How a Divorce or Dissolution Affects your Wills
A divorcing couple should always remember that divorce affects inheritance under an existing will as does the dissolution of a civil partnership.
Your will may have appointed your former spouse/civil partner as one of the executors of your estate (meaning that they will be responsible for dealing with the administrations of your estate in accordance with your will if you die before them). You will probably also have left them a substantial legacy under the will.
Getting divorced, unlike marriage, will not automatically revoke your will. The effect of divorce, for the purposes of your will, is to treat your former spouse/civil partner as having died the day that the Decree Absolute (or Final Order of Civil Partnership Dissolution) was granted. This means that if they were named as an executor, the appointment will fail and a substitute executor will carry out the necessary duties instead. This could either be someone you appointed in your will as a substitute or a court-appointed executor.
More importantly, any legacy you may have left your former spouse/civil partner will not take effect. Instead it will be distributed in accordance with the other terms of your will.
In some cases the will may not be flexible enough to deal with this in which case it would pass under the potentially undesirable intestacy rules. Indeed, while you may be happy that your former spouse/civil partner no longer benefits from the legacy, the substitute recipient might not be in accordance with your wishes either. You should consult a solicitor immediately following your divorce to change or make your new will.
To find out more about making a Will with Richard Nelson LLP go to our specialist Wills and Probate web site Your-will.com