Marriage and divorce are pivotal moments of change in life, which naturally come with a huge amount to think about and deal with. Marriage and divorce can have a significant impact on estate planning arrangements, so for anyone going through those changes, it is worth considering their effect on key documents, such as Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney.
What happens to my Will if I get married?
If you have made a Will and you subsequently get married or enter into a civil partnership, the current laws of England & Wales provide that your previous Will is revoked (i.e. cancelled) by the later marriage or civil partnership, unless there is an express clause in the Will preventing this.
It is possible to include a clause in your Will usually known as a ‘contemplation of marriage’ clause to prevent your Will being cancelled by a subsequent marriage to a specific individual. The terms of any Will made prior to marriage should therefore be checked carefully to see if a contemplation of marriage clause has been included, and whether the terms of that clause are effective and have been met. If they have, the later marriage or civil partnership may not have automatically cancelled the Will.
What if I haven’t previously made a Will?
If you haven’t made a Will, your estate will pass according to the statutory order of entitlement known as the ‘intestacy rules’ after your death. Spouses and civil partners have some entitlement under the intestacy rules, so if you get married or enter into a civil partnership and you haven’t made a Will, your estate planning arrangements will automatically change, as your spouse/civil partner will have some entitlement to your estate after your death under the intestacy rules.
However, the intestacy rules do not always operate as you might expect, particularly if you are married or in a civil partnership and you also have children. Provision for a spouse is limited and they will not automatically receive the whole estate. It is therefore worth reviewing your estate planning arrangements after you get married or enter into a civil partnership, and you may want to consider making a Will to ensure that your estate passes in the way you want it to after your death.
What happens to my Will if I get divorced?
If you get divorced or end your civil partnership and you have previously made a Will, your Will is not automatically cancelled. Instead, your Will remains valid, but it takes effect as if your former spouse/civil partner had died before you (unless there is something in the Will to the contrary).
It is still possible for former spouses/civil partners to claim against your estate after death in certain circumstances, so this should be considered when you are reviewing your estate planning.
Getting divorced or ending a civil partnership is a significant change to your circumstances, and it is best to review your Will after any such change and consider updating it to ensure it is still in line with your wishes. Consideration should also be given to jointly owned property and whether ‘severing’ joint ownership is appropriate.
What if I haven’t previously made a Will?
If you haven’t made a Will, your estate will pass according to the intestacy rules after your death. Former spouses/civil partners are not entitled under the intestacy rules, so if you get divorced or end a civil partnership and you haven’t made a Will, your estate planning arrangements will automatically change, as your former spouse/civil partner will no longer be entitled to your estate after your death under the intestacy rules.
As above, it is worth noting that it is still possible for former spouses/civil partners to claim against your estate after death through a court application.
Again, it is best to review your estate planning arrangements after any divorce or the end of a civil partnership, and you may want to consider making a new Will that is tailored to your new circumstances.
What happens to my Lasting Powers of Attorney if I get married?
Lasting Powers of Attorney are not automatically cancelled by a later marriage or civil partnership.
If you have made Lasting Powers of Attorney before getting married or entering into a civil partnership, you should review them to ensure that the people you have appointed as your attorneys are still appropriate. If you would like your new spouse or civil partner to be your attorney, but they were not appointed in your previous Lasting Power of Attorney, you may wish to revoke your previous Lasting Power of Attorney and make a new one appointing your spouse or civil partner.
What if I haven’t made Lasting Powers of Attorney?
Spouses and civil partners are not automatically entitled to make decisions for you in the event that you lose mental capacity to make decisions for yourself. This is the case even where assets are held in joint names.
If you haven’t made Lasting Powers of Attorney, you should consider doing so. You can appoint your new spouse or civil partner as your attorney either alone, or with others. You can also appoint replacement attorney/s, to step in if your primary attorney dies or is unable to act for any other reason.
What happens to my Lasting Powers of Attorney if I get divorced?
If you have appointed your spouse or civil partner as an attorney in a Lasting Power of Attorney and you subsequently get divorced or end the civil partnership, their appointment as your attorney will be ‘terminated’ (i.e. cancelled), unless you have specifically stated that you do not want this to happen in the Lasting Power of Attorney.
It is best to review any Lasting Powers of Attorney you made before divorce/end of a civil partnership, to check whether any other attorneys appointed in the document can still act. Ultimately, you may want/need to make new Lasting Powers of Attorney appointing different attorneys.
