Published on: 1st May 2023

What to do in changing marital circumstances

Throughout our lifetimes, our circumstances inevitably change. Here at Casey & Associates, we are available to give you the best advice each time there is a change. We recommend a review every three years to ensure your Will continues to reflect your wishes. A key change in any person's life is marriage.

There is a lot to think about in the run-up to your wedding and occasionally, renewing your Will might get forgotten. It is vital to recreate your Will when you marry as any existing standard Will you may have will automatically be revoked by marriage, meaning your Will is no longer valid. Should you pass away before creating a new one, you would die intestate. The rules of intestacy will almost certainly not distribute your estate as you would have wished. As a result of this, best advice is to create a Will as soon as you marry. At Casey & Associates, we can create a special Will for you before you marry which won't be revoked by your forthcoming marriage. If you have recently married or are due to do so, please contact us for a free no obligation appointment where one of our Consultants can review your circumstances.

Contrastingly, if your marriage is ended by a court order, such as divorce, your Will does not become void or revoked. In this case, your Will is still valid however it acts as if your ex-spouse has passed away. Therefore, your ex-spouse's share will go back into  the “pot” (residue) and be shared amongst your other beneficiaries. If you have left everything to your ex-spouse in your Will, with no reserve beneficiaries, it would again act as if you had died intestate. Similarly, if you had appointed your ex-spouse as executor or trustee, it would still act as if they had passed away. Therefore, it is important to ensure you have additional executors and trustees to act in their place. If you had appointed your ex-spouse as the only trustee, it becomes a complicated procedure to appoint new personal representatives after you have passed. Whilst it is best advice to create a new Will immediately after your divorce, you can do so any time after separation. You do not need to wait until the divorce is finalised or the annulment is granted in order to recreate your Will. Divorce rates are at their lowest levels in 40 years. But unfortunately, it can still happen with statistics showing that 42% of marriages end in divorce. Here at Casey & Associates, we will help you through this difficult time, by giving you best advice for your circumstances. For a free no obligation appointment with one of our Consultants please contact us. 

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If you wish to give instructions or require general information about our Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, or Trusts then we will carry out a telephone or Zoom appointment.

However, if you wish to give instructions to one of our Consultants and you feel that you can only do this at a Face to Face meeting we are offering, at our Consultant’s discretion, a limited number of Face to Face appointments in most of the areas we normally cover (subject to Government advice). To see the areas we normally cover please click here.

To arrange an appointment please telephone 01732 868190 or click here.

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Please note reference to spouse includes civil partner and reference to marriage includes civil partnership. Reference to divorce includes dissolution of a civil partnership.

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