Without stating otherwise in your intention to marry, any Will you have created prior to your marriage will automatically become void on the event of your marriage.
Unfortunately, not many people know this to be the case, and given that marriage tends to be the beginning of a journey towards things as life changing as children, home ownership, and accumulation of more and more assets, you would not like to read that if you die without a will, your estate will be “intestate”. A status which gives the state the power to control where your assets will end up.
Naturally, the obvious solution here is that once you’re married, you either make a new Will, or make a Will contemplation of your marriage, but there are complexities in this topic we ought to explore.
Why was my Will Voided?
The marriage Laws in England and Wales state that any pre-existing Will is revoked when you enter a legally binding marriage contract, it is this that introduces the Rules of Intestacy into the scenario, should you fail to write a new Will prior to your death.
Worst case scenario, and if you do fail to draft a new will before your death, any Estate worth less than £250k would pass in its entity to your spouse. If, however, your estate is worth over £250,000 though, the first £250,000 goes to the spouse as well as half of the remainder, with the other half going to any children.
However, while not seemingly a terrible solution, difficulties remain when you discover that there are countless road-blocks behind that wall, with issues like family homes being in someone’s sole-name causing further complications.
How to keep an existing Will valid despite marriage
If you create a will that is made “in contemplation of marriage”, you can provide specific details about your partner and how they are included in your estate, this will justify as a solution, but is, of course contingent on you knowing who you want to marry (and knowing they do as well!)
If, by contrast, you have no idea who you will be marrying and just know that you want to be married at some time, you cannot avoid re-writing your will when you are married, unless of course you write one in contemplation of marriage with your would-be partner.
What about Divorce & Remarriage?
Firstly, sorry to talk about this if you’re reading this as a newly wed, but seeing as we’re on the topic…
Divorce does not fully revoke your will but does impact it in certain ways. Firstly, your ex-spouse will no longer be able to benefit from your Will as a Beneficiary, or act as an Executor or Trustee.
Your divorced partner will be treated as if they will pre-deceased you, which will mean you have to revisit your will to ensure what it states is a true reflection of your wishes.
To have a will drafted, or to have an estate planned that can protect you, your immediate family, and family for generations beyond your children, contact us today using the button below.