When Should You Update Your Will?

Getting married or entering a civil partnership automatically revokes any earlier will, unless that will was made specifically in contemplation of the marriage or civil partnership and says so. This means that a will written before a wedding, without that wording, ceases to have effect once the marriage takes place, and the intestacy rules would apply if nothing else is done.

This is one of the most commonly misunderstood points in this area, and it means anyone marrying or forming a civil partnership after making a will needs to check whether a new will is required.

Divorce does not revoke a will, but it does change how an existing will is interpreted. Broadly, once a decree absolute or final order is made, an ex-spouse named in the will is treated as if they had died before the person who made the will, so gifts and executorship provisions in their favour usually fail. Separation without a formal divorce does not have this effect at all, so a separated but not divorced spouse can still inherit under an old will.

This makes it particularly important to review a will during separation or divorce proceedings, rather than assuming the position sorts itself out automatically.

The birth or adoption of a child is an obvious trigger for review, particularly to add or update guardianship arrangements and consider how young children should inherit. Buying a property, paying off a mortgage, starting a business, or a significant change in savings or investments can all shift what your estate actually contains and how it should be divided.

It is also worth reviewing your will if an executor, guardian or beneficiary named in it dies, moves abroad, or is no longer someone you would choose for that role. A will that names people who are no longer available can create unnecessary complication for those left behind.

Even without an obvious trigger, it is good practice to review a will roughly every five years. Personal wishes change, relationships evolve, and the value and nature of an estate can shift gradually without any single dramatic event. A short review, even if it confirms nothing needs to change, is far less effort than dealing with an out of date will later.

With a service such as My Posh Will, updating a will when circumstances change is straightforward, since it avoids the cost and inconvenience of returning to a solicitor's office for a routine update.

When you sit down to review a will, whether prompted by a life event or simply the five yearly habit, it helps to work through a short, consistent list of questions rather than relying on memory alone.

An out of date will does not automatically become invalid just because circumstances have changed, other than in the specific case of marriage or civil partnership revoking an earlier will. This means an old will can remain technically valid while no longer reflecting reality, for example still naming an ex-partner as executor after a separation that did not end in divorce, or leaving a specific gift of a car that was sold years ago.

The practical result is that your estate may be distributed in a way you would not have chosen if you were asked today, executors may struggle to carry out instructions that no longer make sense, and gifts to people who are no longer part of your life may proceed exactly as an old document describes. Regular review avoids these outcomes far more reliably than hoping nothing important has changed.