#UpdateYourWillWeek: The importance of updating your Will could be greater than you think

March 4, 2025

#UpdateYourWillWeek: The importance of updating your Will could be greater than you think

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By Nick O’Sullivan

While there are many people in the UK without a Will at all, if you have a Will in place, you may still need to consider updating it. There are a number of reasons why a Will may need to be updated and these are usually related to significant changes such as marriage, children or others, as listed in our FAQs below.

Having an up-to-date Will is very important – an expertly drafted Will does not just state how your assets are distributed, it also means that you are able to:

• Choose your executors
• Nominate guardians of your children
• Consider whether to include a trust in your Will
• Minimise the amount of Inheritance Tax

Choosing your executors

Your executors should be people you trust and who would be appropriate to carry out the wishes expressed in your Will. It is possible that the people best placed to act as your executors will change over time due to family or friends passing away, relocating or becoming mentally or physically unable to act. It may also be that your children or grandchildren have matured and are the logical next choice to act as your executors.

Nominating guardians of your children

Similarly, your choice of guardians of your children may need to change to ensure that the most suitable people are nominated in your Will. It is important to reassess these considerations as time goes on.

Considering whether to include a trust in your Will

The inclusion of a trust in your Will may not have been suggested if your original circumstances did not require one. However, trusts can operate in a number of ways:

• To mitigate Inheritance Tax (IHT) which may become more relevant as you accumulate assets over the years
• To protect the inheritance of a vulnerable beneficiary who, it may become clear, is facing issues ranging from divorce proceedings to bankruptcy
• To mitigate future care home costs which may become more relevant in your life

Minimising the amount of Inheritance Tax that could be payable by your estate

An important part of protecting your estate is periodically taking stock of your assets. If your financial situation has improved since the time of drafting your Will, there may be IHT implications. It is particularly important to keep track of the changes to the law relating to IHT.

For example, due to the recently announced changes to the Agricultural and Business Property Relief (APR/BPR) in the 2024 Labour Autumn Budget, individuals who previously could have taken comfort in that the 100% relief from IHT would apply to all their APR/BPR assets can no longer do so. Now they will likely be faced with IHT considerations that they would have not foreseen. These considerations can be mitigated most effectively by planning your estate and ensuring that your Will is up to date.

Wills FAQs

Marriage/Civil Partnership

A common misconception is that your spouse will automatically inherit your entire estate, free from inheritance tax. In reality, the rules of intestacy state that your estate will be held on trust for your spouse and children. This could present problems including some of the estate not benefiting from spousal exemption, as well as issues if a spouse would require access to all of the assets of the estate. There are a number of factors to consider here and we would advise speaking to a Wills expert to help mitigate the risk of potentially stressful and expensive implications.

How often should I review my Will?

It is recommended that you review your Will every 3 to 5 years or when there is a significant change to your or your family’s circumstances such as:

• Marriage: In most cases, a marriage or civil partnership will have the effect of invalidating your Wills.
• Divorce/Separation: If you are in divorce proceedings and the decree absolute has not been issued, your death would mean that your ex-spouse would inherit under the rules of intestacy as you would still legally be married.
• Birth of children/grandchildren: As time goes on, you may wish to leave adequate provisions for the next generation. If new additions to your family were not anticipated at the time of your current Will, there would be no provisions included for these younger members to inherit.
• Inheriting (or otherwise receiving) a significant sum of money: If you are lucky enough to have come into a substantial sum of money, you may wish to reassess who you will benefit in your Will. There may also be inheritance tax implications that derive from this change in your finances which need to be addressed differently than in your previous Will.
• Illness: If you or one of your family falls ill, it may be that you wish to make a Will that accounts for your wishes in light of this change or that sets up a trust to support your family in the long-term.
• Potential issues with beneficiaries: If any of your beneficiaries are struggling with divorce, bankruptcy or addiction, you may wish to alter their entitlement or stipulate that their inheritance will be paid as per more appropriate terms, either by allocating the funds into a trust or attaching conditions to when the money is provided to them.

The reason that consulting a Will writing specialist is so important is due to the combination of the points discussed above. Any of the above points, if not correctly mitigated by an appropriately drafted Will, could still cause an issue later down the line, adding stress to an already incredibly difficult time for your family.

Further to this, without an up to date Will, the rules of intestacy could apply to your estate, meaning that you will have no say in how your estate is administered, leaving so much to chance and leaving you and your loved ones exposed to any of the risks discussed above.

If you would like to speak with one of our Wills & Probate experts, get in touch for a free no obligation discussion on 02920 829 100 or via our contact form.