A Will is probably one of the most important documents you will create in your lifetime, but once written it’s not fixed in stone. You can (and should) update it throughout your life as your circumstances change, to reflect changes in your family, financial and relationship status.
“I do” = a new Will
There are very few circumstances in which a properly drawn up and witnessed Will becomes invalid, without your intervention. However, one exception is when you marry. Once you are legally married, any pre-dated Will that you AND your spouse have made will become automatically invalid.
If either of you die without making a new Will after you get married, you are ruled to be ‘intestate’. In that case, the law determines how your estate will be divided. That’s a whole lot of headache your grieving family will not thank you for….
Wills and divorce
It’s important to realise that when you get divorced, your Will is NOT invalidated. Any inheritance rights usually legally granted to a spouse will cease, as once the divorce is finalised, they are legally no longer your spouse.
Wills and cohabitees
There is no such legal status as a ‘common law spouse’. If you are not married and you separate, you do not have the same legal rights as a married couple when they divorce. If you made a cohabitation agreement when you are together, this can help if you separate by clarifying what you brought to the marriage, how your assets should be divided. It should also cover important issues such as the care of children.
However, it is not a Will. It will not define who can inherit what from your estate. So, again, you should make sure your Will is updated to reflect any change in your personal circumstances.
Wills and remarriage
After your divorce is finalised, you are free to remarry or form a new civil partnership under the usual legal conditions.
That includes remarrying your former spouse. This isn’t a trend just to the rich and famous such as Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, or Elon Musk and Talulah Riley. It is estimated that around 5% of divorcees go on to remarry their former spouse. However, the law treats this as a brand-new marriage, so you’ll need to create a new Will and preferably draw up a pre-nuptial agreement with a solicitor too. Whilst not currently legally valid, pre-nups are increasingly referred to in the divorce courts.
Wills and blended families
When you remarry, you may be blending two existing families into one household. You and/or your partner may already have children, and in the fullness of time you may have children with your new spouse too.
It is important that your Will and estate planning including detailed instructions for the distribution of your estate amongst all your children and any other dependents from your previous marriage/s. This may involve creating Trusts to ring-fence part of your estate as a specific inheritance for older children from a first marriage, for example. (For more details, see our recent blog).
Need a new Will or want to update one?
Contact us and talk to me, Paul Hammond, about your Wills. I’m a will-writing specialist and a member of the Society of Will Writers, and I specialise in creating comprehensive mirror Wills for couples.
DISCLAIMER: The information and opinions in this article are for informational purposes only. They do not constitute any form of financial or legal advice and should not be relied on or treated as a substitute for specific advice relevant to your individual circumstances. In places we may refer to external websites for further information, but we are not responsible for the content of any external Internet sites.
