Published on: 22nd March 2021

Why should I review my Will?

Reviewing your Will is something we are very passionate about here at Casey & Associates. We offer all our Clients a no obligation review every three years of their Will to make sure it is correct given their current personal circumstances.

But why is reviewing your Will so important? In this article we give more of an overview on the key trigger points for when you should review your Will and why.

Marriage

A Will is revoked by a marriage or Civil Partnership unless it is written in contemplation of marriage, so if you and your spouse have Wills in place when you get married, it is important this is reviewed and updated if needed to ensure it is still valid. If you do not do this and you have a Will that is not updated when you marry, should you die your Estate will pass through the laws of Intestacy and you lose control of who benefits from your Estate.

Buying a house

If you are moving home it is important to review your Will and estate planning to ensure that your move has not had a negative impact.

If you are buying your first property, creating a Will is important. It will allow you to nominate the beneficiaries who you wish to inherit the property when you pass away.

Having children

If you do not have children when you have your first Will written, you should review and amend your Will when they do arrive. It is also important to review your Will when subsequent children arrive. Many parents will state that their Estate is to be equally divided among all their children and if this is the case then it may not be necessary to amend your Will when further children are born, but we would still recommend reviewing the Will to make sure this is worded correctly.

When a beneficiary pre-deceases the Testator

Sadly a beneficiary passing away before the Testator is something we are contacted about on quite a regular basis. In this situation, a Will needs to be reviewed and updated so you can ensure the share of the Estate that would have been left to the deceased beneficiary goes where you want it to.

Divorce

Divorce does not automatically revoke a Will, but it does deem your ex-spouse to have ‘passed away’. This means that the part of your Estate left to your spouse would be shared between other beneficiaries, although if no other beneficiaries are in place then you would be deemed to have died Intestate.

Another problem that can occur is you may have appointed your ex-spouse as your only Executor of the Estate and, in this instance, they are still deemed to have passed away. It becomes a complicated procedure to get a new personal representative appointed when you pass away, so we would always recommend reviewing your Will after a divorce.

Changes in legislation

Legislation can change and this can have a direct impact on your Estate Planning. Changes in legislation are one of the most important reasons why we recommend a three yearly review so we can pick up on any amendments that need to be made to your Will that will account for changing legislation. Here at Casey & Associates we also keep our Clients informed with a monthly newsletter which covers any major changes.

Personal circumstances

A change in personal circumstances can be a trigger for reviewing and changing your Will. You may have become friendly with someone you had not seen for a long time and want to include them as a beneficiary, or conversely you may have had a falling out with a beneficiary and no longer want them to receive the benefit from your Estate. Either way, the only way to make sure that your Estate is passed as you wish is to update and amend your Will in either of these situations.

To know where your Will is stored

We cannot emphasise enough the importance of knowing where your Will is stored, and more importantly your Executors knowing where your Will is stored, and we have covered this extensively in previous articles. Although more of an added benefit to reviewing your Will as opposed to a key reason, by reviewing your Will you confirm where it is stored, and can ensure this information is passed to your Executors.

If you have reached the point of one of these triggers and need to have your Will reviewed, or have not had your Will reviewed in the last three years, then get in touch with our friendly and helpful team who will arrange for one of our Consultants to review your Will and advise on any appropriate amendments.

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Our Covid-19 policy is now that 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.