Originally published: 31 October 2019 | Last updated: 22 January 2026
TL;DR: You need to update your Will during any major life event which includes marriage (that cancels your current Will), divorce, child birth, beneficiary or Executor death, and any large asset modifications. Never handwrite changes on your Will or use a codicil. Always prepare a new Will. Users can access immediate free updates through LegalWills.co.uk throughout their active account period. You should not modify your Will because you changed your home or updated your personal details since it proves your identity based on your state during the original signing.
Table of Contents
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Table of Contents
Why Is Keeping Your Will Up to Date So Important?
When Do You Need to Update Your Will?
1. When Your Will Is Automatically Cancelled
2. When Your Family Situation Changes
3. When Your Financial Circumstances Change
4. When You Have a Change of Heart
What Are the Three Ways to Update a Will?
Option 1: Handwriting Changes on Your Will
Option 2: Writing a Codicil
Option 3: Preparing a New Will (The Correct Approach)
How Do You Update Your Will at LegalWills.co.uk?
What Does an Active Account Cost?
Do I Need to Update My Will If I Move House?
Do I Need to Update My Will After a Name Change?
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I review my Will?
Can I update just one part of my Will?
What happens if I update my Will but forget to sign the new version?
Does getting remarried cancel my Will?
How much does a solicitor charge to update a Will?
Why Is Keeping Your Will Up to Date So Important?
The majority of people who possess Wills understand that their documents have become outdated. People created their documents during past years before they became parents while understanding their present desires differ from their original intentions. The traditional method of Will updates requires high costs and causes major disruptions which explains why so many people choose to go without a Will.
A Will which contains outdated information becomes more detrimental than having no Will at all. The document contains directives which send property to incorrect recipients while it also identifies an Executor who no longer meets the necessary qualifications. The document fails to include any provisions which would protect children who entered the world after its creation.
When Do You Need to Update Your Will?
1. When Your Will Is Automatically Cancelled
The law in England and Wales requires that marriage automatically cancels any existing Wills which people have created. The estate planning world contains a vital fact which most people remain unaware of. People who create Wills before their wedding lose their Will protection because they do not create new Wills after their marriage.
The process of divorce does not lead to the automatic cancellation of your Will. Instead, your ex-spouse is treated as having predeceased you for the purposes of gifts and Executor appointments. The rest of the Will remains in force. However, you should always update your Will after divorce to ensure it fully reflects your new circumstances.
2. When Your Family Situation Changes
Common family changes that require a Will update:
Life Event
What Needs to Change
Birth or adoption of a child
Add guardian nomination, update distribution
Death of a beneficiary
Update distribution plan, check backup provisions
Death or incapacity of Executor
Name new Executor
New relationship after divorce
Review entire Will, especially if moving in together
Estrangement from a beneficiary
Update distribution, consider Inheritance Act implications
3. When Your Financial Circumstances Change
Your existing distribution plan needs modification because you received unexpected inheritance or you purchased property or acquired business or your assets experienced a major growth. Your donation amount will continue to expand as your estate value grows because you dedicated 10% of your assets to charity when your estate was worth £50,000. The same 10% donation amount has different values when your estate value reaches £500,000.
4. When You Have a Change of Heart
You can use your Will to create purposeful actions which matter to you. You can give money to a nephew for travel and leave your piano to a granddaughter and support a charity organization. The way people spend their time on different things and their social bonds develop through time. People who create Wills often add charitable donations while they remove beneficiaries and they adjust how much money each person will receive. A Will should always show what you want at the time you create it.
What Are the Three Ways to Update a Will?
Option 1: Handwriting Changes on Your Will
Do not attempt this. The process of marking changes on your Will through handwriting and crossing out names and writing notes in margins and using correction fluid will probably make your changes invalid and threaten your entire document. The process of making handwritten changes to documents requires separate signatures and witnessed signatures but it creates ambiguous situations which allow people to contest the Will.
Option 2: Writing a Codicil
The codicil functions as an additional document which attaches to your Will to establish particular modifications. People need to sign and witness these documents to make them legally valid but they represent an old-fashioned system which dates back to times when people used to write documents by hand. The objects no longer serve any purpose because we live in a world where computers and printers exist. The codicil requires the same level of witnessing as a newly created Will. Multiple codicils create confusion and make Wills easier to challenge.
Option 3: Preparing a New Will (The Correct Approach)
The only correct way to update a Will is to prepare a completely new document. A new Will automatically revokes all previous Wills and codicils, giving you a clean, unambiguous document. You can use this time to analyze every Will section which goes beyond the part you initially planned to modify.
How Do You Update Your Will at LegalWills.co.uk?
You can start the update process for your Will after you create it through LegalWills.co.uk by following their simple procedure:
Log into your account
Navigate to any section. Personal details, Executor, guardians, distribution, bequests
Make your changes
Generate your updated Will
Print the new document
Sign in front of two witnesses
Destroy the previous Will
The entire process takes minutes. During your active account, updates are unlimited and free. There is no need for solicitor appointments, codicils, or any other workaround.
What Does an Active Account Cost?
Account Duration
Cost
Initial Will creation
£49.95 (includes 1 year)
1 additional year
£14.95
5 years
£29.95
10 years
£44.95
Lifetime
£59.95
Compare this to solicitor fees of £150. £600+ each time you need an update.
Do I Need to Update My Will If I Move House?
No. Your Will includes your address to identify you, but it identifies you based on who you were when the Will was signed. The Will remains valid because you signed it when you lived at 123 Rosemary Lane before moving to Yorkshire. The Will document continues to prove your ownership rights.
However, your Executor needs to locate any beneficiaries who decide to move away. Keep a note of current addresses available to your Executor, even if you do not update the Will itself. We recommend updating your address the next time you make any other change to your Will.
You need to check your Will when you leave the country because you must verify if foreign laws protect your estate adequately.
Do I Need to Update My Will After a Name Change?
Not necessarily. Your Will identifies you as the person you were when it was signed. A name change, whether through marriage, deed poll, or any other reason, does not invalidate your Will. People who change their names need to follow the same procedures which apply to others. The process of updating Wills with present-day names helps people avoid potential misunderstandings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I review my Will?
Review your Will at least every 3 to 5 years, and immediately after any major life event (marriage, divorce, birth, death of a beneficiary, significant financial change).
Can I update just one part of my Will?
The process exists to update your Will through a codicil but experts advise against this method. Always prepare a complete new Will. With LegalWills.co.uk, changing one section and regenerating the entire document takes only minutes.
What happens if I update my Will but forget to sign the new version?
The new Will becomes invalid until someone signs it properly and witnesses the signature. Your previous Will remains in force until the new one is executed. Always sign your updated Will promptly and destroy the previous version.
Does getting remarried cancel my Will?
Yes. In England and Wales, marriage automatically revokes any existing Will. You must write a new Will after getting married. A Will made “in expectation of marriage” to a named person is an exception but must be specifically worded.
How much does a solicitor charge to update a Will?
A solicitor typically charges £50. £200 for a codicil and £150. £600+ for a new Will. Users can access free updates through LegalWills.co.uk throughout their active account period. Learn more about the cost of changing a Will.
He has over 20 years of experience helping people to write their Will and other estate planning documents. He has been interviewed by many of the major news media outlets and has contributed to articles in most leading publications. He has also contributed to a number of financial planning books.
Throughout his career, Tim has written extensively on the subject of Will writing and estate planning.
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