A marriage revokes a Will i.e. it is no longer valid, but what happens to your Will after a divorce?
You may be pleased to learn that a divorce does not affect your Will this way.
However, whilst your Will remains valid post-divorce, your ex-spouse will not be able to benefit from the Will. Imagine it as if their name had been removed from the Will or they had predeceased you.
Therefore, if they were due to inherit assets, the assets would be passed on to the next beneficiary as per your Will.
If there is not another beneficiary in your Will and you left everything to your spouse then, when you pass away, your estate would be dealt with as if you had passed away without a Will and your assets will be distributed as per the rules of intestacy (i.e. the law will determine who receives your assets).
By not updating your Will post divorce you are taking a risk of your estate not being distributed as per your wishes.
You may also want to consider putting an exclusion clause within your Will to explain why you would not want your ex-spouse to receive any assets, should they attempt to make a claim on your estate when you pass away (which is not uncommon!).
If you have divorced since you prepared your Will, please do get in touch with a copy of your Will and we can advise you on the implications.
0207 183 4595
The information provided in this article is not intended to constitute professional advice and you should take full and comprehensive legal, accountancy or financial advice as appropriate on your individual circumstances by a fully qualified Solicitor, Accountant or Financial Advisor/Mortgage Broker before you embark on any course of action.
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