Covid-19 And Weddings Week: How Does Marriage Affect Your Will?

• Published date: 17 July 2020
• Subject Matter: Tax, Family and Matrimonial, Family Law, Inheritance Tax, Wills/ Intestacy/ Estate Planning
• Law Firm: Anthony Gold
• Author: Ms Carrie Duncan

So, (when life becomes a bit more normal again) you're getting married. And you sorted out your Will years ago. Great. But did you know that marriage automatically revokes your Will?

This basic legal principle is based on the supposition that succession rights change so dramatically on marriage that it would be inappropriate for an existing Will to remain.

If you die intestate, statute will govern who should inherit your estate and it is very likely that your wishes will not be fulfilled.

You might assume that statute will pass your whole estate to your new spouse once you are married. And that might be what you would want to happen. But if your estate exceeds '270,000 that might not be what actually happens.

In that event, your loved ones may end up with a large, and unexpected, Inheritance Tax bill which could have been delayed until the second death with properly drafted, tax efficient wills. If everything had passed to your spouse as intended, your estate would have qualified for spouse exemption and there would have been no tax to pay.

Statute certainly doesn't take into account the more complex nature of families in the 21^st century.

If you remarry without making a new Will, you could completely disinherit your children from a previous relationship. If all, or the bulk of, your estate passes to your new spouse, it will be up to them to decide how your assets will pass on their own death. They could remarry and pass your estate to their new spouse. They could die intestate and leave your estate to their own children. They could make a Will leaving everything to the cats home.

Or maybe your spouse dies before you. In that event, if you die without leaving a Will, your estate would pass to your children. But that will not include your step-children, with...