The importance of making a will and keeping it up to date has been highlighted by the Law Society in its annual Update Your Will Week event, running from March 3rd to 9th.
The essential nature of wills is often underappreciated by many people, who do not understand the importance of ensuring that the disposal of their assets is very clearly set out, so that there is no doubt or room for dispute. Law firms and the courts spend a lot of time trying to help sort out conflicts that could have been avoided.
However, there is another common source of problems with wills, which is when a will is not updated when significant details change. This can also lead to major problems.
A survey by the Law Society found that in the past four years, 11 per cent of people living in England and Wales had dealt with the estate of someone who had died. Of these people, 52 per cent were dealing with situations where there was no will in place, while 26 per cent found there was a dispute concerning the estate.
The Law Society said that updating your will every five years, or when there is a major change, is a very good way of protecting against a possible scenario where a will is out of date and this causes problems when someone dies.
You can do this by seeing our will solicitors to get your will updated on a regular basis. It is particularly worth doing so if you have had a major change in life circumstances.
There are some very obvious occasions when you should update your will, although many people still fail to do so, or continue not to have one.
Getting married is a case in point. Although your spouse will become your next-of-kin and first in line to inherit everything, this does mean if you had made an unwritten promise to anyone else that they would get something, this could be a matter for dispute.
Divorce is even more important, as this means the inheritance rules will no longer apply to your former spouse. You may wish to ensure they receive nothing, but also have certain provisions in place for money that may go to any children you have.
Having children is a particularly important issue, because only if you make specific provisions for them will your wishes for them and their welfare be fulfilled.
Other reasons involve a significant change in your financial situation (which means the value of cash or other assets to be bequeathed may be greater or smaller), starting a business (as the future of the enterprise will need to be decided), a change in gender recognition or moving to a different country (where probate laws may differ).
Executors may have difficulty with out-of-date wills or an absence of one, but not if they have passed away. If an executor dies, the will must be updated with a replacement being appointed.
With so many significant ways that a will can become out of date, is it time that you got yours updated?
