When should I review my Will?

When you prepared your Will, you might have been told to review it in 12 months or when your circumstances change. You may have thought that this seems unnecessary and questioned why this would be the case.

Here are some examples of why reviewing your Will every 12 months or when your circumstances change is important:

1. Marriage

When you get married, your Will is automatically revoked (invalidated) unless you have expressly stated otherwise. You will want to consider how you would like to structure your Will now that you are married.

2. Divorce

When you get divorced, the clauses in your Will that related to the person you got divorced from are revoked. So, if you appointed your former partner as your Executor and gave them your whole Estate, those clauses are revoked, however the remainder of the Will is valid. You will want to consider who you would like to appoint as Executor and how you now want your Estate distributed.

3. Children

You may already have a Will in place when you have children, however the children may not be provided for. It is also important to consider who you would like to nominate as the guardian of your minor children should you pass away while they are still minors.

4. Grandchildren

When you have grandchildren, you may want to think about updating your Will to include gifts to them. You may also want to think about restructuring your Will to include Testamentary Trusts for your children that allow them to tax effectively distribute to your grandchildren.

5. Family falling out

If you have appointed a family member as your executor of guardian of your children, however no longer have a good relationship with them, it is important to update your Will so that these roles are performed by people you trust and have a good relationship with.

6. Inheritance

If you receive an inheritance this may significantly increase the size of your Estate. This may mean restructuring your Will to include Testamentary Trusts which have significant tax advantages.

If you relate to any of the above scenarios, it is important that you review your Will.

If you have further questions, please contact us at frank@franklaw.com.au.

This is not legal advice. 

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