A Will is considered a personal legal document, this being the case there is no such thing as a 'joint Will', each individual person must write their own separate Will.
When you hear the term "joint will" it is really referring to a Mirror Will For Married Couples or Civil Partners.
Often Married couples or Civil Partners want to make a Will and their wishes with regards to Beneficiaries and Executors are the same.
When this is the case this process is known as creating "Mirror Wills"' because the wills are identical to one another apart from reversing the names of the testator and the main beneficiary along with references to his/her and husband/wife/civil partner etc.
With Mirror Wills the husband / Wife or Civil Partners leaves everything to each other respectively when one partner dies. If both husband and wife / Civil Partners die together then their will usually directs their estate for the benefit of their children.
If there are no children then the estate will transfer to any named beneficiary's of the will.
Often Mirror wills are used as an estate planning tool along with the process of severing the tenancy of the main residential property.
Related Links
Will's FAQ
Deed Of Severance
