Sadly after Christmas festivities are over and New Year has come it is often the time of year when couples suffer marriage difficulties and seek a divorce as means of a fresh start.  At this time it is also important to consider your Will.

You may or may not be aware that if you get married, then unless your will was specifically made in contemplation of that marriage any existing will you have is automatically revoked by that marriage. There is an assumption that you would like to make provision for your new spouse if you happened to die and if you die without a will – intestate, then the law makes some, though not always suitable provision for a spouse.

On divorce, the law assumes that you no longer wish to make provision for your now ex-spouse. Your will is not revoked however. For the purposes of the will, your former spouse is deemed to have died before you. Therefore they do not receive what they would have under your will in the event of your death. Does this mean you can forget about changing your will if you break up?

No not really. There is the time between the end of your relationship and the decree absolute to consider. You are not divorced until this time and your ex would still be a beneficiary in the event of your death. After you have divorced, you should consider who the substitute beneficiaries are. It may no longer be appropriate for those people to benefit in the event of your death.  Sometimes, and if you are reading this in the midst of a bitter divorce you may find it hard to believe, but people still want their ex-spouse to benefit. So you will need to make provision for that.

Of course, these provisions only effect couples in a marriage or civil partnership. For those who are not, the law makes no provision. The need to make a will and keep it up to date is valid for all of us, regardless of our circumstances.

For more advice on Wills please contact Dan Ager, dager@apblaw.co.uk and for issues around divorce please contact Mike Hicks on mhicks@apblaw.co.uk