Any existing Will is automatically revoked upon marriage, a point
that has particular relevance and importance to those marrying for
the second or subsequent time. The law automatically presumes that
your wishes will change once you have a new spouse to consider. Therefore,
any existing obligations made before the marriage will need to be
readdressed to ensure that the beneficiaries are protected and that
your wishes are carried out without delay and misunderstanding. If
you do not make another Will then, if the worst happens, you will
die intestate and the statutory intestacy rules will be affected.
The main problem arising from this is that if you leave less than
£125,000 (subject to change), then any children of a previous
marriage, or of your present marriage, will not inherit anything,
as under the rules of intestacy, it will all go to your spouse.
When you plan to marry there is an alternative that allows you to
make a Will in contemplation of marriage. This is a Will made before
your marriage and is not intended to be revoked by the marriage. Such
a Will can only be made with a particular person/persons in mind and
cannot be used as a general Will.
A divorce has the effect of removing your ex-husband/wife from your
Will, while the rest of the Will remains applicable. This is because
the law supposes that as you are divorced, you will not want your
former spouse to inherit any of your estate. Any property that may
have been left to your former husband/wife will instead go to whoever
would have inherited it had he/she died at the date of divorce. However,
if you still want an ex-spouse to benefit from the Will, it must be
clearly evident that the divorce does not affect it.
A ‘living will’ is a statement written while a person is
in possession of all their physical and mental capabilities and refers
to their future medical treatment. At this time there is no legislation
that covers ‘living wills’, but as they have become more
common the British Medical Journal has published a code of practice
covering the subject. It was decided that a person could refuse medical
treatment in advance if three conditions are met:
1. The individual must by fully aware of the consequences of the request.
2. The individual must have a clear understanding of any treatment
and its consequences.
3. The individual must have anticipated the circumstances that have
occurred.
However, a person cannot legally refuse basic care; the fundamentals
to keep a person alive, although other renunciations may be legally
binding, and for a ‘living will’ to be valid it must be
witnessed and signed by all concerned parties.
A will is an important legal document – keeping it in a ‘safe
place’ at home is not therefore recommended. Apart from the problem
of it not being found in the first place, there are the other risks,
such as fire, loss and even interference. Also, a little known fact
is that the first person to lay their hands on your Will can decide
whether or not it is used, so it is important only you and your executor(s)
can access your Will.
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