When Should You Update Your Will?

A Guide to Reviewing Your Will After Major Life Changes

A Will is one of the most important documents you can have to protect the people you care about. But a Will that was written five or ten years ago may not reflect where your life is today.

Your Will reflects your life as it was when you signed it, your family, your finances, your priorities at that moment, and what you want to happen. When those things change, and over the course of a lifetime they are highly likely to, your Will needs to catch up.

In general, you should review your Will every three to five years and whenever there is a significant change in your life. Common reasons include marriage, divorce, the birth of children or grandchildren, buying or selling property, changes to your finances, inheritance tax planning or the death of someone named in your Will.

A lot of people assume that once it’s done, it’s done. In practice, a Will that has not been looked at for several years can cause real problems for the people you are trying to protect.

We have covered what happens when someone dies without a Will and the risks of DIY Will services in previous articles. In this blog, our Wills team looks at something slightly different: what happens when you have a Will, but it no longer reflects your current circumstances.

Below are the events that should prompt a review. Some of them have automatic legal consequences that often catch people off guard.

Common Reasons to Update Your Will

• Marriage or civil partnership
• Divorce or separation
• Birth or adoption of a child
• Buying or selling a property
• Significant changes in wealth
• Death of an executor or beneficiary
• Moving abroad
• Changes to inheritance tax
• Every 3–5 years as good practice

Getting Married or Entering a Civil Partnership

This is one of the most misunderstood triggers for a Will update, and one of the most significant in its legal consequences.

In England and Wales, marriage or civil partnership automatically revokes any Will you made before the wedding. The only exception is a Will drafted specifically in contemplation of a named marriage. Outside of that, the moment you marry, your existing Will becomes invalid.

If you die without making a new one, your estate is treated as though you had died intestate (without a Will). That means the rules of intestacy would govern who inherits, rather than your own wishes.

When Should You Update Your Will?: Either arrange a new Will promptly after you marry or speak to a solicitor about putting one in place in advance, drafted specifically in contemplation of the named marriage. Either way, having your Will drafted by a regulated professional is always recommended.

Separation or Divorce

These two situations have very different legal effects, and the distinction between the two matters.

Separation alone has no automatic legal effect on your Will. If you separate from your spouse or civil partner but are legally still married, your Will continues to operate exactly as it is written. That means if you were to die during a separation, your spouse could still inherit everything you left them or act as an executor.

Once a divorce or civil partnership dissolution is finalised, your former spouse is treated as though they died before you. They cannot inherit and cannot act as executor. The rest of your Will remains in place, but this can lead to unintended outcomes. If your Will was structured to pass everything to your spouse and then to your children, the automatic removal of your spouse may create complications and a distribution of your estate in a way you would not have chosen.

When Should You Update Your Will?: Review your Will when you separate, especially if you think your divorce may take longer to finalise. The gap between those two points is when the risk is the highest.  

The Birth or Adoption of a Child

The arrival of a child or grandchild, whether by birth or adoption, is one of the most important reasons to revisit your Will.

Even if an existing Will mentions future children or grandchildren in passing, it is unlikely to include specific arrangements for them. It may not specify how their inheritance should be managed, or who should have the responsibility of caring for them if something were to happen to you while they are young.

Without specific provisions, a child could inherit outright upon turning 18. That may not be what you had in mind. A correctly drafted Will is the only mechanism by which you can formally record your wishes as to who should act as guardian for a minor child or establish a trust that holds their inheritance until you think they are old enough to receive it.

If you have children from a previous relationship, or step-children, it is particularly important that your Will clearly reflects your intentions for each of them.

When Should You Update Your Will?: Update your Will to name a guardian for any minor children and consider whether a trust is appropriate to manage their inheritance. Ensure your Will clearly sets out your wishes for all your beneficiaries, including step-children or grandchildren.  

The Death of an Executor or Beneficiary

When someone named in your Will dies, it creates a practical gap that your current Will may not be equipped to fill.

If one of your executors dies, you may find that no one with the legal authority to deal with your estate remains in place. If a beneficiary dies, the gift may fail or pass in a way that does not reflect your wishes. For example, if your Will divides your estate equally between two people and one of them has since died, you may want their share to pass to their own children, or you may prefer it to pass to the surviving beneficiary. Your Will should be able to clarify those intentions. Without clear instructions, there is room for uncertainty and complications for loved ones.

