Should married couples have a Will? Yes, married couples must have a Will in place, and a misconception many have is that marriage does not affect our Will.
Having A Will In Place Before Marriage
Suppose you have previously had Will written before your marriage and have not taken the necessary steps to ensure its validity. In that case, it will no longer stand, and the Will you previously had in place will be revoked.
A clause that can be included in your Will is “Contemplation Of Marriage.” This means that your Will is being written in anticipation of marriage; therefore, once you are, the Will still stands, and nothing will be revoked. This clause will commonly be used in circumstances where either person knows they intend to get married and a potential spouse will not affect the decisions written in the Will.
Do you have a time limit to get married if you apply this clause in your Will? No, there isn’t a ‘set’ time limit for you to get married. However, in the eyes of the law, you have to marry within a ‘reasonable’ time frame for the clause to stand when you pass.
You’re Married, And Neither Of You Has A Will. What Happens Now?
Once you are married, your assets risk a high chance of going to probate if you do not have a Will. This is usually if other complicating factors surround an individual’s circumstances. Probate is the process by which the legal system determines what will happen to your assets, this usually occurs when someone has contested an existing Will, or the deceased did not have one in place.
It’s an uncomfortable topic to talk about; however, once you have a property and joint bank accounts are involved, it is a crucial conversation to have.
Within your and your partner’s family dynamic, there are other individuals you would like to leave your assets to, likewise, people to whom you do not want to receive anything. The only way for you and your partner to have complete confidence that your wishes will be carried through once you are no longer here is through a Will.
Is A Married Couples Best Option A Mirror Will?
Married couples often opt to have a mirror Will, also known as a ‘Couples Will.’ A Mirror Will is for couples with or without children who typically have the same intentions, leaving everything to the surviving spouse when the other dies. Then when the second spouse dies, everything will go to your children or other selected individuals.
Married couples also favour a Mirror Will as it is the most cost-efficient way to protect couples. It is seen as the least complex to produce, and ordinarily, in one, everything is split 50/50; therefore is cheaper than having two separate Wills.
We hope you have found this article helpful; there is certainly a lot to think about when starting your Will. If you would like to get your Will professionally by us, then please click here to book an appointment.
It’s an uncomfortable topic to talk about,
But a crucial conversation to have.
