Till Death Us do Part

“Most of the couples I speak to are unaware that marriage or civil partnership voids any existing Will which means that after the celebrations,  you can be left in the position of having no Will at all.  In blended families where there are children from previous marriages this can be particularly dangerous” 

Claire, Cornwall Will Writers   

Very few people realise that one consequence of tying the knot, is to void an existing Will that either party already has - completely.  It has more effect than divorce on a Will, which only voids gifts made to divorced spouses!     

If you do not write another Will after marriage, and you passed away, you would die intestate, and the law would then decide how to distribute your hard earned assets (including your home, savings and personal belongings).  Children from a previous marriage may then be accidently disinherited and receive less than you anticipated, or even nothing depending on the size of your estate.   Loved ones can then either accept the heart-breaking situation, or make a financial provision claim, which can be costly, time consuming and damaging to relationships. 

The only way to avoid this is to have the Will written ‘in contemplation’ of marriage. You need to be able to give specific details about your proposed spouse and the wedding - it doesn’t work by just giving a general clause about an unknown future marriage. 

Another option is to make a new Will after the marriage has taken place, although this could leave you without a valid Will for a period of time. 

We therefore recommend you come and write a new Will (or couples Mirror Wills) whilst you are still engaged and in the process of planning for the future. We can draft the contemplated marriage into your Will and keep you and your assets protected continuously.  You can then forget about such things and just get on with saying ‘I do!’