When Should You Update Your Will?: Review your Will when anyone named in it dies. Appoint a replacement executor and make clear what should happen to any gift that cannot be fulfilled.

A Significant Change in Your Finances

If your financial position has changed since you first drafted your Will, it may no longer be fit for purpose. Buying a property, receiving an inheritance, selling a business, building up savings or pension assets, can all form part of your estate.

As the value of your assets grows, questions around inheritance tax planning, the structure of asset ownership, and the distribution of your estate become increasingly important.

Currently, the nil-rate band for Inheritance Tax (IHT) sits at £325,000. Where someone leaves their home to children (including adopted, foster, or stepchildren) or grandchildren, an additional residence nil-rate band of £175,000 applies, bringing the total threshold to £500,000 for an individual. Spouses can pass unused allowances on the first death between them, meaning a combined threshold of up to £1 million is possible, but only where the estate is structured to allow it. You can calculate potential IHT obligations by using the government inheritance tax calculator here: How Inheritance Tax works: thresholds, rules and allowances.

If your estate is approaching or above those figures, there may be steps worth taking, but only if your Will is set up to take advantage of them.

When Should You Update Your Will?: Review your Will if your financial position changes significantly and take professional advice on whether inheritance tax planning should form part of your estate arrangements.

Selling or Changing a Property

Just as buying property can affect your Will, so can selling it, transferring ownership or changing the way it is owned.

If your Will leaves a specific property to a named beneficiary and you later sell that property, that gift will usually fail unless your Will makes alternative provision. The person you intended to benefit may receive nothing instead.

Property ownership should also be reviewed whenever your circumstances change. For example, you may:

• buy your first home;
• move to a larger property;
• downsize in retirement;
• purchase a buy-to-let investment;
• inherit property;
• begin living with a new partner;
• separate from a spouse or partner.

It is equally important to consider how your property is owned.

If you own a property as joint tenants, your share will usually pass automatically to the surviving owner regardless of what your Will says.

If you own it as tenants in common, your share forms part of your estate and will pass in accordance with your Will.

Many couples are unaware of this distinction. It is therefore sensible to review both your property ownership and your Will together whenever you buy, sell or transfer property to ensure they work together to achieve the outcome you want.

When should you update your Will?: Review your Will whenever your property arrangements change and make sure your ownership structure reflects your estate planning objectives.

A Change in Your Relationships

Families rarely remain the same throughout our lives.

Relationships develop, new partners arrive, families blend together and, unfortunately, some relationships come to an end. A Will should evolve alongside those changes.

Common examples include:

• getting married or entering a civil partnership;
• separating from a partner;
• entering a new long-term relationship;
• becoming part of a blended family;
• having step-children or grandchildren;
• becoming estranged from a family member;
• wishing to support a charity or close friend.

Many people are surprised to learn that unmarried partners do not automatically inherit under the rules of intestacy, no matter how long they have lived together. Equally, step-children do not automatically inherit unless provision is made for them.

If your relationships have changed since your Will was prepared, it is worth checking that it still reflects your current wishes.

While English law generally allows you to decide who should inherit your estate, there are circumstances in which certain family members or dependants may bring claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if they believe reasonable financial provision has not been made for them.

If you are making significant changes, particularly where someone is being removed from your Will, professional advice can help ensure your wishes are properly recorded and the reasons for your decisions are considered.

When should you update your Will? Whenever your personal relationships change, particularly following separation, remarriage, the creation of a blended family or a significant change in your family circumstances.

Moving to or from the Fylde Coast, or Relocating Abroad

A Will made in England and Wales is generally valid throughout England and Wales regardless of where in the country you move. Therefore, a local relocation would not necessarily affect your Will’s validity. However, moving outside of England and Wales, abroad, or acquiring property overseas is a different matter.   

Scotland operates under a different system because of succession law, which includes rules about the rights of spouses and children to share in an estate regardless of what the Will says. If you own property abroad, the laws of the country where the property is situated may also affect how it can be passed on. Different countries handle inheritance differently and may have forced heirship rules that would need to be followed, regardless of what is in the English Will. If you have assets in more than one country, the structure of your arrangements needs to reflect that, which may include drafting a separate local Will.

A UK Will that does not correctly account for an overseas property, or a Will that is not recognised by foreign courts, can delay probate (the distribution of your estate) and cause significant complications for executors and beneficiaries. 

