Standard Provisions of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) (2nd Edition)

The STEP Standard Provisions (England and Wales) (2nd Edition) (SSP2) was originally published on 31 October 2011. It is divided into core provisions (standard provisions 1-13) and optional additional provisions (special provisions 14-23) that are not included unless expressly incorporated. It includes detailed guidance. STEP also published a toolkit for will writers and frequently asked questions (FAQs), which are available at STEP: STEP Standard Provisions.

SSP2 was reissued on 26 June 2012 with minor non-substantive stylistic changes and in February 2015 in a new format as part of a STEP rebranding exercise. The link at the very end of this resource is to the February 2015 version. (For the previous versions, see Standard Provisions of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) (2nd Edition) (October 2011 version) and Standard Provisions of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) (2nd Edition) (26 June 2012 version).)

A third edition (SSP3) was published on 2 November 2023 (see Standard Provisions of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) (3rd edition)). The first edition was published in 1992 (see Standard Provisions of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) (1st Edition)).

SSP2 or the first edition can still be used, but STEP recommends using SSP3.

All Practical Law Private Client standard documents for wills provide an option to incorporate SSP3 by reference instead of including administrative provisions in the will document (see Wills toolkit: STEP Standard Provisions (England and Wales)).