Making changes to a will
1
IWC Estate Planning & Management Ltd. Regulated by the Society of Will Writers & Estate Planning Practitioners Registered Office: Suite 43-45 Airport House, Purley Way, Croydon, CR0 0XZ. Registered in England No. 4532330 Making Changes To A Will Once written, a will should not be left alone. You haven't finished with it yet…Although the initial job of creating the will in the first place is complete, this important - essential, in fact - document should be reviewed from time to time. Circumstances change, families grow or shrink, and new possessions or property or cash windfalls must be taken into account. However, if you find that you do need to make adjustments to your will, there are specific ways to go about doing this. And there are ways that, should you try them, will do nothing except make your entire will invalid. The best way to make changes to your will is to contact an expert, such as IWC, for professional advice. This way, you know that any changes made will be valid, legal, and will enable probate to run smoothly once you have died. The worst way to make changes to your will is to simply hand write the new information over the original document. This is not recognised in law, and will invalidate the entire will, meaning that you die intestate (ie without a will). This will then cause issues for those whom you wished to be beneficiaries, as the rules of intestacy may not recognise them. This is especially true if they are friends or carers, and not relatives. It is possible to add a codicil to your will, if you do need to make small changes. A codicil is a way to add information to your will without changing the original document - everything stays the same, but with extra beneficiaries added, or more possessions. If the changes are major, such as writing someone out of a will completely (possibly due to divorce or remarriage), then a entirely new will should be considered. Both of these options require witnesses and must be signed by the testator. Without these signatures, the will would not be valid (and, if a codicil, the original will would be the legal one). Whatever happens, whatever your reasons for making changes to you will, it must be remembered that simply writing over the old one makes no difference at all. If in doubt, check with the experts who will be able to point you in the right (legally binding) direction. Call us for a quote, instant help or impartial advice on Freephone 0800 612 6105 or 020 8150 2010
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Transcript of Making changes to a will
IWC Estate Planning & Management Ltd. Regulated by the Society of Will Writers & Estate Planning Practitioners Registered Office: Suite 43-45 Airport House, Purley Way, Croydon, CR0 0XZ. Registered in England No. 4532330
Making Changes To A Will
Once written, a will should not be left alone. You haven't finished with it yet… Although the
initial job of creating the will in the first place is complete, this important - essential, in fact -
document should be reviewed from time to time. Circumstances change, families grow or shrink,
and new possessions or property or cash windfalls must be taken into account.
However, if you find that you do need to make adjustments to your will, there are specific ways
to go about doing this. And there are ways that, should you try them, will do nothing except
make your entire will invalid.
The best way to make changes to your will is to contact an expert, such as IWC, for professional
advice. This way, you know that any changes made will be valid, legal, and will
enable probate to run smoothly once you have died.
The worst way to make changes to your will is to simply hand write the new information over
the original document. This is not recognised in law, and will invalidate the entire will, meaning
that you die intestate (ie without a will). This will then cause issues for those whom you wished
to be beneficiaries, as the rules of intestacy may not recognise them. This is especially true if
they are friends or carers, and not relatives.
It is possible to add a codicil to your will, if you do need to make small changes. A codicil is a
way to add information to your will without changing the original document - everything stays
the same, but with extra beneficiaries added, or more possessions. If the changes are major, such
as writing someone out of a will completely (possibly due to divorce or remarriage), then a
entirely new will should be considered.
Both of these options require witnesses and must be signed by the testator. Without these
signatures, the will would not be valid (and, if a codicil, the original will would be the legal one).
Whatever happens, whatever your reasons for making changes to you will, it must be
remembered that simply writing over the old one makes no difference at all. If in doubt, check
with the experts who will be able to point you in the right (legally binding) direction.
Call us for a quote, instant help or impartial advice on Freephone
0800 612 6105 or 020 8150 2010
