Here’s Why You Should Review Your Will

A Will is an important legal document that shows what you want to happen to your assets once you pass away. Here’s why it’s important to regularly review your Will in order to protect your loved ones.

Once a Will is completed and signed, it often gathers dust in a safe place and only comes out again when someone dies. Unfortunately, by this time it’s often the case that the Will isn’t up to date or no longer reflects the person’s wishes.

By regularly reviewing your Will you can make sure that it still does what you want it to do and that your Will continues to reflect your wishes for the passing of your estate. A small investment of time could make a world of difference for your loved ones.

Over time, changes occur that could affect your Will and so we recommend that you should review your Will at least every 2-3 years. You may be surprised about how much can change in even this short period of time.

You should also revisit your Will any time you experience a major life event.

Events that may prompt a review of your Will include:

• Change in a relationship (marriage, divorce, civil partnership, or long-term partnership).

• Change in a relationship of a child, grandchild, or other beneficiaries

• Death of a spouse, child, grandchild, or other beneficiaries

• Incapacity of a spouse, child, grandchild, or other beneficiaries

• A birth or adoption of children or grandchildren

• Purchase or sale of a business

• Purchase or sale of a home

• Taking on significant new financial responsibilities

• Declining health

• A substantial change of net assets

• Retiring

Aside from life changes, there are other implications that could mean you need to review and update your Will. This could include changes in tax and estate planning legislation, changes in general law, or if your executor, trustee, or guardian don’t want to, or can’t, continue to serve in that role. Don’t forget that marriage automatically invalidates your Will, too.

If you let your Will sit in your drawer without ever being reviewed, the danger is that when it is needed, it may be out of step with either current legislation, or your current family and financial situation, or both.

The only way you can legally change a Will is by either:

· Making a codicil to the Will

· Making a new Will

If you would like to discuss reviewing your existing Will or creating a new one, please get in touch with our team. We’d be more than happy to help. Here at Woolley Beardsleys & Bosworth, many of our clients have been with us for decades, trusting us to manage and protect their welfare and assets. Dealing with us is easy, you can simply send us an enquiry, pick up the phone, or send us an email and we will arrange an initial chat with one of our Team.

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