SHOULD I REVIEW MY WILL ?
Here at the Society of Will Writers we recommend that you review your estate plan every 3-5 years . This is to make sure that your will still matches your current wishes . We also recommend reviewing your planning when you have a change in your personal circumstances , or when a beneficiary has a change in circumstances .
Many a bitter feud has been fought over an inheritance which could have been avoided had the deceased kept their will up to date . For a recent example of this we need only look at the will of Joyce Appleby . In this case a dispute arose over Joyce ’ s will which she had written in 2009 . In her will she had left
a share of her estate to her son Don , or if he died before her to “ his wife Cindy ”. Don later divorced Cindy and remarried Maya . He then died before Joyce , and a dispute arose over whether her estate should pass to Cindy or Maya . The basis for Maya ’ s argument was that as his wife at the time of his death the estate should pass to her , as Cindy no longer fit the description of “ his wife ”.
Ultimately Maya lost and it was decided that the half share of Joyce ’ s £ 840,000 estate should pass to Cindy .
You should review your estate planning upon any of the following events :
1 . Marriage If you marry your existing will is automatically revoked unless it was written in contemplation of that marriage and an appropriate clause included in the will to state this . If you are engaged and planning on marrying make sure you tell your Will Writer so they can help you plan your will accordingly .
16 the society of will writers