Big Life Changes - When to update your Will
Having a Will is vital to ensure that your wishes are known, and your family are protected and provided, when you pass away. Typically people make a Will long before they pass away and this may mean that your Will will need updating during your lifetime if major changes occur. Knowing when might be appropriate to consider changing your Will can help you keep it under review.
Getting Married or Entering into a Civil partnership
Unless you make your Will explicitly in the anticipation of marriage, getting married in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will automatically invalidate any Will you have. This means that any gifts you had previously left in a Will are no longer valid and they will not receive anything.
It is important to note that there have been recent recommendations from The Law Commission to abolish this rule and therefore the law around this may change.
Divorce or Separation
While getting divorced will not automatically invalidate your entire Will, it does invalidate any gifts that you may have left to your former spouse. They can no longer benefit from anything you have left to them in your Will. This is an important consideration as if you have named your former spouse or civil partner as your sole beneficiary. On divorce,they will be then treated as if they have died and the law gets to decide how your estate is distributed. It is very important to know that simply separating does not invalidate anything left to them in the Will and they will still be entitled to what is written in your Will.
It is also important to consider how your property is dealt with. If you own your property as joint tenants and one of you passes away, your property will automatically pass to the other person through survivorship. If you would like to ensure that your share of co-owned property passes on to your chosen beneficiaries, you can instruct Eloise Mackenzie Law Limited to assist you further.
Currently if you are an unmarried couple you are not automatically deemed to be entitled to any of your deceased partner’s estate. This is why having a Will is important, to ensure that the assets you own are passed to your chosen beneficiaries.
Having Children
If you decide to expand your family and have children, it is a very big milestone. While having children will not automatically have any direct impact on your Will, it is very common for people to want them added as beneficiaries and decide what gets left to you child/children. In your Will you are also able to add who you would like to appoint as a guardian to take care of your children. By appointing a guardian in your Will you are also able to add a letter if wishes, and this can set out key factors on how you would like your child/children to be raised and can include religious beliefs, schooling and where you would like your children to live.
Significant Changes in your Financial Circumstances/Assets
While a big change such as winning the lottery, inheriting a large sum of money, or buying a property will not invalidate your Will it can have a significant tax implication for you. By changing your Will to reflect this you can effectively tax plan ahead. On the flip side if your financial circumstances change, and you have to sell an asset you were once going to leave to someone, you can change your Will to reflect this.
Even if none of these big changes happen we do recommend reviewing your Will at least every three years and that way you have peace of mind that your estate is taken care of.
If you think any of the above applies to you or may apply to you in the future then please give us a call on 07903 024932 to discuss further, or email
info@em-law.uk /
paralegals@em-law.uk.
AUTHOR : Georgie Coles
The article on this site is accurate at the time that it is written and does not constitute legal advice. All comments are made in good faith, and neither Eloise Mackenzie Law Limited nor the author will accept liability for them. Please contact us for more information or advice.
This article is intended for general information only, applies to the law at the time of publication, is not specific to the facts of your case and is not intended to be a replacement for legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before relying on any of the information given. © Eloise Mackenzie Law Limited 2026.
