You prepared your Will several years ago. You feel pretty happy with yourself as you know many adult Australian’s don’t even have a valid Will. That life admin job is now ticked off your list and you don’t need to look at that again. Right? Unfortunately, no. Wills are not the types of documents you should ‘set and forget’ and you should review them every year or two to check it still reflects your wishes. There are a few circumstances however, which when they arise, should alert you to immediately review, and possibly update, your Will.
- If you marry after the date your Will is made. Wills are automatically void on marriage (unless the Will is expressly made in contemplation of marriage). So that Will you prepared in your early 20s before you headed off on your extended overseas adventure and before you married your significant other is no longer valid.
- Your personal relationship status changes. For example, you separate from your spouse or partner or enter into a new personal relationship. It is important to remember that while, in most circumstances, a Will automatically becomes void on marriage, it will remain effective on separation or divorce until revoked by a new Will.
- If you or someone mentioned in the Will changes their name.
- If an executor dies or becomes unsuitable to act due to age or ill-health.
- A beneficiary or potential beneficiary dies.
- You have a child or additional children.
- A beneficiary suffers a major life event such as separation, bankruptcy or disability. There are different types of Wills which may be more suitable to protect vulnerable beneficiaries.
- If you have specifically made a gift of any property under your Will which you subsequently sell or which change in nature. For example, if your Will provides that you leave your residential property to your daughter and your holiday home to your son, but you subsequently sell your holiday home, the holiday home will no longer be able to be gifted resulting in an unequal distribution of your assets between your children which may not be your intention.
- Your financial circumstances change. There are different types of Wills which may be more appropriate for beneficiaries from a taxation and asset protection perspective, especially where they may receive a large inheritance.
- Your wishes change.
If you wish to amend your Will at any time you should consult with your solicitor to ensure that the required legal formalities are followed, otherwise your new wishes may not take effect and you may invalidate your current Will
Please contact us if you’d like to review or discuss your estate plan. We strive to make the estate planning process easy by offering fixed fee quoting and flexible consultations.