When should you update your will? The straightforward answer is whenever it no longer reflects the people, assets, responsibilities and jurisdictions that define your life today.

A will may remain legally valid for many years. That does not necessarily mean it will still produce the outcome you intend. Relationships change, children are born, businesses grow, families move abroad and personal wealth becomes more complicated. The document itself does not evolve unless you review it.

Your family should inherit your estate. They should not inherit the responsibility of deciding what you meant.

That distinction matters particularly for internationally mobile families. When assets, beneficiaries and family members are spread across several countries, an outdated will can create more than an uncomfortable conversation. It can leave important decisions exposed to different legal systems, tax rules and competing interpretations.

When should you update your will?

GOV.UK recommends reviewing your will every five years and following any major change in your life. That provides a sensible minimum review cycle, but the age of the document is only one consideration.

A review should also be triggered whenever there is a material change to:

• Your marriage, partnership or family relationships
• The people you want to benefit
• Your executors, trustees or guardians
• The value or composition of your estate
• Your business interests
• Your country of residence
• The countries in which you own assets
• The tax or succession rules affecting your estate

A five-year-old will may remain entirely suitable. A will signed six months ago could already need attention if a significant life event has occurred. The real question is not how old the document is. It is whether the instructions still match your circumstances.

A will records one moment in your life

Every will is drafted using the information available at a particular point in time. It reflects the family you had, the wealth you owned and the responsibilities you carried when it was signed.

Consider how much can change over the following decade. A person might marry, have children, move overseas, inherit substantial assets, build a valuable company or establish a second family. An executor may die or become unable to act. A beneficiary may develop needs that were never anticipated.

None of these developments automatically rewrites the original instructions.

This is why an old will can create a false sense of security. The document exists, has been signed and may remain legally effective. However, it may describe a life that no longer exists.

An outdated will does not always fail. Sometimes it operates exactly as written and produces an outcome the person would no longer have chosen.

Family changes that should trigger a review

Marriage or civil partnership

Marriage has significant consequences for a will. In England and Wales, an existing will will usually become invalid when someone marries or enters a civil partnership, unless it was prepared in contemplation of that specific marriage or partnership.

This can result in an estate passing under intestacy rules rather than according to the instructions contained in the earlier will. The surviving spouse or civil partner may inherit all or part of the estate, depending on the circumstances.

The rules are not identical across every UK jurisdiction, so the appropriate legal position should be confirmed for the country whose succession law applies. The position can become more complicated when the marriage, residence, assets and existing will are connected to different countries.

GOV.UK provides further guidance on marriage, civil partnerships and existing wills in England and Wales.

Separation or divorce

Separation does not necessarily have the same legal effect as divorce. A separated spouse could therefore retain rights or responsibilities that no longer reflect the relationship.

In England and Wales, divorce does not simply cancel the entire will. Broadly, provisions involving the former spouse are generally treated as though that person had died before the person who made the will. That can alter how gifts pass, who receives the residue and who is available to administer the estate.

Relying on these default legal effects may still produce an unintended outcome. A review allows the document to reflect the new family position clearly.

Children and grandchildren

The arrival of a child or grandchild is one of the clearest reasons to review a will. A new child does not simply insert themselves into instructions written before their birth.

The review should consider more than who receives a share of the estate. It may also need to address:

• Guardianship wishes for minor children
• The age at which a child may receive an inheritance
• Who will act as trustee
• How education, care or housing needs could be funded
• Whether children from different relationships are treated as intended
• Whether additional support is required for a vulnerable beneficiary

Informal assurances that one relative will “look after” another are not a substitute for clear, coordinated instructions.

A new partner or an unmarried relationship

Many people assume that a long-term partner will be treated like a spouse. In England and Wales, there is no general legal status of common-law marriage, even where a couple has lived together for many years or has children.

If a partner is not properly provided for, the surviving family may face uncertainty, claims or difficult decisions at an already challenging time. A will review should establish whether the legal arrangements reflect the financial reality of the relationship.

Changes in wealth can make an old will unsuitable

A will prepared when an estate was relatively straightforward may become inadequate as wealth develops.

Someone who originally owned a home, savings and a pension may later hold investment portfolios, private company shares, trusts, overseas property, digital assets and interests in several legal entities. The original division of the estate may no longer achieve what was intended.

A review should follow events such as:

• Receiving a substantial inheritance
• Building or selling a business
• A significant increase in property or investment values
• Creating a trust or family investment structure
• Acquiring property in another country
• Taking on substantial borrowing or guarantees
• Changing pension, insurance or investment nominations
• Acquiring valuable digital assets

The wording of the will also needs to be considered alongside asset ownership. Some assets may pass by survivorship, nomination, trust arrangements or contractual provisions rather than under the will itself. Updating the will without reviewing these connected arrangements can leave inconsistencies across the wider estate plan.

Business owners face an additional layer of risk. The person receiving company shares under a will may not be the person best placed to manage the business. Shareholder agreements, articles of association, insurance arrangements and the wider business succession plan should be reviewed together.

What happens when the will no longer reflects your wishes?

Families often believe they will be able to correct an outdated will after someone dies. In limited circumstances, beneficiaries may be able to alter how an inheritance is distributed through a variation.

