According to new research from Solicitors For the Elderly (SFE), 47 per cent of individuals who have a Will have not updated it in the last five years.
The SFE has said that this may mean that nearly half of Wills in the UK are likely to be out-of-date, which could lead to significant legal issues and conflict when a person dies.
Of those that admitted they hadn’t updated their Will in the last five years, a third hadn’t updated it for more than seven years, while 21 per cent of respondents hadn’t revised their Will in over a decade!
The research from the SFE also showed that nearly half of the people interviewed didn’t know that the intestacy rules would decide who inherits their assets if they died without a valid Will in place.
That included a third of couples living together who didn’t know that without a marriage or civil partnership they won’t inherit each other’s assets.
The research comes ahead of the SFE’s, Update Your Will Week, which runs from 28 March to 3 April – an awareness event designed to highlight the importance of revising Wills regularly.
When might a will get out of date?
Technically, once a Will is written it could last forever. However, certain circumstances could change the validity or relevance of a Will, which means that you should update it.
Marriage – In England and Wales, when you get married any previously legally valid Will automatically becomes void, unless it makes a specific reference to the marriage.
If you don’t update an existing Will or create a new one after getting married it will mean that the law of intestacy will decide who inherits from you after you die.
You will have no say over who inherits your estate, and it will mean that a large proportion of it may go to your surviving spouse.
This may lead to children from a previous marriage being disinherited or receiving a smaller proportion of your estate.
Divorce – If your previous Will still names your former spouse as the main beneficiary, they will inherit as originally intended, which may go against your wishes.
If you have since started a new relationship, but not got married or had a civil partnership, it will mean that your new partner may not receive anything – even if you have lived together longer than your previous marriage.
This can be particularly complicated where you own property or other assets jointly together as it may mean that they need to be sold to realise the value of your estate for a former spouse.
If you get divorced, it is highly advised that you update your Will as soon as you can to ensure it reflects your wishes.
Births – If you have children or grandchildren, you will likely want to include them within your Will and provide them with an inheritance.
In the case of your own children, you may also want to spell out who would care for them and act as their legal guardian in the event of your death.
If you welcome a new member to your family, you should use this as an opportunity to update an existing Will so that they are included in it, should you wish this.
Deaths – Equal to births, your Will may name certain people as beneficiaries or executors who die before you do.
It is important that your Will reflects this and removes them from these roles. n the case of executors, this is a good opportunity to appoint someone new. If you don’t have a friend or family member who can fulfil this role many solicitors and advisers will act as executors for you.
Most solicitors recommend that a Will is reviewed and updated every five years, or after major life events.
According to the SFE, nearly a third of people with a Will have had significant changes to their lives and circumstances since they drafted or last updated it.
If you need help reviewing and updating a Will, please get in touch with our team today.