You can make a Will at any time in your life, and it’s always better to have one than not. So there’s no time like the present to get going with it.

That said, there are certain times in life when it makes sense to make a Will for the first time, or to update an existing Will, such as when you:

• Get married
• Get divorced
• Buy a house
• Have children

Let’s have a quick look at the reasons why.

Getting married

When you get married, in England and Wales any Will you made previously is automatically revoked. That means that if you don’t sign another Will after your marriage, then you’ll be considered to be intestate when you die. In other words, your assets will be distributed in accordance with the rules of intestacy, rather than your wishes.

If you already have a Will, you could simply review it and sign an updated version after you get married. If you’ve never made a Will before, now is a good time to do it. If you don’t, the majority of your estate will pass to your new spouse, and you may want to give more to your children, siblings, friends, or other family members.

The only exception to this rule is if you’re currently engaged and you make a Will before you actually get married. In that situation, you can make sure that your Will remains valid after the marriage by expressly writing that it is made “in contemplation of marriage.”

Getting divorced

When you get divorced, your Will remains valid, but any gifts to your former spouse will be cancelled. Equally, your ex-partner will no longer be able to act as your executor after you die.

You may be happy with this, or there may be certain items or possessions that you still want them to have when you’re gone. If you are on good terms with your ex-partner you may still want them to oversee the administration of your estate when you die (though this is fairly uncommon).

If you have a new partner, then it’s worth looking at your Will again, to check if you want to gift anything to them.

Buying a house

When you buy a house, it’s likely to be the most expensive thing you own, and make up the majority of your estate. So it’s important to make a Will so that the right people inherit it.

For example, if you have children, you may want to make sure that your children can continue to live in the home. If you don’t make a Will, that’s not necessarily guaranteed.

If you’ve bought the property with another person, then it’s still worth making a Will, but it’s more pressing if you’re tenants in common, rather than joint tenants.

As joint tenants, the property automatically passes to the other tenant when you die.

But as tenants in common, your share goes to whomever you choose. Some partners who are not married and who contribute to the deposit or mortgage in different amounts may opt to hold the property as tenants in common. If you have children (particularly children from another relationship), then you might want to make provision for them to inherit your share.

For couples, it’s often helpful to prepare mirror Wills. The Wills essentially say the same thing, leaving provision for the other partner (and any children) in the same way.

Having children

When you have children, it’s helpful to make a Will so that you can appoint guardians if you die while they are still under 18, and to explain how much you’d like each child to inherit and when.

Without a Will, the rules of intestacy dictate that children will receive their inheritance at 18. In addition, some assets may be held in trust for them (e.g. the payout of a life insurance policy or money associated with a pension scheme) and they will pass to the children as per the rules of those policies or schemes.  You might agree with these rules, and prefer them to receive their inheritance at 21, or 25, when they are slightly more financially responsible. You can look at writing that into your Will.

It’s also the case that your estate will be divided equally between your children if you don’t make a Will. You might decide that one child needs more than another, or perhaps one child has more complex needs and you need to factor in their disability. You may also have family heirlooms that you want to pass down, and a Will avoids any arguments about who gets what.

How we can help

Whatever stage you’re at in life, there’s always a good reason to write a Will. We offer Wills at fixed prices and we can store them on your behalf. If you’d like to get the ball rolling, please get in touch by email or by phone, and we can start the process.