It is crucial when your Will is made that it takes into account your personal and financial circumstances as they are at the time the Will is made, in particular the value of your estate.
Any time there is a significant change in your life, you should review your Will to ensure it still accurately reflects your wishes.
Some examples of significant changes are:
Moving house
Your Will should be reviewed if you move home to ensure it takes into account the new property and to check that it is not affected by the disposal of the old property.
New birth
You need to check whether your Will needs to be updated when there is a new birth to ensure that the new child can receive a part of your estate should you wish for them to do so. You will also need to consider whether a legal Guardian needs to be appointed.
Marriage, Civil Partnership and divorce/dissolution
Marriage or entering into a civil partnership revokes a Will unless it has been expressly made in contemplation of marriage or civil partnership. A new Will must be made in these circumstances. If you do not and die without having done so, then you will treated as not having made a Will and your estate will instead pass in accordance with the intestacy provisions.
Divorce does not automatically revoke a Will, however this is still a significant change in your life and will inevitably affect your financial and/or personal circumstances in some way and as such will require a review of your Will.
Financial change
If your financial position changes in some way, for example you come into an inheritance or your estate is reduced for any reason, your Will will need to be updated to reflect your current circumstances. This may be particularly relevant where your current Will contains gifts of specific amounts of money or certain items which you may no longer have or have changed in value.