I have already made a will so why should I worry?
You should review your will regularly, and particularly when anything changes such as in the examples in this article.
Marriage
If you get married any will made before you got married is normally immediately automatically cancelled and therefore the intestacy rules then apply.
Separation
If you separate from your spouse but die before your divorce goes through your estranged spouse can still fully benefit under your will and so you should make a new will as soon as possible.
I have come across a separated couple and the husband died before the divorce went through. Since he did not make a new will everything went to his estranged wife and nothing to his new partner.
Your beneficiaries
If you leave a will in favour of a person who dies before you under the intestacy rules everything that you own could pass to a distant relative who you have never met.
In a case I came across a husband held all of the assets in his name, and he made a will in favour of his wife. Under that will she inherited everything. However, she then died without making a will and under the intestacy rule everything passed to the widow’s blood relatives who she never saw, and nothing passed to her late husband’s relatives who continued to look after her until she died. It had wrongly been thought that the wife did not need to make a will when the husband made one since all of the assets were in his name but at the time of his death when she inherited all her husband’s assets she had advanced Alzheimer’s and had left it too late to make a will.
Tax changes
The tax regime may have changed after you made your last will. In which case it is worth getting expert advice.
Your assets
Your assets could have changed and in your old will - you could have for example mentioned a house you no longer own.
Ensure the location of your will is known
If your original will cannot be found it can be presumed that you cancelled it by destroying it and therefore that the intestacy rules apply even if you made an older will before making your last will.
This list is not exhaustive, please get expert advice about your own individual circumstances from an Accredited Lifetime Lawyer.