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Till Death Do Us Part

The effect of marriage that you may not know about!

Few people realise that when you tie the knot, unless you have a Will that was written in contemplation of your marriage, it automatically becomes void, placing you in the position of being without a Will at all. 

This means that unless you make a Will knowing you are shortly to be married and or you make a new Will after your marriage, you would die ‘intestate’ and the law decides who will inherit your worldly goods (including your home, money and personal possessions) regardless of your original wishes in your pre-marital Will. This can result in the people receiving more of your assets than you had wished for, and your loved ones being accidentally disinherited.

Under the rules of intestacy a spouse receives a large proportion of the estate and this can result in, for instance, children from a former relationship receiving less than you had intended, or even nothing at all. They can either accept the situation, or make a financial provision claim which can be costly, time consuming and damaging to relationships.

To remain valid after marriage, a Will must be made in ‘contemplation of marriage’.  This means that you need to be able to give specific details about your proposed spouse – it doesn’t work by just giving a general clause about an unknown future marriage.

The other option is to make a new Will after the marriage has taken place, although this could leave you without a valid Will for a period of time.

We therefore recommend you coming and writing a new Will whilst you are still engaged and in the process of planning for the future.  This way we  can draft the contemplated marriage into your Will and keep you and your assets protected throughout, leaving you to enjoy the honeymoon period without thinking about the less fun things in life!

In addition, if you are entering into a new marriage and already have significant assets in your sole name that you want to protect, it may also be worth considering making a Pre-nuptial Agreement. This is a legal document that sets out what you wish to happen to each person’s assets in the event of divorce and is something we can help you with at TLS.

Contact us today on 01637 872361

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