Case Study One 
Why You Should Review Your Will on a Regular Basis

Our client had been married for 15 years and her husband’s previous marriage had ended in a divorce. From his first marriage, her husband has two children but they were estranged. He had written a Will prior to their marriage and left a large part of his estate to his siblings, nothing for his first wife or children and an apartment for his wife. Now, her husband is trying to reconnect with his children and expressed his desire to leave some assets for them. Should he update his Will to reflect the change in circumstances?

 

Without a doubt we would recommend that our client’s husband should write a new Will. Any lapse may result in an undesirable scenario where both our client as well as her husband’s children would be deprived of some of his assets. In fact, this could even result in litigation among family members, costing thousands in legal bills.

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In our opinion, it is crucial that we review our Will at least once every 3-5 years or when a significant life or financial event occurs. Reviewing your Will means forming an assessment, as to whether it still meets your present intentions, as well as in the foreseeable future. In the scenario above, the last Will of our client’s husband did not represent the changed circumstances. Now that she and her husband are married, he may wish to leave some more assets for her and it appears that her husband is even attempting to establish a relationship with his children. In such a scenario, we would certainly advise her husband to review his last Will.

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We would also advise him to ensure the beneficiary nominations on his bank accounts, investments and pensions are up to date. A nomination is a very simple and easy but effective tool which enables the nominee to access financial assets in the event of death and normally provides immediate liquidity to family members.

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We offer a free will review service, so get in touch today to find out more.

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