fairly and properly.
No degree needed for many routesEntry routes with no formal quals
AI impact: high££ payDirect entry route
62
AI impact
how much AI is reshaping it
Robin · your guide
Curious about being a will writer? Here's the honest picture - what you'd really do, what you'd earn, and every way in. No need to decide anything yet.
What you'd actually do
As a will writer, you help people write down their plans for what they want to happen to their money and belongings in the future. You listen carefully to what families want, answer their questions, and make sure the document is legally correct so no one can argue about it later.
Your days will include meeting with clients one-to-one to understand what they need. You will draft wills that match exactly what they want. You will keep up to date with the law so you can give good advice about tax and inheritance. You will also check old wills and update them when people's lives change. All your clients' information stays completely private and secure.
1Consult with clients to understand their wishes and financial situations.
2Draft legally binding wills tailored to individual client needs.
3Provide advice on inheritance tax and estate planning strategies.
4Ensure compliance with current laws and regulations in will writing.
5Review and amend existing wills as client circumstances change.
6Manage client records and maintain confidentiality at all times.
7Educate clients on the importance of will writing and estate planning.
8Follow up with clients to ensure their wills are up-to-date.
Career progression & pay
01
Getting in
Junior Will Writer
£20,000 - £30,000
A degree in law or relevant experience in estate planning.
In this entry-level role, you will assist senior will writers in drafting and reviewing wills, gaining practical experience and knowledge of the legal requirements.
02
Building up
Mid-Level Will Writer
£30,000 - £40,000
A degree in law, completion of a will writing course, and relevant experience.
As a mid-level will writer, you will independently manage client consultations, draft complex wills, and provide tailored advice on estate planning.
03
At the top
Senior Will Writer
£50,000+
Extensive experience in will writing, advanced legal qualifications, and a strong client base.
In this senior role, you will oversee a team of will writers, develop business strategies, and expand your firm's client portfolio while ensuring high standards of service.
Degrees that lead here via Law
Accelerated Graduate Programme
University of Stirling
Anthropology and Law
The London School of Economics and Political Science
Applied Criminology with Forensic Investigation
Stratford College London Limited
Applied Criminology with Forensic Investigation with Foundation Year
Stratford College London Limited
Bachelor of Laws
Glasgow Caledonian University
Bachelor of Laws (UCL) and LLB Bachelor of Laws (University of Hong Kong)
University College London
Apprenticeships that lead here
No apprenticeship standard maps directly yet - the university or college route is the main way in.
Who hires - top UK employers
The Will Writing Company
A leading provider of will writing services in the UK, offering a range of estate planning solutions.
Will Writers Ltd
Specialising in bespoke will writing and estate planning services, focusing on client satisfaction and legal compliance.
Co-op Legal Services
Part of the Co-op Group, providing a comprehensive range of legal services, including will writing.
AI & the future of this job
Will writing sits in genuinely contested territory right now. The drafting and compliance checking elements are already being absorbed by LegalTech platforms and AI document tools, squeezing the transactional end of the market hard. However, the consultative core of the role, understanding a client's family dynamics, tax exposure, and emotional priorities, still requires human judgement and trust. The profession is not disappearing, but the solo generalist will writer doing straightforward documents faces real structural pressure within five years.
Within 5 Years
Significant role contraction
AI-assisted will drafting tools are already available to the public and to solicitors, and they are genuinely good at standard cases. The volume of straightforward single or mirror wills being handled by human writers will drop noticeably as LegalTech platforms scale in the UK consumer market. Will writers who focus on client consultation, tax advice, and complex estate structures will hold ground, but those doing primarily template-based drafting will find their workload and rates compressed. Entry-level positions in this niche are already becoming harder to find.
Within 10 Years
Substantial restructuring
By the mid-2030s, AI systems will handle the vast majority of standard will drafting end-to-end, including compliance checks and basic inheritance tax calculations, with minimal human involvement. The profession as a standalone career will shrink considerably, with surviving practitioners operating at the advisory and complex planning end of the market. Will writing is likely to merge more formally into broader estate planning, financial planning, and legal services roles rather than existing as a discrete profession. Those who have built recognised expertise and strong client networks will still earn well, but the field will support far fewer practitioners.
Within 20 Years
Niche advisory role only
In twenty years, routine will writing as a profession in its current form will be largely obsolete for the mass market. Automated platforms will handle standard cases at near-zero marginal cost, accessible directly to consumers. What survives will look more like bespoke estate counsel, handling multi-generational wealth, contested family situations, offshore assets, and philanthropic structuring. This will be a small, well-paid specialist tier within legal and financial services rather than a mainstream standalone career. The question for anyone entering now is whether they are building towards that specialist tier or towards a role that will be automated away.
How to stay ahead
Specialise in complex estates early
Make inheritance tax planning, business succession, and cross-border estate work your focus as quickly as possible. These scenarios involve enough nuance, professional liability, and client trust that AI tools remain assistants rather than replacements. Standard will drafting is the part of this career that disappears; complex advisory is the part that holds value.
Pair with financial planning qualifications
Combining will writing expertise with qualifications such as the STEP diploma or Chartered Financial Planner credentials significantly broadens your market and your defensibility. Clients with meaningful assets want joined-up advice, and a practitioner who can address both the legal and financial dimensions of estate planning is far harder to replace than one who only drafts documents. This combination also opens doors to private client roles in law firms and wealth management.
Build client relationships, not just transactions
The part of will writing that AI cannot replicate is the ongoing relationship with a client family across decades, through divorces, business sales, inheritance disputes, and deaths. Position yourself as a trusted adviser who reviews and updates plans as life changes rather than someone who produces a document and moves on. Recurring client relationships are your most durable competitive asset in this market.
Understand and use the AI tools yourself
Practitioners who use AI drafting and compliance tools fluently will be more productive and more competitive than those who resist them. Learning to QA, customise, and take professional responsibility for AI-generated drafts is a skill in itself, and it frees your time for the consultative work that actually differentiates you. Being the professional who uses the tools well is far safer than being the professional the tools are designed to replace.
How to get in - your routes
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