Previous Wills Need To Be Reviewed

Some people sign a Will and forget about it. You should however, review your Will from time to time to take into account changed circumstances. For example:

IF you have married since making your Will, the law is that you have NO Will. A Will is revoked automatically when one marries, unless the Will specifically refers to your forthcoming marriage.

IF you have divorced, your previous spouse is automatically disinherited. If you are still on friendly terms and want to leave something to this person - you need a new Will.

IF you are separated but not yet divorced, your previously executed Will may leave your estate to your spouse, despite the existence of a subsequent court order or a separation agreement. Your Will is valid until changed. You should revise your Will as soon as you separate.

Other factors can also change, such as:

Executor: Has the person moved away? Died? Is the person still capable of performing the task? Is it appropriate now to substitute one or more of your adult children?

Guardians: Do your forty year old plus children still need the guardians appointed in your Will? And even if you think they do, the provision is unenforceable!

Beneficiaries: Do you want to change them? Should all of your children inherit equally? Are you closer to some grandchildren than to others? Do you want to remember a church, mosque, synagogue or other charity?

Assets: Has your net worth increased significantly? Decreased dramatically? Will some beneficiaries now receive too much or too little? Leaving five hundred dollars ($500.00) to a person or charity thirty years ago was generous. Should the amount now be increased due to inflation?

Debts: Have you loaned money to a child? Do you wish the oulstanciin~~ debt to be forgiven when you die? The Family Law Act, passed in 1986, gives a surviving spouse the right to claim against your estate if you do not leave your spouse the same amount of assets which he/she could obtain under the law if you had separated. Basically, assets aredivided equally upon a separation. If your spouse is the sole beneficiary of your estate, this law does not affect you. However, in most situations involving children from a first marriage and a spouse in a second marriage, there can be complications which need to be addressed in your will, or in a marriage contract, or through reviewing your life insurance.

If one of your children separates from his/her spouse, their assets basically are divided equally between them. The Family Law Act of 1986 allows you to exclude from their assets any income from inheritance if so stated in your Will. You probably would not want a child's former spouse to receive one-half of what you leave to your child. Is this exclusionary statement in your Will?

The Succession Law Reform Act, passed in 1979, broadened the definition of "children" to include children who were born outside of wedlock. If you have such a child, and you do not want this child to have any right of inheritance, you must make this clear in your Will.