Written by: Jason

Category: Will Writing

Published: 4th February 2014

When you hear people speak the term “joint will” they are often really referring to a Mirror Will For Married Couples or Civil Partners.

This term is often confused with that of a Mutual Will which is a legally binding contractual agreement made by the testators not to alter their respective wills in any way at any time including after the death of the first testator.

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 beneficiaries 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

Making A Will Online 
Will’s FAQ
Deed Of Severance
Why use A Professional Will Writer