Not only CAN you change your Will - you SHOULD regularly review and update your Will so that it properly reflects your assets, your wishes, and your circumstances, as these change during your life.

Minor alterations to a Will can be made by you preparing a separate document to amend the main Will. These separate documents are called codicils. They must be signed and witnessed just like a Will and are usually stored alongside your Will.

Alternatively, if greater changes are needed, you can have a new Will created which will expressly revoke all prior Wills to make sure there is no confusion as to which Will is to apply!

Is it time to review or renew your Will?

Although not an exhaustive list, you should review your Will if any of the following events occur:

• If there is any marriage, re-marriage or civil partnership in your family - if you undergo any of these personally, it will normally automatically cancel your existing Will
• Divorce or separation
• Co-habitation
• Ending of a relationship
• The birth or adoption of a child or grandchild
• If there is a disabled child in the family
• Your child is co-habiting
• Death of someone named in your Will whether Executor, Guardian, or beneficiary
• The value of your estate has risen significantly e.g. by the receipt of an inheritance
• The value of your estate has fallen eg due to nursing home fees or other large expenditure.
• Moving House
• Sale of any land or residence, investment, or personal property specifically named in your Will
• You are planning to live or work abroad
• Purchase of a foreign property (you need to consider making foreign Wills)
•  An Executor or Guardian becoming unsuitable due to age, ill-heath, mental incapacity or retirement.
• Dispute amongst appointed Executors - can they still work together?
• Change of name by you or anyone else mentioned in the Will
• You are starting a business, entering a partnership, or forming a company
• You wish to leave any new legacies including any legacy to Charity

 

We offer a free review service by which you can talk to or meet with one of our specialist solicitors to discuss your Will.

We will look at your circumstances and how they have changed, and we will look at any changes that there have been in the law since your Will was drafted, to ensure that your Will continues to give effect to your wishes.

Our large Wills team would be delighted to talk with you about your situation, your means and assets, and your wishes, to see whether a Will review could benefit you. We would be delighted to talk to you - and it's free of charge. All you have to do is click on "Please Contact Me Now” or call us on 0845 567 5000.

In fact, we go much further then preparing or reviewing a Will to help you to get and to keep all of your affairs in order.

By our PORTFOLIO service, we help you to take a range of steps which, together, help you to get and to then keep all of your affairs in order.

We not only prepare or update a Will for you - we also prepare a Power of Attorney to safeguard everything in case you become unable to manage your own affairs, and we give you our free PORTFOLIO. This enables you to keep these documents and all other relevant policies and certificates, and all bank account and accountant details etc, together in one place.

Then, on top of all that, we review everything with you, free of charge, every year.

Please visit our Portfolio website  for more details of our PORTFOLIO service.