Secure your loved ones’ futures. Have you updated your will?
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A last will and testament might not be on your mind, but it’s an important document that ensures your assets are passed on to the people you love. Securing the futures of
family and loved ones is the primary reason many of our clients choose DRN to helps support them with writing their will.
Our experienced and compassionate solicitors can help you draft and finalise a will that takes all of your wishes into account, offering you the opportunity to take care of everyone you care about should the unthinkable happen.
Why might I need to update my will?
Caring for children after family breakup or remarriage
There are many reasons that your circumstances might have changed over the years, and these changes mean that your will may need to be revised by yourself and a professional.
One of the most common reasons a will may need updating is due to family breakup and remarriage.
In these cases, children from a previous marriage or civil partnership do not automatically receive any entitlement to a deceased parent’s estate – even if they have spoken about this previously.
To ensure that this situation doesn’t occur, we advise all of our clients who have divorced from spouses with whom they’ve had children to discuss their wills and revised settlements. Not only is this exceptionally good practice, it saves hurt and heartbreak should one of you pass away, and minimises the time and effort it takes to settle the matter of your estate.
Circumstantial changes
If you wrote your will longer than five years ago, there is a good chance that your personal and financial situations may have changed in that time.
Think about your life and career over the time since you last made amends to your will. Has anything occurred that may mean you’d like to include or remove something? Some examples of circumstantial changes could be:
- Change of financial position and/or personal assets
- Entering an unmarried partnership
- An unexpected windfall such as an inheritance or cash prize
- Health-related matters
- Adding or removing individuals to or from your will.
Loss of living relatives
The loss of all living relatives is a deeply sad situation. If your will has been written to include family members who are no longer with us, our solicitors are experienced to help you specify friends and non-related loved ones to bequeath your estate to, with care and empathy.
If you do not specify non-related individuals to leave your estate to in the event of your death, the Crown may relinquish it. This means it is very important to update your will if there are people you would like to leave an inheritance to who are not in your family.
There are many reasons why it’s important to keep your will up-to-date with your most recent wishes. If you would like to discuss your will with our professional team, please contact Sara Jane Chorkley on 01282 433241.
