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What happens to your will if you were living together

Your will is not affected if you split up with someone you were living with but you weren’t married or in a civil partnership. If your partner is due to inherit something under your will when you die, he or she will still do so.

You should think about changing your will if you no longer want your ex-partner to benefit from it.

• Making a will

Wills when you get divorced or end your civil partnership

Divorcing or ending a civil partnership makes some important changes to what would happen with your will after your death.

The effect on your former spouse or civil partner

When you divorce or end your civil partnership, your former spouse or civil partner is legally treated as having died before you for inheritance purposes.

This means if you divorce or dissolve your civil partnership, usually your former spouse or civil partner won’t inherit anything under your will.

For example, you may have made a will leaving your car to your spouse or civil partner. If you divorce or end your civil partnership, your spouse or civil partner will not inherit the car when you die.

However, if your will specifically says that divorce or dissolution does not affect the gift of the car, they will inherit your car when you die.

You may also have appointed your former husband, wife or civil partner to deal with your estate when you die - called being your ‘executor’. If you divorce or end your civil partnership, they won’t be able to be your executor.

The effect on other people other than your former spouse or partner

If you have made gifts to other people in your will, like your children, then they will still inherit if you divorce or end your civil partnership.

However, you may wish to consider changing your will to reflect your new family situation. See the section below ‘How to change a will’.

If you don’t change your will when you divorce or end your civil partnership, some of your estate could be distributed according to ‘intestacy’ rules.

These rules specify who in your family is entitled to inherit your estate and how it’s shared. You can find out how these rules work by following the link ‘What to do if there’s no will’ below.

• What to do if there is no will

If you remarry

If you remarry or enter into a new civil partnership, in most cases your old will becomes invalid.

If you and your new partner have made wills before you marry or enter into a civil partnership together, your marriage or civil partnership cancels your existing wills.

However, there is an exception to this rule.

The will should not be cancelled by your new marriage or civil partnership, if your will:

• refers to your future spouse or civil partner by name
• says they will be your future wife, husband or civil partner

However, you may still want to think about writing a new will.

The new will can reflect any new priorities or responsibilities you have as a result of your new marriage or civil partnership.

How to change a will

If your situation changes significantly, you should consider changing your will. You can change your will by making a new will or a ‘codicil’. A ‘codicil’ is an amendment or addition to an existing will.

You can do this without legal advice. But a legal adviser will be able to assist you and make sure your new will is legal and reflects your wishes.

• Making a will