Scottish Will Law Explained

Scots law is entirely separate from the law in England and Wales. When it comes to wills and inheritance (known as succession), the rules are very different. Here is what you need to know.

What happens if you die without a will?

If you die without leaving a valid will, you die "intestate". In this situation, the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 dictates exactly how your estate is divided. It follows a strict hierarchy:

1. Prior Rights: Your surviving spouse or civil partner has the first claim. They are entitled to the house (up to a certain value, if they lived in it), the furniture (up to a certain value), and a cash sum (the amount depends on whether you have children).
2. Legal Rights: After Prior Rights are settled, your spouse/civil partner and your children have claims on the remaining moveable estate (money, shares, cars, but not land or buildings).
3. The Free Estate: Anything left over is divided according to a strict list of relatives. Children come first, then parents and siblings, then aunts and uncles, and so on.

Legal Rights: The rules you cannot ignore

One of the most unique aspects of Scots law is the concept of "Legal Rights". You cannot completely disinherit your spouse, civil partner, or children.

Even if you write a will leaving everything to a charity, your immediate family can still claim their Legal Rights. These rights only apply to your moveable estate (money, investments, vehicles, jewellery), not your heritable estate (land and buildings).

• If you leave a spouse/civil partner AND children: The spouse is entitled to one-third of the moveable estate. The children are entitled to one-third between them.
• If you leave a spouse/civil partner but NO children: The spouse is entitled to one-half of the moveable estate.
• If you leave children but NO spouse/civil partner: The children are entitled to one-half of the moveable estate between them.

When you use our service, your will includes a clause acknowledging these rights, whilst expressing your wish that your family accepts the terms of the will instead.

Requirements for a valid Scottish will

For a will to be legally binding in Scotland and easily accepted for Confirmation, it must comply with the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995. It must be:

• In writing (a printed document is fine).
• Made by a person aged 12 or over who is of sound mind and has testamentary capacity.
• Signed by you (the testator) at the foot of every single page. Signing only the last page gives basic validity but will not make the will self-proving. Our generated PDF includes clear signature lines on every page to help you do this correctly.
• Witnessed by one witness aged 16 or over. The witness must see you sign or acknowledge your signature, then sign the last page themselves and provide their full name and address.

Why every page matters: When you sign every page + the witness signs correctly, the will becomes self-proving. This creates a strong legal presumption of validity and makes Confirmation much smoother for your executors.

Who should not be a witness?

Your witness should ideally be an independent adult. It is strongly recommended that they are not a beneficiary under the will, nor the spouse or civil partner of any beneficiary.

Note for Scotland: Unlike in England, if a beneficiary does witness the will, the document remains valid and they do not automatically lose their inheritance. However, using an independent witness is still best practice. It avoids any possible questions of influence and helps the Confirmation process go through without delay.

Does marriage revoke a will?

In England, getting married automatically cancels any will you have previously written. This is not the case in Scotland. If you write a will and later get married, your will remains valid. However, your new spouse will automatically acquire Legal Rights to your estate, which may conflict with what you wrote in the will. You should always write a new will when you get married or divorced.