A will is the single most direct way to decide what happens to your money, your property and your family, instead of leaving it to Scotland's intestacy rules. We arrange every will around Scots law, working with our specialist legal partners, and explain it in plain language, usually at your kitchen table.
We meet you at home, walk through what you own and who matters, and arrange a will, prepared by our specialist legal partners, that reflects Scots law and your wishes, not a generic template.
Book a free consultation →Solicitors, accountants and other advisers bring us clients who need a will alongside wider estate or tax advice. We work directly with you, keep you updated, and never overstep into your own advice.
Discuss a referral →A will sets out who inherits your estate, names an executor to carry out your wishes, and can appoint guardians for children under 16. Without one, Scots intestacy rules decide who gets what, not you, and the order can surprise people: a surviving spouse doesn't automatically inherit everything, and unmarried partners have no automatic right at all.
Scotland's succession law is its own system, separate from England and Wales. It's governed by the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964, updated by the Succession (Scotland) Act 2016, and it works differently in places that matter. "Legal rights" give a spouse and children an automatic claim on moveable estate regardless of what the will says, and that has to be planned around, not ignored. Our legal partners work specifically in Scots law, not from an England-and-Wales template with the place names changed.
"Mr A wanted to make sure his family had less to worry about after his death. He had two children from an earlier marriage and a stepdaughter he'd raised since she was six, and no will meant Scots intestacy law wouldn't have recognised her at all. We helped him write a will that named all three children as equal beneficiaries, appointed his sister as executor, and set up a simple trust so his youngest wouldn't inherit a lump sum before he'd finished university."
Not by law, but a poorly worded or improperly witnessed will is one of the most common causes of family disputes and failed estates. Every will we arrange is prepared by one of our specialist legal partners, so it is legally sound under Scots law from the outset.
Your estate is distributed under Scots intestacy rules: a fixed order that starts with "prior rights" for a surviving spouse, then splits the remainder between spouse and children under statutory shares. Unmarried partners and stepchildren have no automatic entitlement at all.
After any major life change: marriage, divorce, a new child, a house move, or a significant change in what you own. Otherwise, roughly every three to five years.