The Five Most Crucial Times in Life to Make or Update Your Will

January 2025

You might be surprised to learn that more than 50% of adults in the UK do not have a valid Will in place. If you fall into this 50%, you might wish to consider addressing this.

Most people write a Will with the expectation that it won’t be needed for many, many years. In the best-case scenarios, they won’t be. However, none of us really know what is up ahead, and if the unexpected was to happen, leaving a Will behind would make things a great deal simpler for those around you.

A Will is a hugely important document. It is the only way for each of us to legally set out our wishes for what should happen to our assets, property and even any dependent children in the event of our death.

There are five times in life where we believe it is particularly important to ensure you have an up-to-date Will.

One: Getting married or entering a civil partnership

A lot of people don’t know this, but when you get married or enter a civil partnership, any Will you have made previously is automatically revoked. This is because it is assumed in the eyes of the law that this significant change of circumstances would mean you would no longer wish any previous estate planning to take effect. If you do not make a new Will after getting married or entering into a civil partnership, your estate would be administered according to the intestacy rules. This might not be in line with what you would’ve chosen.

The only exception to this is if you made the Will in expectation of the marriage or civil partnership taking place. Though you would not need to include specific details such as the exact date the marriage/civil partnership will take place, you would need to name your future spouse/civil partner in the Will. In order for the Will to remain valid, it would need to clearly state that you wished that to be the case. The marriage/civil partnership would also need to take place relatively soon after the Will was made.

Because of this, it is important to make a Will (or update an existing Will) when you get married or enter a civil partnership. It is especially important to do this if you have children from a previous relationship. If you don’t, you are taking the risk of your children being disinherited. 

Two: Buying property for the first time 

Property is one of the biggest purchases we make in our lifetime. If you are buying a home for the first time, it’s important to consider what you would wish to happen to it if you were to die.

Who would inherit your property depends on whether you were the sole or joint owner. In the case of joint ownership, inheritance would also depend on whether the property is held in joint ownership or as tenants in common. There are some important decisions to be made here in terms of estate planning, and writing a Will at this point enables you to explore these options with the support of a qualified professional.

Three: Having a child 

A Will is obviously a very important document in terms of determining who you would wish to inherit your estate. However, wills are also used to appoint legal guardians for your children and determine how any money you leave them would be managed on their behalf.

Because of this, if you are welcoming a child into your family, it is important to make sure you have updated your Will to include these wishes.

There is never really a ‘good’ time to think about death, and we know this may be an unappealing chore when you’re focusing on welcoming a new baby to the world. However, ensuring that the necessary documentation is in place can give real peace of mind for new parents who wish to plan for all possible eventualities. 

Four: Going through a divorce or dissolution

A divorce or the dissolution of a civil partnership does not automatically cancel any Will you have in place like a marriage or civil partnership does. However, your Will is likely to still be affected. Once a divorce or dissolution is finalised, any role your ex-spouse/civil partner played in that Will becomes invalid. This means they would no longer be able to act as an executor or be a beneficiary.

In addition to the legal impact of a divorce or dissolution on your Will, it’s likely that your priorities for your estate planning will also have changed. This makes this an important time to meet with your solicitor to discuss changes to your Will.

It’s important to note that any mention of an ex-spouse or civil partner in a Will would only become invalid once the divorce or dissolution was finalised. If someone was to die during divorce proceedings, their soon-to-be ex-spouse or civil partner would still be able to inherit or act as an executor if that was what was recorded in the Will. Because of this, many people choose to update their Will as soon as they decide to begin divorce proceedings.

Going through a divorce generally involves a lot of uncertainty, and you may not be sure exactly what you wish your estate plans to look like on the other side. In these situations, we often work with clients to put together what we call a ‘holding Will’. This would ensure the individual had a simple Will in place that removed any mention of their soon-to-be ex-spouse or civil partner for the duration of the divorce proceedings. Once everything is finalised – including financial arrangements and the custody of any children – this holding Will can be revisited to more comprehensively address the individual’s new circumstances. 

Five: Getting a Serious Diagnosis

There are certain things that none of us want to hear during a medical appointment. Getting a serious, life-changing or even terminal diagnosis is one of these things. We can only imagine how difficult this period must be and how many things there must be to think about.

This is often a natural time for people to think very seriously about their estate planning. A terminal diagnosis or the risk of a serious illness worsening often puts a lot of things in perspective, and affected individuals might wish to make changes to their Will, or even write one for the first time.

This might also be a good time for an individual to consider whether it is appropriate for them to write an Advance Decision (which is sometimes also called a Living Will). These legal documents allow individuals to set out their preferences for future care and medical treatment in case they become unable to communicate those preferences in the future.

Is it the right time for you to write a Will?

Whatever stage of life you’re at, whatever you’re going through, our specialist solicitors are here to help you record your wishes for the future.

If you have any questions about how your current circumstances might impact plans for your estate, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.