Clinical will template for UK therapists
If you died or were suddenly too ill to work tomorrow, who would tell your clients? A clinical will answers that question in advance. Here is what the professional bodies expect, and a template you can copy.
By the NoteSono team · Last reviewed · 7 sources checked
The short answer
A clinical will (also called a professional or therapeutic will) is a document naming one or more colleagues who will contact your clients, cancel your sessions and look after your records if you die or suddenly cannot work.
BACP and UKCP both require you to have arrangements in place for this, and BPC requires named Professional Trustees with written instructions. A clinical will is the standard way to meet those requirements. A free template is below.
What BACP, UKCP and BPC require
None of the main bodies uses the phrase "clinical will" in its code. Each requires the thing a clinical will does: someone ready to tell your clients what has happened.
| Body | What the code says |
|---|---|
| BACP | Ethical Framework (2018), Good Practice point 42: in the event of death or illness severe enough to prevent you communicating with clients, "we will have appointed someone to communicate with clients and support them in making alternative arrangements". |
| UKCP | Code of Ethics and Professional Practice (2019), clause 28: "Have arrangements in place for informing clients … in the event of your illness or death." |
| BPC | Standards of Conduct, Practice and Ethics, standard 12.1: appoint "Professional Trustees who have consented and have access to the relevant patient information when needed. There must be written instructions." |
BACP publishes more detailed guidance on clinical wills in its Good Practice in Action resource GPiA 104, which is available to members.
How many executors?
Choosing your clinical executors
Your executor will be phoning distressed clients, possibly while grieving for you. Choose someone who:
- is a qualified, registered therapist bound by the same confidentiality standards as you
- knows how you work, and ideally works in a similar modality
- is not a friend or relative of any current client
- has agreed in writing and has time to act at short notice
- is not your supervisor, unless your supervisor has specifically agreed. BACP's Private Practice journal warns against assuming the supervisor will take this on
Many therapists act as each other's executors. If you have no one to ask, some services provide professional executors for a fee.
What to put in a clinical will
- Your details: name, practice, professional body and number, ICO registration.
- Your executors and how to reach them, and whether either can act alone.
- When it takes effect: death, and incapacity lasting longer than a set number of days.
- Who will alert your executors, usually your next of kin or personal executor.
- What you want done, in what order: current clients first, then cancellations, then notifications.
- Where your client list, diary and records are, and how to get access.
- How records should be kept, released and eventually destroyed.
- Everyone who needs telling: supervisor, professional body, insurer, ICO, room provider, directories, accountant.
- How executors will be paid or reimbursed.
Free clinical will template
Copy this into your own document, or download it as a Word file. Replace everything in highlighted brackets.
Your executor will also need to write to clients. This letter is a starting point they can adapt:
Giving executors access to your records
A clinical will is only useful if your executor can actually reach your client list. With paper records, that means a key and a location. With software, it means a way in that does not depend on you.
- Do not share your password with your executor while you are well. Instead, keep emergency access instructions with your personal executor or in a password manager with an emergency-access feature.
- Keep a short, up-to-date list of current clients and their contact details somewhere your executor can reach, separate from clinical notes. They need to contact people, not read your notes.
- If you use two-factor authentication, include how your executor can get past it, for example through backup codes held with your instructions.
- Mention the arrangement in your privacy notice, so clients know a named colleague may access their contact details. See our privacy notice guide.
BPC's confidentiality guidance says your professional will should specify where your records are and how to access them, so that clinical executors can respond to clients promptly.
Linking it to your personal will
Your clinical executor will not know you have died unless someone tells them. BACP's Private Practice journal recommends linking the two: tell your personal executor and next of kin who your clinical executor is, and keep a copy of the clinical will with your personal papers.
A clinical will is not a legal will and does not need witnessing. If you want it referred to in your personal will, ask the solicitor who drafts that.
Common questions
Is a clinical will a legal requirement?
No law requires one. BACP, UKCP and BPC all require you to have arrangements for informing clients if you die or become unable to work, and a clinical will is the usual way to meet that requirement.
Does a clinical will need to be witnessed?
No. It is a professional document, not a legal will. Sign and date it, have your executors sign to show they agree, and give them copies.
Can my supervisor be my clinical executor?
Yes, if they specifically agree. Do not assume your supervisor will take it on: it is a separate commitment, and some supervisors decline it.
How often should I update my clinical will?
At least once a year, and whenever your executors, your systems or the way you store records change.
What happens to client records after a therapist dies?
They still contain personal data about living clients, so they must be kept secure, released only as the law allows, and destroyed at the end of your stated retention period. Your clinical will should say how. BPC guidance gives six years after therapy ends as a typical retention period, subject to UK GDPR.
Sources
Checked on 19 October 2026. Rules and prices change, so check the source before you rely on a figure.
- BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions (2018) — Good Practice points 41 and 42
- UKCP Code of Ethics and Professional Practice (2019) — clauses 27 and 28
- BPC Standards of Conduct, Practice and Ethics — standards 8.1 and 12.1
- BPC Confidentiality and UK GDPR Guidance — professional will and record retention
- BACP Private Practice journal: Where there's a will, there's a way (Spring 2016)
- BACP contract discussions toolkit for private practice — sample death or incapacity clause
- Welldoing: What is a clinical will and do I need one?
This guide is general information, not legal advice. It reflects the codes as we read them on the date above. Your professional body's current guidance takes precedence.