Do You Need to Review Your Will?

From time to time we remind clients of the need to update their Will, or the need to make a Will if they don’t already have one.

There are a number of reasons why it is important that your Will be reviewed on a regular basis – about once every 5 years is normally adequate.

Some of the reasons why it is necessary to review your Will include:-

1. Are the Executors appointed still appropriate – there may have been a change of circumstances – the appointed Executors may be aging or your own children may now be adults and you may wish to consider appointing your children in place of other relatives or friends as Executors.
2. Over time your property will usually change. If there is a change of circumstances such as the formation of a new Family Trust or Company this will often require some changes to your Will. For example, if a Family Trust has been established whilst the Trust property will not form part of your Estate your Will can be used to control who replaces the Trustee. Another change of circumstance that could be particularly relevant to many of our rural clients is the need to deal with water entitlements which in many cases are no longer attached to the land but are a separate piece of property.
3. Your own personal circumstances may have changed.

Ideally your Will should be up to date and reflect your current wishes. One mistake many people make in putting off reviewing their Will, or in deferring the decision to make a Will is to think of it is something that is only required down the track rather than focusing on having a current Will dealing with your circumstances as they are today.

If you think you may need to review your Will, or make a Will if you do not have one, contact any of the Solicitors at Macrossan & Amiet who can assist with this.