Changing A Will After Divorce Or Separation
Changing A Will After Divorce Or Separation
For those who are through or going through a situation of marriage breakdown, making a will not prove to be beneficial for you. You should realize that just as any current will is not suitable for your new situation, you should consider making a new will which should be according to your new life situation. Making a will according to your current situation is the best option for you as you can organize and plan your will by keeping your current situation in mind.
You should be aware of one thing that you will still be considered a married person despite whatever bad in happening between you and your partner. You will be termed as Legally Married. There have been no changes as far as inheritance law is concerned. Your separation will have no legal effect on your will. Your spouse will still hold all the assets under any will.
Making A Will For Your Current Circumstances.
It doesn’t matter for how long you have been separated. So you should concentrate on making a fresh will which should reflect your current situation. Even if you don’t have any will, your spouse will still have the rights to inherit from you under the intestacy rules. All your estate would pass to them unless there is no will.
In order to understand the implication of these intestacy rules in your life, here are a few examples:
- a) If you are married but don’t have any children, all your estate, and personal chattels would be passed on to your spouse.
- b) If you are married and have children, the first 250,000 Euros of your estate and all your personal chattels would be passed on to your spouse then and there. The rest of what is left of your estate would be divided into two equal parts. One portion would belong to your wife and the other portion would belong to your children until they turn 18.
For those who are in a new and a serious relationship after parting from their spouse, they should go for making a will which gives them a new life. Since your new unmarried partner will not be able to inherit anything at all, this will be a good decision. She will be entitled to inherit a part of your assets only if you have mentioned that in your will. If not, they might have to head to the court for seeking provisions from your estate.
If you are divorced, you don’t have to worry about anything at all. All the financial matters have already been resolved between you and your spouse. But still it would prove to be a complex issue and you might have to give it some serious attention.
If you have already made a will before your divorce, which would be regarded as legal and this would facilitate towards the rising of a number of issues. There are a lot of married couples who have appointed each other as executors and beneficiaries of a will, either alone or to be shared with their children.
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