According to GOV.UK guidance on changing an inheritance after death, anyone made worse off by a proposed variation must agree, and qualifying changes must generally be completed within two years of the death.

A variation may sometimes be used to:

• Provide for someone who was omitted
• Redirect assets into a trust
• Clarify uncertainty
• Change certain Inheritance Tax or Capital Gains Tax consequences

Where tax treatment is relevant, the variation must meet the applicable statutory requirements. HMRC provides an instrument of variation checklist, but professional legal and tax advice may still be required.

The existence of this process should not be mistaken for a reliable estate-planning strategy.

The beneficiaries are deciding whether to redirect something they are legally entitled to receive. They may agree with one another, but they may also have different financial needs, memories and interpretations of what the deceased intended. If someone whose entitlement would be reduced cannot provide valid consent, matters may be more complicated still.

A variation changes the eventual distribution in specific circumstances. It does not give the deceased another opportunity to express their wishes.

Why relying on family agreement is risky

Close families often assume that everyone understands the intended outcome. That understanding may never have been tested against the detail.

Statements such as these are common:

• “My children know what I want.”
• “My spouse will make sure everyone is treated fairly.”
• “My brother will keep the business in the family.”
• “They can divide everything between themselves.”

Each statement leaves an unanswered question. What happens if two people remember the conversation differently? What does “fairly” mean when beneficiaries have unequal needs? What happens if the person expected to surrender part of an inheritance is facing financial pressure, divorce, bankruptcy or family conflict of their own?

This does not require anyone to act dishonestly. Reasonable people can reach different conclusions about the same informal instruction.

Clear estate planning removes as much of that interpretation as possible. It records the decisions while the person is still able to make them, explain them and obtain appropriate advice.

The additional risks for UK expatriates

For UK expatriates and internationally mobile families, the question of when to update your will cannot be separated from where you live and where your assets are situated.

A move abroad may affect:

• Which country’s succession rules apply
• Whether an existing will is recognised locally
• How local property can be transferred
• Whether forced-heirship provisions are relevant
• Who can act as executor or personal representative
• How several wills interact
• Which assets fall within the UK Inheritance Tax net

Tax and succession are also separate questions. A document might be legally valid while the estate still faces unexpected tax exposure.

Since 6 April 2025, the UK has generally based the Inheritance Tax treatment of overseas assets on long-term UK residence rather than the former domicile framework. Broadly, someone who has been UK resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years may bring overseas assets within the UK Inheritance Tax scope, subject to the detailed rules and transitional provisions.

HMRC provides current guidance for people based outside the UK, but residence history, asset location, ownership structures and applicable exemptions all need to be considered.

Separate wills may sometimes be appropriate for assets in different jurisdictions. They must be coordinated carefully so that one document does not unintentionally revoke or conflict with another.

This is also why a will should be reviewed after a relocation, even if the intended beneficiaries have not changed.

How common is the problem among wealthier families?

Substantial wealth does not necessarily result in current estate-planning documents.

Research commissioned by Remember A Charity and conducted by Savanta surveyed 500 people with more than £1 million in investable assets. It found that only 31% reported having an up-to-date will. More than one-third of respondents aged between 55 and 65 had no will at all.

The findings are particularly relevant because larger estates are more likely to contain business interests, trusts, investments, charitable intentions and assets in several jurisdictions. These are precisely the circumstances in which leaving decisions to informal family agreement becomes more dangerous.

Read the HNW will research from Remember A Charity.

What should a will review cover?

A meaningful review should consider the document within the wider estate plan, rather than checking names and addresses alone.

Questions should include:

1. Does the will include everyone you currently want to benefit?
2. Are the proportions, gifts and conditions still appropriate?
3. Are the appointed executors and trustees still willing and suitable?
4. Are guardianship provisions for minor children still current?
5. Does the document reflect your present business interests?
6. Are overseas assets covered appropriately?
7. Do pension, insurance and investment nominations support the intended outcome?
8. Have digital assets and access arrangements been considered?
9. Could different wills or estate-planning documents conflict?
10. Has your UK residence history changed your potential tax exposure?

The review may identify that no change is required. That confirmation is still valuable because it replaces assumption with evidence.

For minor amendments, a codicil may sometimes be appropriate. GOV.UK confirms that a codicil must be signed and witnessed in the same way as a will. For more substantial changes, preparing a new will may provide a clearer and more coherent record of the current intentions.

Keep control of the decisions that are yours to make

When should you update your will? Before your family is left trying to reconstruct your intentions from an old document and a collection of informal conversations.

A current will cannot remove every difficulty associated with administering an estate. It can, however, reduce uncertainty about the most important issue: what you actually wanted to happen.

For internationally mobile families, the review should extend beyond the wording of one document. Residence history, asset ownership, overseas property, business interests, trusts, pensions and local succession rules may all affect the eventual outcome.

You can begin by completing Carey Suen’s Expat Will Assessment or arranging a confidential discussion about your circumstances.

The Discovery Call is free. Not knowing could be expensive.

---

Important information: This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice. Wills, succession rights and taxation depend on individual circumstances and the laws of the relevant jurisdictions. Appropriate professional advice should be obtained before making or changing any estate-planning arrangements.