When Should You Update Your Will?: If you move abroad or own property or assets overseas, take specific advice on how your English Will interacts with the law in the relevant jurisdiction.

A Change in Inheritance Tax Rules

Inheritance Tax rules, and with them thresholds, reliefs, and exemptions, often change. A Will structured around IHT rules from five years ago may not be structured correctly for the rules that apply now.  Recent years have included changes to how pension funds and agricultural property are treated for inheritance tax purposes. If your estate planning was built around older assumptions, it is worth checking whether those assumptions still hold and are as efficient as they once were.

When Should You Update Your Will?: Review your Will if there have been IHT changes that could affect your estate, particularly if your estate is near or above the relevant thresholds.  

It Has Been More Than Five Years Since Your Last Review

No dramatic life event is needed to justify a review of your Will. Circumstances shift gradually, people move, relationships evolve, asset values change. What was a sensible arrangement several years ago may have quietly become outdated, or worse, invalid.

Reviewing every three to five years as a matter of routine is a reasonable approach. Not because something has necessarily changed, but because it is much easier to catch small gaps before they become bigger, more problematic ones.

When Should You Update Your Will?: If you cannot recall when you last reviewed your Will, or if your current Will was made some time ago, our Wills team can help you with a Will review.  

Do You Always Need a New Will?

Not always. For straightforward changes, such as swapping an executor or adding a modest gift, a codicil can be enough. A codicil is a formal legal addition to an existing Will, properly signed and legally witnessed, that amends specific provisions without replacing the whole document.

For bigger changes, especially those involving larger financial gifts or changes to beneficiaries, a new Will is usually cleaner. Marriage, divorce, or a significant change to your family structure or financial position, are all situations where a codicil is unlikely to be the right tool. Our Wills team can provide guidance on which approach makes sense for what you are trying to achieve.  

Can You Update Your Will Yourself?

Legally, there is nothing to prevent you from making your own Will or attempting to amend an existing one. However, doing so carries significant risks, particularly if your estate or family circumstances are more complicated than they first appear.

A Will is a legal document with strict formal requirements. If it is not prepared, signed or witnessed correctly, it may be wholly or partly invalid. Even where a Will is legally valid, unclear wording or unintended consequences can create disputes between family members or result in your estate being distributed differently from what you intended.

Similarly, making handwritten amendments to an existing Will is rarely advisable. Alterations made after a Will has been signed may be ineffective unless they are completed in accordance with the legal formalities. In some cases, they can even create uncertainty over whether the amendment is valid.

For relatively minor changes, such as changing an executor or making a small additional gift, a solicitor may recommend preparing a codicil. For more substantial changes, preparing a completely new Will is often the safest and clearest option.

Professional advice becomes particularly important if you:

• own property;
• have children from different relationships;
• are unmarried but living with a partner;
• own a business;
• wish to undertake inheritance tax planning;
• have beneficiaries who are vulnerable or under 18;
• wish to exclude someone who might otherwise expect to inherit.

Although preparing a Will yourself may appear cheaper initially, mistakes can ultimately cost an estate many thousands of pounds and create unnecessary stress for the people you are trying to protect.

What Happens If You Do Nothing

An outdated Will can create difficulties for your loved ones and increase the chance that your estate is distributed in a way that may not reflect what you would have wanted. These issues can result in your estate passing to people you did not intend to benefit, no provision being in place for a current partner or new family members, avoidable inheritance tax liabilities, and disputes between family members about what you would have wanted.

Our article on what happens when someone dies without a Will covers in detail how the rules of intestacy operate and why they so often produce outcomes that the deceased would not have chosen. An out-of-date Will carries many of the same risks.

Support from Regulated Will Writers and Legal Professionals

At MJV Solicitors, we want to help you take the stress out of writing and updating your Will, and our experienced and regulated Will Writing Solicitors are on hand to guide you through the process. We understand the importance of ensuring your loved ones benefit from your estate when you pass and having a Will that is relevant to your individual circumstances. By using us to help write or update your Will, you can feel confident that:

• MJV Solicitors is regulated by The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), meaning our law firm and solicitors are bound by strict regulatory obligations and standards.
• We have years of professional experience in private client law, including Will Writing and Estate Planning, with a deep understanding of inheritance tax laws.
• As a regulated law firm, we are required to carry specialist professional indemnity insurance, which provides an additional level of protection in the event of any errors or negligence.

