TL;DR:
- Updating your will is essential after major life events to ensure your estate is distributed according to your current wishes. Marriage automatically revokes previous wills unless explicitly drafted in contemplation, requiring a new will to avoid intestacy. Divorce alters your spouse's legal rights but does not cancel your will, necessitating review of beneficiary designations and appointments.
Updating your will is the most direct way to protect your estate from unintended legal outcomes. A will is a legally binding document that directs how your assets are distributed after death, and under the Wills Act 1837, strict formalities govern its validity and revocation. The primary reasons to update your will centre on three categories: changes in personal circumstances, shifts in your financial position, and evolving legal obligations. Failing to act after a major life event can mean your estate passes to the wrong people, or falls into intestacy, where the Administration of Estates Act 1925 decides distribution for you. Wills should be reviewed every three to five years even without a significant trigger.
1. Marriage or civil partnership revokes your existing will
Marriage is the single most disruptive life event for an existing will. Under Section 18 of the Wills Act 1837, marriage automatically revokes any will made before it, unless that will was expressly drafted in contemplation of the marriage. Civil partnerships carry the same legal effect. This means a will you wrote five years ago, carefully naming beneficiaries and executors, is legally void the moment you marry.
If you do not write a new will after marrying, your estate will be distributed under intestacy rules. Those rules prioritise your spouse but may not reflect your full intentions, particularly if you have children from a previous relationship or wish to leave specific gifts to friends, charities, or other family members.
- Any will made before marriage is revoked unless it contains a specific contemplation clause
- Intestacy rules under the Administration of Estates Act 1925 apply if no valid will exists
- The statutory legacy for a surviving spouse is £322,000 (from July 2023), with the remainder split equally
- Children from previous relationships receive nothing automatically from a spouse's intestate estate
Pro Tip: If you are engaged, ask a qualified estate planner to draft your will with a contemplation of marriage clause. This keeps the will valid on the wedding day without requiring an immediate rewrite.
2. Divorce changes what your will does, but does not cancel it
Divorce does not revoke your will entirely, which surprises many people. What it does is treat your former spouse as though they had died at the point of divorce, voiding any gifts, appointments, or powers granted to them. This sounds protective, but the practical effect can be chaotic. If your former spouse was your sole executor and residuary beneficiary, those roles now fall vacant, and parts of your estate may pass under intestacy.
The sections of your will that do not involve your former spouse remain intact. So your will is neither fully operative nor fully void. It exists in a partial state that requires careful review by a qualified estate planner.
Updating your will after divorce is less about rewriting everything and more about removing or adjusting provisions for the former spouse, then filling the gaps left behind.
Key areas to address after divorce:
- Appoint a new executor and, where relevant, a new trustee
- Update the residuary clause to name alternative beneficiaries
- Review guardianship appointments if your former spouse was named as guardian
- Update any lasting power of attorney documents that named your former spouse
Critically, beneficiary nominations on life insurance policies and pension death benefits sit entirely outside your will. They do not update automatically on divorce. A pension that still names your former spouse will pay out to them regardless of what your will says.
3. Having children or grandchildren requires new provisions
The birth or adoption of a child is one of the clearest life events that require a will update. Your will needs to name that child as a beneficiary and, if they are a minor, establish how and when they will receive their inheritance. Without this, a child born after your will was written may have no guaranteed provision, depending on how the residuary clause is worded.
Guardianship is the other critical appointment. If both parents die while a child is under 18, the courts will look to the will for guidance on who should care for them. Courts will generally honour a named guardian unless there is strong reason not to, but outdated appointments can create delays and disputes at the worst possible time.
Adoption creates full legal parenthood, so an adopted child has the same inheritance rights as a biological child. If your will predates an adoption, it may not reflect this. Similarly, if a beneficiary's circumstances change significantly, for example if they develop a disability or face financial difficulties, you may need to establish a discretionary trust within your will. Trusts within wills can protect a vulnerable beneficiary's entitlement to means-tested government support by preventing a direct lump-sum inheritance from disqualifying them.
4. Significant financial changes affect what your will can deliver
A will distributes your estate as it exists at death, not as it existed when you wrote the document. This creates a practical problem: specific gifts to assets you no longer own simply fail. If you left a particular investment portfolio to your sibling and later sold it, that gift lapses. The proceeds do not automatically substitute for the original asset.
| Financial change | Why the will needs updating |
|---|---|
| Buying a new property | Ensure ownership structure and distribution align with your wishes |
| Selling a property or business | Specific gifts to that asset will fail if not removed or redirected |
| Significant increase in estate value | Review inheritance tax position against the £325,000 nil-rate band and £175,000 residence nil-rate band |
| Starting or closing a business | Update executor authority and any business succession provisions |
Inheritance tax planning is closely tied to asset values. If your estate has grown substantially, the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 thresholds become directly relevant. A will written when your estate was worth £200,000 may not include any tax mitigation provisions. At £600,000, the position is entirely different, and your will should reflect a considered approach to the nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band available under current HMRC rules.
