Planning for the Future

Effect on wills of a divorce or the dissolution of a registered civil partnership

Neither of these events will revoke (i.e. cancel) an existing will. Either event will however revoke the appointment of a previous spouse or registered civil partner as executor of the will and revoke any gifts made in the will to your ex-spouse/registered civil partner.

If you become divorced or your civil partnership is dissolved, you should therefore consider making a will or changing your existing will in order to deal with your assets, to appoint executors and guardians for your children.

Separation

If you separate from your spouse or registered civil partner, that has no effect on any will you may have already made.

If you have separated but are not yet divorced or if your civil partnership has not yet been dissolved, you may wish to consider making a will in order to ensure that your assets will pass to the beneficiaries you want. You may also wish to appoint guardians for your young children, though you should note that the appointment of guardians in a will cannot on its own take precedence over someone who already has parental responsibility for your children.

Marriage, or registration of a civil partnership

Either of these events will revoke a will made before them unless that will was made specifically in contemplation of that particular marriage/civil partnership.

You should always therefore consider making a will if you are intending to marry or to register a civil partnership.  Borneos can make sure that your new will is valid both before and after your marriage or civil partnership.

There are also tax consequences of marrying,or registering a civil partnership, most of which are beneficial to a tax payer.

 

 

If you would like to discuss how we might help you, please:

 

• call any of our office numbers listed at the bottom of this page;
• contact one of our specialists direct by clicking on their name below; or
• complete our enquiry form

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Members of our team specialising in this area:

Derek Barker, Dominic Mills

Amanda Asbery, Karen Chase, Teresa Dales, Felicia D'Amelio, Vicki De Spirito, Peter Hampson, Steven Higham, Lawrence McCullagh, Harbir Pattar, Felicity Shedden