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Situations Where You Must Update Your Will

14 January 2016 by Kenneth Pierce

After you have completed your will, you might need to make modifications to it in response to changing events in your life. You will need to make changes when your wishes change, but you will also need to make changes for specific reasons.

When There Is A Death, Marriage, Divorce Or Adoption

If one of your heirs dies, you will need to update your will to redistribute your estate. It is common for those with a will to forget to update it after a marriage, divorce or the adoption of a child. If you get married and do not update your will, your spouse will get a portion of your estate as if you did not have a will. If you make a new provision to your spouse in your will, this will give you more control over how your assets are distributed. If you get divorced, your ex-spouse is automatically removed from your will. However, you will still want to update your will to make sure there are no clerical errors. 

After A Major Financial Change

When there is a significant change in your financial situation, you may want to modify your will. For instance, if your income increases, you may not want all of your income to go to your heirs but may instead want to reserve some of it for a charity. If you experience a loss of income, you may want to significantly scale back the portion of the estate that certain beneficiaries would receive.

As Your Children Age

While you may not want to write a loved one out of your will, there might be a reason why you decide to not include him or her. For instance, if some of your children are not minors, you may want to make your younger children the beneficiaries of certain policies.

When A Guardian, Trustee Or Executor Dies

Your will needs to be updated when something happens to a guardian, trustee or executor. For instance, if you have an executor listed in your will who is no longer living and you fail to update, the state may need to name an executor. Ideally, you should name multiple executors so that at least one will still be live when you pass away.

If you aren't sure whether your individual situation warrants your will being updated, you should consider contacting a probate attorney like Robert Stone Attorney at Law. He or she will examine your individual situation and use this to determine if you will need to update your will.  

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