Young Londoner Erin Atkinson writes will to direct assets to family and endometriosis charity

Writing a will is probably not on the to-do lists of most 27-year-olds.

But Erin Atkinson has already decided what should happen to her money and belongings when she dies.

"At first it felt quite surreal because you associate wills with older people," she says.

Erin works in psychological research at a London university and moved to the capital from Bristol four years ago.

She now rents and, although she did not want to share her exact salary, does not see herself as particularly wealthy. Even so, she has already decided where some of her things should go.

Her £7,000 car will go to her sister. A gold necklace given to her by her partner will go back to him. And she has asked for some of her money to go to a cause that matters deeply to her.

"One thing that's close to my heart is an endometriosis charity," she says.

"It felt really empowering that I could have that written down to say I want X amount donated."

For many young people, however, making a will may not seem necessary, particularly if they feel they have little to leave behind.

The 2025 National Wills Report found that just one in five 18 to 24-year-olds has a will in place. That rises to 33% of 22 to 34-year-olds, compared with 56% of people aged over 55.

Sophia Maslin, founder of Morby, an app that allows people to create wills online, says the idea that you need to own a lot before making a will is one of the biggest misconceptions she comes across.

"People believe they don't own enough. But actually, if you've got some sort of savings, investments, pensions, your social media accounts, if you've got pets, even funeral wishes, these are all things to think about," she says.

For Erin, the idea of making a will first came up when her friend bought a home.

Then she began seeing Maslin talking about wills on TikTok. Maslin had shared the story of her cousin, who died young without a will, and how complicated things became for her family.

Seeing her story made Erin think more seriously about making one for herself, while seeing the effect of her own grandmother's will on her family also influenced her.

"My grandma passed and she had a will and it was very complex because we have quite a large family. Seeing the will written in a way that was very directive showed me you can take a lot of pressure off the family," she says.

The process also made Erin see she had more financial assets than she realised, such as premium bonds.