updating

There are many reasons for updating a Will. You may have a change in personal or financial situation. You may have made an appointment in your Will who is no longer the best choice. There may be a person or organisation who comes into your life who you may wish to recognise in your Will with a bequest. The circumstances of somebody you have named in your Will may change including beneficiaries or guardians for children.

How can I update my Will?

Most people don’t have a Will. And of those who do, many are not kept up to date. We often hear from people who prepared a Will decades ago, sometimes before they had children. They have a sense of knowing that their Will is in place, but they know in their heart that the Will is out-of-date, and probably doesn’t reflect their wishes. They need to update a Will, but they are not sure how to do it in the most cost effective way.

Unfortunately, the traditional approach to writing a Will is expensive and inconvenient. The same applies to updating a Will. The reason why people don’t update their Will is that same reason that most people don’t have a Will at all – there simply isn’t the time to get it done.

Fortunately, there are now a number of options to making sure that your Will is up-to-date.

Using a codicil to Update a Will
credit: 123rf

When do I need to update my Will?

1. If your Will is automatically cancelled.

There is only one situation where your Will ceases to function (other than the document being destroyed) – If you get married, and your Will was written before you got married (unless the Will specifically states that it was written in contemplation of marriage).

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Make a Will online – 4 steps, 20 minutes, only £49.95

Most UK adults do not have a Will. It’s unfortunate because every adult needs a Will and you shouldn’t wait until some time in the future. A Will should be written whilst you are young, and updated throughout your life. Fortunately, now there are great options to make a Will online.

Traditionally, making a Will was an expensive and inconvenient process. It involved booking an appointment with a solicitor, co-ordinating schedules with a spouse or partner, and then making a follow up appointment for the document signing. The process was also expensive costing several hundreds of pounds to prepare the Will, and several hundreds more every time the document had to be updated.

Write a Will with a solicitor
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If you are very lucky, you may be able to find a solicitor who will visit you at home. But this can still be intrusive, and this approach makes it difficult to update your Will over time.

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The Will Template at LegalWills.co.uk. Your Will in 20 minutes.

Technically, the Will writing service at LegalWills.co.uk is not a Will template, but rather, 160 templates, offering an infinite number of different Wills. We guide you through the process of preparing your Will by stepping you through ten sections. You answer questions as you go, which directs you through to the next section. Just like a choose you own adventure novel, or Bandersnatch on Netflix.

In this article we will provide an overview of the process, so that you can understand ahead of time, the types of questions that you will be asked, and a sense of the information that goes into a well drafted Last Will and Testament.

Will template software

What is a Will Template?

Everybody needs a Will, but most UK adults don’t have one. The main reason is that the process has traditionally been an expensive and inconvenient one. It’s not surprising that many people get confused by the cost of a Will, and as a result look for ways to prepare their own Will.

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What is a Codicil to a Will- and why it is never the solution that you need.

A codicil to a Will is a document, attached to an existing Will, that makes reference to that Will, and describes a change to a particular clause in the Will.

For example, a Codicil might say

In the attached Will, for clause IV “Executor” change the name of the Executor from Jane Green, to Robert Brown.

The only reason for writing a codicil is to save the time and effort in re-typing a completely new document. However, in this article we will explain why, in 2019 and beyond, this type of document has no place in a Will writing plan.

Codicil

How do I write a Codicil?

You can handwrite or type a Codicil. It should state at the top it is a codicil, and make reference to the document it is altering. You should then describe the clause to be changed, and explain the changes.

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Six common estate planning mistakes – getting your Will right.

Six Common Estate Planning Mistakes

Estate planning is a critical part of financial planning, but a task that often never quite makes it to the top of your To Do list. Having your final wishes clearly set out can relieve your loved ones of unnecessary stress and financial burdens. To help you along your estate planning journey we have listed 6 common mistakes that anyone can make when writing a Will.

Estate planning mistakes

Mistake #1: Assuming that Wills are only for the wealthy

According to a recent YouGov survey, nearly two thirds of the British adult population do not have a Will. Continue reading →