Effect of marriage on existing will

Hello there! I am Gemma, a legal assistant here at Lawyer Destroyer. I would be happy to help clear this up for you.

Legal position:

Yes, as a general rule in England and Wales, getting married or entering into a civil partnership automatically cancels any existing will you have. In legal terms, this is known as revoking the will.

Exceptions to the rule:

There is one main exception. Your will is not cancelled if you made it specifically in anticipation of your marriage or civil partnership to your new spouse.

For this exception to work, the will must explicitly state that you expected to marry that particular person and that you did not want the marriage to cancel the document. If your will does not include this specific wording, it is no longer valid once you tie the knot.

What happens if your will is cancelled:

If your marriage cancels your will, the law treats you as if you never made one at all. If you were to pass away, your belongings, property, and money would be divided according to standard legal rules, known as the rules of intestacy.

These rules put your new spouse first in line to inherit most or all of your estate. While this sounds fine for many couples, it might not reflect exactly how you want things shared, especially if you have children from a previous relationship, or if you wanted to leave specific gifts to friends or charities.

Practical next steps:

1. Dig out your current will and read it to see if it includes a specific clause mentioning your upcoming marriage to your partner.

2. Talk to your partner about your wishes. Marriage changes your legal and financial relationship, so it is a natural time to make sure you are both on the same page about the future.

3. Make a new will if your old one has been cancelled. This is the best way to have total peace of mind that your exact wishes will be followed.

4. Once your new will is properly signed and witnessed, destroy your old copies to avoid any future confusion for your loved ones.