Will Writing Solicitors in Cleveleys, Blackpool and across the Fylde Coast

Whether you are making your first Will or reviewing an existing one, obtaining advice from an experienced solicitor can help ensure your wishes are properly recorded and that your estate planning reflects your current circumstances.

Our Private Client team regularly advises clients throughout Thornton-Cleveleys, Blackpool, Fleetwood, Poulton-le-Fylde, Bispham, Lytham St Annes and the wider Fylde Coast on:

• preparing Wills;
• updating existing Wills;
• inheritance tax planning;
• trusts;
• Lasting Powers of Attorney;
• probate and estate administration.

Every family is different, and we take the time to understand your individual circumstances before recommending the most appropriate solution.

To speak to a member of our team for a free, no obligation chat about our services, complete our enquiry form or contact us by calling 01253 858231 or emailing us at info@mjvlaw.co.uk

This blog post is not intended to be taken as advice or acted upon. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our team of solicitors.

Related guides and resources:

• Executor Duties: A Guide to Probate for Families in Cleveleys
• Protecting Your Future: Why You Should Set Up a Lasting Power of Attorney
• When Families Run into Problems Without a Lasting Power of Attorney
• What Happens When Someone Dies Without a Will?
• Should I Use A DIY Will Service?

Final Thoughts

A Will should not be viewed as a document that is signed once and then forgotten. It should evolve as your life changes.

Marriage, divorce, children, property purchases, changes in wealth, new relationships and changes in inheritance tax legislation can all affect whether your existing Will still reflects your wishes. Even where no major life event has occurred, reviewing your Will every three to five years is sensible to ensure it remains up to date.

An outdated Will can create unnecessary complications for your loved ones, increase the risk of disputes and, in some cases, result in your estate being distributed in a way you never intended.

Taking the time to review your Will now can provide reassurance that, when the time comes, your affairs will be dealt with in accordance with your wishes and with as little stress as possible for those you leave behind.

Frequently Asked Questions About Updating Your Will

How often should I review my Will?

Every three to five years is a reasonable baseline, and sooner if any of the life events above apply to you.

Does moving house mean I need a new Will?

Not if you are staying within England and Wales. If you are moving abroad or acquiring overseas property, a review is sensible. It is also worth checking how the new property is owned, as joint tenants or tenants in common, since this affects what happens to your share on death and may not align with what is in your current Will.

Can I add to my Will without writing a new one?

Yes, through a codicil. For straightforward changes, this works well. For bigger ones, a new Will is usually the cleaner option. Changes via a codicil must be properly signed and legally witnessed.

Does marriage really cancel my previous Will?

Yes, automatically and completely, unless the Will was drafted specifically in contemplation of that marriage with a named person.

What if I cannot find my original Will?

The first step is to check the National Wills Register (nationalwillregister.co.uk), which is the Law Society’s preferred Will search service. If your Will was registered by the solicitor or Will writer who originally drafted it, a search should be able to confirm where it is held. Registration in the UK is not compulsory, so not every Will appears on this register, but it is a good place to start. If the search draws a blank, and you really can’t find the original copy, contact a solicitor or professional Will writer. We can advise on the next steps and, where necessary, help you put a new Will in place.

Does buying a house mean I should update my Will?

Not necessarily, but it is often sensible to review your Will whenever you buy, sell or transfer property. You should also consider how the property is owned, as joint tenants or tenants in common, because this affects what happens to your share when you die.

Can I remove someone from my Will?

Generally, yes. In England and Wales you are usually free to decide who should benefit from your estate. However, certain people may have the right to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if they believe reasonable financial provision has not been made for them.

Does divorce automatically cancel my Will?

No. Divorce does not revoke your Will. Instead, your former spouse or civil partner is generally treated as having died before you, which can significantly affect how your estate is distributed. It is therefore advisable to review your Will as soon as possible after separation or divorce.

How much does it cost to update a Will?

The cost depends on the changes required. In some cases, a codicil may be sufficient. More significant changes are often best dealt with by preparing a new Will. A solicitor will usually be able to advise which option is most appropriate.

Can I change my Will if I have been diagnosed with dementia?

Possibly. A person must have the necessary mental capacity to make or amend a Will. If capacity is in doubt, specialist legal advice should be obtained as soon as possible, as it may become impossible to change a Will once capacity has been lost.