Updating Your Will and Estate Plan After Divorce | LegalDocuments.co.uk

What this document is

Estate planning is the process of deciding what happens to your money, property, possessions and responsibilities after you die, and setting that out in a way the law recognises. At the centre of most plans sits a will, but a full picture also covers pensions, life insurance nominations, jointly owned property, lasting powers of attorney and, where relevant, trusts.

After divorce, each of these elements may need attention because they operate under different rules. Under section 18A of the Wills Act 1837, once a decree absolute or final order of divorce is granted, any gift to your former spouse in an existing will generally fails, and any appointment of them as executor or trustee is treated as if they had died on the date the marriage ended.

The rest of the will, however, usually continues to stand. That can leave gaps, unintended beneficiaries under the residue, or an executor role that nobody has been formally asked to fill. A post-divorce review is about closing those gaps deliberately rather than leaving them to chance.

How to use this document

1. Read your current will carefully. Start by locating the original signed document and going through it from beginning to end. Note every person named, every gift made, and every role assigned, including executors, trustees and guardians. Mark anything that refers to your former spouse or to their family members, as these are the clauses most likely to need attention.
2. Think about who you now want to benefit. Your circumstances, relationships and priorities may have shifted considerably since the will was drafted. Consider children, a new partner, step-children, close friends, charities or other relatives, and write down in plain language what you would ideally like each of them to receive. This list becomes the foundation for a new will rather than a patched version of the old one.
3. Choose executors and guardians you trust today. The people you picked during your marriage may no longer be the obvious choice, particularly if they were relatives of your former spouse. Pick executors who are organised, willing and likely to outlive you, and if you have children under eighteen, think carefully about who should act as their guardian and discuss the role with them before naming them.
4. Deal with assets that pass outside the will. Pensions, death-in-service benefits and many life insurance policies are paid according to a nomination form rather than your will, and jointly owned property often passes automatically to the surviving owner. Contact each provider to update nominations, and speak to a conveyancer if you need to change how a property is held from joint tenants to tenants in common.
5. Make a new will rather than amending the old one. In most cases it is cleaner to revoke the existing will entirely and sign a fresh document than to add a codicil on top of outdated clauses. Store the signed original somewhere safe, tell your executors where it is, and diarise a review every few years or whenever something significant changes in your life.

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