When should you change your Will?

We all know making a Will is important. But if you have taken the step to make a Will, you must remember to change it when your material circumstances change. You might consider changing your Will if one of the following happens:

• You have children;
• You get married or enter into a civil partnership;
• You separate, divorce your spouse or dissolve your civil partnership;
• You are now cohabiting with a partner but are not married or in a civil partnership with them;
• Sell or gift your assets;
• Inherit property or money.

There are all what might be described as life-changing events and are just a small selection of the many ways our lives can change over time.

Let us look at each of these events and understand why it is important to change your Will to deal with the occasion.

Having Children

If you make a Will before you have children, you may not have made any provision for them in your Will. Alternatively, you may have included a general provision for any future children before you had them in the event of your spouse or partner dying before you. However, if you do have children after you have made a Will, it is important to review the Will to ensure it continues to properly reflect your wishes.

When you have children, you need to consider what should happen to them in the event of both you and the children’s other parent dying before they reach the age of majority. Some or all of your estate may have to be held in trust for your children. You will also need to consider who should be appointed guardian to your children if you should die before them.

You also need to consider the implications of Legal Rights your children have to share in your estate and how that might impact on other legacies or bequests in your current Will.

Getting Married or entering into a Civil Partnership

Clearly getting married or entering into a civil partnership are life-changing events. When this occurs, you must revisit your Will and work out how what you had previously provided for in your Will now impacts on your new relationship.

Usually, spouses or civil partners want to provide for each other should one of them die. If a previously prepared Will does not take a spouse or civil partner into account, you need to consider what changes should be made to include them in your wishes – if, of course, that is your intention.

Separation, Divorce or Dissolution of a Civil Partnership

This is almost the direct opposite of getting married or entering into a civil partnership. It is highly likely that if you separate from a spouse or civil partner, get divorced or dissolve a civil partnership you will no longer wish the provisions in your Will in relation to them to apply.

Whilst there are provisions in the Succession Scotland Act 2016 which treat a former spouse or civil partner as having died if they are an executor and/or beneficiary in the Will of their spouse or former partner, if that fact alone means there is no further provision about the destination of the estate, your estate would fall into intestacy and you would then need to follow those rules to wind up the estate. In the case of separation only, however, the provisions of the Succession Scotland Act 2016 do not apply, and should you die, your estranged spouse or civil partner will inherit your estate in accordance with the provisions of your Will.

Cohabiting with a partner without being married or in a civil partnership

If you enter into a relationship with someone after making a Will but do not marry or enter into a civil partnership with them and they do not feature as a beneficiary in the Will, they will have no entitlement to share in your estate. This means that should you die before them, they would need to apply to the court to seek to share in the estate.

To ensure your partner with whom you are cohabiting succeeds to your estate you must make the relevant changes to your Will to ensure that they are included.

Sell or gift your assets

If you sell or gift assets you have mentioned in your Will, that means they are no longer available for distribution as part of your estate because you no longer have ownership of them. That, as you might expect, will cause a problem.

If you are carrying out any aspect of estate planning, it is important to review your Will as part of that process. If you make mention of a specific item you own in your Will, if you give this away or if you sell it, clearly it cannot then be handed over to whoever you nominate to receive it in your Will.

When you do gift or sell something that you know is specifically included in your Will, please ensure you review your Will and make the necessary changes to omit mention to the item.

Inheriting property or money

Receiving an inheritance or property or money after making your Will might have a significant impact on your estate. For instance, the property or money might mean your estate would then be significantly more than the inheritance tax threshold.

You must consider whether you still wish those you mention in your Will to receive what you wish them to receive to the extent you state. It may be that you wish to increase your legacies or add in new legacies or bequests to reflect your improved resources.

Always be aware how your circumstances can impact on your Will

Whenever your circumstances change in a significant way, you should consider what impact, if any, that might have on your Will.

If you would like to discuss making changes to your Will or, if you do not have a Will, how to make one, please contact us. You can contact our North Berwick office on 01620 892138 (email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) or our Dunbar office on 01368 862746 (email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) or send us enquiry on our contact form you will find here.