Pro Tip: After any property transaction, ask your estate planner to confirm whether the change affects your inheritance tax position as well as your beneficiary provisions. The two are connected more often than people realise.
5. The death or incapacity of a named executor or guardian
Executors carry legal responsibility for administering your estate through probate. If your named executor dies before you, becomes mentally incapacitated, or moves abroad and is no longer willing to act, your estate faces serious administrative difficulties. The same applies to trustees managing assets held in trust for minor beneficiaries.
Guardians named in your will are equally time-sensitive appointments. The person you trusted to raise your children ten years ago may no longer be the right choice. Circumstances change: relationships evolve, health deteriorates, and the guardian you named may now have their own significant caring responsibilities.
Reviewing these appointments regularly is not a reflection of distrust. It is sound estate planning. Consider the following:
- Name at least one substitute executor in case your primary choice cannot act
- Review guardian appointments every three to five years or after any significant change in that person's circumstances
- Confirm that named trustees are still willing and able to manage assets on behalf of beneficiaries
- Consider whether a professional executor, such as a solicitor or trust corporation, is appropriate for a complex estate
Formal legal requirements under the Wills Act 1837 mean that the most secure way to update these appointments is to make a new will with an express revocation clause, rather than relying on a codicil, which can introduce ambiguity.
Key takeaways
Updating your will after any major life event is not optional. It is the only way to prevent intestacy rules, failed gifts, or outdated appointments from overriding your intentions.
| Point | Details |
|---|---|
| Marriage revokes prior wills | Write a new will immediately after marrying or entering a civil partnership. |
| Divorce voids spousal provisions | Review executors, beneficiaries, and pension nominations as soon as separation begins. |
| New children need named provisions | Add guardianship appointments and beneficiary clauses for every child born or adopted. |
| Financial changes affect tax planning | Review your will whenever your estate value crosses a significant threshold. |
| Executor and guardian roles expire | Confirm named individuals are still willing and able to act every three to five years. |
Why the most overlooked reason is the one with no trigger at all
Most people update their will because something dramatic happens: a marriage, a death, a divorce. What I have observed, working with families across the UK, is that the wills causing the most problems are the ones that were never triggered into a review because nothing dramatic happened. The estate quietly grew. A beneficiary quietly developed a serious illness. A named executor quietly moved to Australia. None of these events feel like a "reason to update your will" in the moment, but each one can turn a straightforward probate into a contested, expensive process.
The guidance to review your will every three to five years exists precisely because life drifts in ways that do not announce themselves. I would go further: set a calendar reminder on the anniversary of your will's signing date. Treat it the way you treat renewing your home insurance. Not because you expect a crisis, but because the cost of not checking is always higher than the cost of checking.
One area that consistently catches people out is the gap between their will and their nominated beneficiaries on financial products. Your pension, your life insurance, your ISA death benefit nominations sit entirely outside your will. They pass directly to whoever is named on those forms. If those forms still name an ex-partner or a deceased parent, no amount of careful will-drafting will correct the outcome. Reviewing those nominations alongside your will is the single most practical step most people never take.
— Sat
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FAQ
Does marriage automatically cancel my existing will?
Yes. Under Section 18 of the Wills Act 1837, marriage revokes any previously made will in England and Wales unless that will was expressly drafted in contemplation of the marriage. You must write a new will after marrying to ensure your estate is distributed according to your wishes.
Does divorce revoke my will entirely?
No. Divorce does not cancel your will, but it treats your former spouse as though they had died at the point of divorce, voiding any gifts or appointments made to them. The rest of your will remains in force, but gaps left by the removed provisions may cause parts of your estate to fall into intestacy.
How often should I update my will?
Wills should be reviewed every three to five years even without a major life event, and immediately after marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or a significant change in your financial circumstances. Periodic review prevents unintended outcomes caused by gradual changes in assets or relationships.
Can I update my will without writing a completely new one?
You can add a codicil, which is a formal amendment to an existing will, but making a new will with an express revocation clause is the more secure approach. Codicils can introduce ambiguity if they conflict with the original document, and a clean new will removes that risk entirely.
Do pension and life insurance nominations update with my will?
No. Pension death benefits and life insurance payouts are governed by beneficiary nomination forms held by the provider, not by your will. These must be updated separately and do not change automatically following divorce, remarriage, or any other life event.