A
client has recently had a baby and asked me how she goes about changing her
will.
A will ensures that the person that winds up your
estate distributes your assets to named beneficiaries after you pass, according
to your wishes.
If there are changed circumstances such as the
birth of a child or the death of a beneficiary, you can write a new will or
amend the existing will by supplementing your current will with a
codicil.
Codicil
A codicil is a
way to make minor changes to a will but is not appropriate for significant differences
when a new will is better. Codicils must be signed by two witnesses, just like
a will.
Amend your will after a divorce.
The Wills Act provides that if you die within three months of the divorce, a legacy to your divorced spouse will fall away as though the spouse had passed away before you executed the will.
The Act gives
you three months after your divorce to change your will by removing your ex-spouse
as a beneficiary and appointing someone else in his place (in a new will or
codicil). If you do not, he will inherit, despite the divorce.
No comments:
Post a Comment