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A UK-based legal-tech company, Adeus, has announced the launch of a new service, Adeus True Wills, designed to modernise will-writing and legacy planning. This innovative service aims to protect wills from common post-death issues such as loss, tampering, or legal disputes. By leveraging blockchain technology, it creates a permanent digital fingerprint for a will while remaining fully compliant with current UK law, addressing the vulnerabilities of traditional paper documents.
The company highlights that traditional paper wills are surprisingly vulnerable to misplacement, damage, or challenge in court, often leading to stressful, costly disputes for grieving families. Nick Adams, CEO of Adeus, explained that True Wills removes this uncertainty by permanently protecting the will with a clear timestamp that cannot be altered. This provides peace of mind for the individual and protects their loved ones from unnecessary conflict after they are gone.
How Adeus True Wills Work
True Wills work in conjunction with a traditional paper will system, which must be signed and witnessed in accordance with existing legal requirements. When a will is created through the Adeus platform, a unique digital fingerprint is generated and permanently secured using the company’s proprietary True Will Technology. Importantly, the actual content of the will is never stored on the blockchain; only the digital fingerprint is, ensuring complete privacy while providing cryptographic proof of the document’s authenticity.
For families and executors, the system provides verifiable proof of the will’s authenticity through an Adeus True Will Certificate, which dramatically reduces the grounds for potential disputes. Mark Hedley, COO of Adeus, emphasised that the company has deliberately made the technology easy to use, abstracting away its complexity for customers. He compared the user experience to online banking, where sophisticated, institutional-grade security works seamlessly in the background.
Beyond its direct-to-consumer offering, Adeus plans to make True Wills protection available to independent will writers and solicitors. This would allow legal professionals who draft wills for clients with more complex needs to offer them the same institutional-grade security. As Hedley noted, solicitors can continue to focus on their expertise—taking instructions and overseeing the signing—while Adeus ensures the final will is protected.
Designed to Facilitate Electronic Wills System, The Future of Wills
The service has been designed with the future in mind, particularly the anticipated introduction of electronic wills in England and Wales, which is expected to follow the Law Commission’s recommendations in 2026. Customers who use Adeus True Wills today can benefit from its protection immediately, while also being well-positioned for the future shift to digital wills.
This product launch is the first major release from an innovation project supported by a UK government Innovate UK Smart Grant. It marks a significant step for the company, which has additional products planned for release in the first half of 2026 as it continues to develop its digital-first infrastructure for estate planning.
The service directly addresses the growing problem of contested wills in the UK, where disputes over authenticity, tampering, and missing documents are on the rise. True Wills tackles these issues by permanently time-stamping the will to establish the latest version, cryptographically locking it to prevent tampering, and providing clear, verified documentation for executors and courts.
About Adeus
Adeus, operating under the legal name Mankind Technologies Ltd., is a UK legal-tech company focused on reimagining legacy planning for the digital age. Backed by Innovate UK and supported by LawtechUK, its services are available in England and Wales, while its broader legacy-planning tools are used internationally by customers. The company serves direct consumers, supports charities and schools with legacy-giving programs, and plans to offer dedicated solutions for independent legal professionals.
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