Many people are unaware that keeping their Will up to date is just as important as writing one. More often than not, Wills are written, stored in a safe place, and then forgotten about. However, if your Will does not reflect your current wishes or significant events have taken place since drafting the original Will, it may cause unnecessary contention between your loved ones following your passing.

Even if there has been no significant change to your circumstances, we recommend that you review your Will every five years, as changes to legislation and inheritance tax may impact the effectiveness of your Will. It is even more important to review your Will following any significant change in circumstance for you or the people mentioned in your Will, which can include the following:

• If your financial situation significantly changes – you may wish to increase bequests left in
  your Will or reduce the amount left to beneficiaries to reflect your change in financial position.

• If you have more children or grandchildren – you may want to ensure that all your children
  and grandchildren are included and not just those alive at the date of when your Will was
  written.

• Family relationship breakdown.

• If you get married/ enter a civil partnership – it is important to be aware that this will revoke
  any existing Will, unless prepared in contemplation of marriage.

• Divorce or dissolution of a marriage/ civil partnership – in this instance, your Will is not
  revoked; however, your ex-spouse will be treated as though they had died when your divorce
  had been finalised. It is therefore important to determine whether you have made substitute
  provisions.

• If you sell your property or move house – If your Will makes specific provision in relation to
  your property, this will need to be updated.

The cost of making a new Will is usually quite modest, and is money well spent to ensure your hard-earned estate goes exactly where you want it to.

If you have any further questions or wish to update your Will, please feel free to give us a call on 01782 652300 or email lawyers@tinsdills.co.uk to book an initial appointment with a member of our Wills, Trust and Probate team.