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Recognize the 5 early warning signs that your existing Will is out of date
A brief, cursory review of your Will may lead you to believe that your Will is still up-to-date. But look again in more detail, and you will probably find that your Will is in urgent need of an update.
The need for an updated Will can be any one (or more) of 5 reasons:
- Changes in the testator’s circumstances. e.g. A change in their marital status, or the number of children they have, or that they have started (or stopped) a business.
- Changes in the testator’s desired estate distribution i.e. The testator wishes to alter the gifts in their Will, or how the residue of their estate is distributed.
The above are relatively easy to spot. Much harder to spot are:
- The implications of the testator and their children, beneficiaries, guardians, executors and trustees all getting older. See the table to the right.
- Changes to the beneficiaries’ lifestyles e.g.
You should:
- review your Will every 4 or 5 years if your immediate circumstances have not changed, and update it where necessary; and
- update your Will as soon as practical after your immediate circumstances have changed.
It is estimated that 30% of all existing Wills are out of date. Could yours be one of them?
The Impact of Time Passing
A Will is an ‘evolving document’. By that we mean that it should change to reflect the testator’s changing wishes as his/her own, and those of his/her beneficiary’s, circumstances change. For example:
Different priorities: Aspects that were not a concern at the time an original Will was made may now become a priority. e.g. protecting the family home from being used to fund long-
Guardians: The demands of a 6-
Growing family: You may still have the same number of children but do you now have grandchildren/more grandchildren/a disabled grandchild/a step-
Executor appointment: Originally you may have appointed your parents as executors or reserve executors, or perhaps you appointed a solicitor. With the passage of time your own children (or even your grandchildren) will often become better suited. Your Will needs to be updated to effect the change.
Child resident: A child that was living with the testator years ago as a minor may now be still living with the testator but as an adult. That adult-
Inheritance tax liability. As we progress through life we quite often inherit monies. Those inheritances may now have created an inheritance tax liability. A Will can sometimes help mitigate this liability.
- a child’s marriage is failing. If a child inherited from their parent and then that child divorced, half of the inheritance would go to the son/daughter in law as part of the divorce settlement. Most parents would object to this.
– bankruptcy of a beneficiary. If a child is bankrupt then any inheritance they receive while their affairs are controlled by the Official Receiver will be used to clear their debts. Most parents object to this.
- Changes in the law.
The above are just some examples of how external factors can impact upon a Will.
In our Home-Visit will writing service we review any existing Will to check that an up-date is actually required. Please call us to arrange a visit.
