Who May Benefit From A Will? – Divorcees
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Want to make a start on your will?
Making a Will is not about wealth it is about making sure that what you want to happen to your estate does happen. It gives you the opportunity to specify such things as who will administer your estate, who will care for your children and who will receive specific items of your property.
A decree absolute dissolves a marriage so that the couple concerned are no longer husband and wife. Divorce is, therefore, one of those occasions where it is essential to make a fresh will.
Should you omit to do so, any gift to or appointment of your former spouse as executor will not take effect. For deaths after 1st January 2018 the law says that the former spouse is deemed to have died at the time the marriage was dissolved. T
his is always subject to a contrary intention in the will so if you feel you would still wish your former spouse to have your estate following a divorce you must say so.
It has to be said that testators can be very slow indeed to change their wills even when the circumstances would seem compelling to an outsider.
Professional wills frequently include a reference to ‘the gift failing for any other reason’. This is to cover the situation where divorce or other events prevent a gift from being given to the intended recipient.
New sections added – Second Marriages or Who May Benefit From A Will? – Example
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