Every route, and the price
| Route | When | Who qualifies | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macmillan Free Wills Service | All year, 365 days | Anyone over 18, Northern Ireland included | Free |
| Free Wills Month | March and October autumn 2026 opens 1 October | Aged 55 and over | Free — simple Wills only |
| Will Aid | November | No age limit stated | Suggested donation £120 single, £200 mirror |
| ClearLegacy | Any time | Anyone over 18 in Northern Ireland | £69 single, £99 mirror |
| A solicitor | Any time | Anyone | No published scale — ask for a fixed fee |
The figure most people get wrong. Will Aid is widely described as a “free Will” scheme. The solicitor waives their fee, but the suggested donation is £120 for a single Will and £200 for a pair — more than a paid online Will. That is not a criticism of Will Aid: the money goes to charity rather than to a company, which is a perfectly good reason to choose it. Just go in knowing the number.
When free is genuinely the right answer
Take the free route if you are over 55 and it is March or October, or at any time of year through Macmillan, and your affairs are straightforward: one property, a spouse or partner, children, no business, nothing abroad, nobody likely to contest it. You get a Will drafted by a solicitor and you pay nothing. Nothing we sell beats that.
Two things to know before you count on it. Free Wills Month covers the writing of simple Wills only, and appointments are limited and allocated first come first served — in practice the slots in any given town go quickly. And its own website does not list Northern Ireland among the nations it covers, though Age NI's guidance points Northern Irish readers at both Free Wills Month and Will Aid, so participation here does happen. Check that a solicitor near you is actually taking part before you build a plan around it.
When free is the wrong answer
Not because the Will is worse — it is written by a solicitor. Because of the conditions attached:
- You are under 55 and it is March. Free Wills Month will not take you. Macmillan will, all year.
- You want it done this week. Free Wills Month runs two months a year and the appointments go early in each.
- Your affairs are not simple. “Simple Wills only” is a real limit, and the situations it excludes are exactly the ones where a Will matters most.
- You would rather not have a charity relationship attached. There is no obligation to leave a gift in a Macmillan-funded Will — that is their own wording — but the service exists because some people do, and that has to sit comfortably with you.
If one of those applies, the choice is between us at £69, Will Aid at a suggested £120 in November, and a solicitor at whatever they quote.
What a solicitor charges
There is no published fee scale in Northern Ireland. Solicitors set their own charges, and Age NI's own guidance on making a Will gives no figures at all — so any range you find quoted online is an estimate somebody has written, not a source. We are not going to invent one.
What we would do instead: ask for a fixed fee in writing before instructing, and ask three specific things — whether it covers one Will or two, whether a later amendment is included or charged again, and whether storage costs anything. Those three answers explain most of the difference between two quotes that look the same.
Age NI's position, for what it is worth, is that “it's usually best to get advice from a solicitor, except in very simple cases”. We think that is fair. The question is whether your case is a simple one.
What £69 buys here
A single Will drafted for Northern Ireland under the Wills and Administration Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1994, with trustee powers under sections 32 and 33 of the Trustee Act (Northern Ireland) 1958 rather than the Trustee Act 1925, which does not extend here. £99 for a pair of mirror Wills. Fixed fee, no subscription, one free update included, and signing instructions that follow Article 5 — usually delivered within 24 hours.
What it does not buy is advice on your circumstances. We draft what you tell us, and we check it against the formalities. If you need someone to tell you what to put in a Will, that is a solicitor's job and worth paying for.
The cost that comes afterwards
Worth knowing when you are comparing prices, because it dwarfs all of them. After a death, the estate normally needs a grant before the money can be released. Nothing is payable on an estate of £10,000 or less; above that the Northern Ireland court fee is £326, plus a further £81 where the application is made in person rather than through a solicitor.
That is paid by the estate, not by you now, and it is payable whether or not you leave a Will. Our guide to probate in Northern Ireland has the full fee schedule; if there is no Will, the process is letters of administration instead, on the same fees.
If the free routes do not fit
£69 single, £99 mirror. Drafted for Northern Ireland, fixed fee, usually delivered within 24 hours.
Start your Will — from £69 →Sources
- Macmillan Cancer Support — Free Wills — the free service offered “all year round” to “everyone over the age of 18” living in “England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland”, with “no obligation to leave a gift”.
- Free Wills Month — aged 55 and over, “simple” Wills, autumn 2026 opening 1 October, appointments “limited and…allocated on a first come first served basis”.
- Will Aid — November, and the suggested donation of “£120 for a single basic Will and £200 for a pair of basic ‘mirror’ Wills”.
- Age NI — Making a will — “You could get free will through Free Wills Month or Will Aid”, and “it's usually best to get advice from a solicitor, except in very simple cases”. No fee figures are published.
- Court of Judicature (Non-Contentious Probate) Fee Schedule, effective 1 April 2026 — the £326 and £81 probate figures.
- Wills and Administration Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1994, Article 5 — execution formalities.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a free Will in Northern Ireland?
Yes, by more than one route. Macmillan Cancer Support runs a free will-writing service 365 days a year, for anyone over 18, explicitly including people living in Northern Ireland, with no obligation to leave a gift. Free Wills Month runs each March and October for people aged 55 and over and covers simple Wills only. Both are genuinely free, and if one of them fits you it is the cheapest answer available — cheaper than ours.
When is Free Wills Month 2026?
Free Wills Month runs twice a year, in March and October; the autumn campaign begins on 1 October 2026. It is limited to people aged 55 and over, covers the writing of simple Wills only, and appointments are limited and allocated first come first served. Its own website does not list Northern Ireland among the nations it covers, so check that a participating solicitor near you is taking part before relying on it.
How much does Will Aid cost?
Will Aid runs every November, when participating solicitors waive their fee for writing a basic Will in exchange for a donation to charity. The suggested donation is £120 for a single basic Will and £200 for a pair of basic mirror Wills. Note that this is more than a paid online Will costs: ClearLegacy is £69 single and £99 mirror. The difference is where the money goes — with Will Aid it goes to charity.
How much does a solicitor charge for a Will in Northern Ireland?
There is no published fee scale. Solicitors in Northern Ireland set their own charges and Age NI's own guidance quotes no figures, so any range you see online is somebody's estimate rather than a source. Ask for a fixed fee in writing before you instruct, and ask specifically whether it covers one Will or two, and whether later amendments are included.
How much does a Will cost with ClearLegacy in Northern Ireland?
£69 for a single Will and £99 for a pair of mirror Wills, as a fixed fee with no subscription, drafted for Northern Ireland under the Wills and Administration Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1994. One free update is included and the Will is usually delivered within 24 hours.
Is a cheaper Will a worse Will?
Not on validity. A Will is valid in Northern Ireland if it meets the formalities in Article 5 of the 1994 Order — in writing, signed by you in the presence of two witnesses who are both there at the same time — regardless of what it cost to produce or who produced it. What price buys is advice on complicated circumstances: business or agricultural property, a second marriage, a disabled beneficiary, assets abroad, or anything likely to be disputed. If that describes you, pay a solicitor.
What costs come later, after the Will?
Probate. Nothing is payable on an estate of £10,000 or less, but above that the Northern Ireland court fee is £326, plus a further £81 if the application is made in person rather than through a solicitor. That is paid by the estate after the death, not by you now, and it is payable whether or not you leave a Will.