If you are unmarried then marry, your Will will be revoked by the marriage unless the Will is expressed to be made in contemplation of that marriage. Consult a solicitor about your Will if you decide to marry.
Divorce may affect your Will. The matter is complex and the law is not uniform throughout Australia. In Queensland a Will leaving a benefit to a spouse is revoked after divorce to the extent of the benefit given to the former spouse but otherwise remains in force.
Clearly in these circumstances if you are contemplating divorce or have been divorced since making your Will you should consult a solicitor.Review the copy of your Will every two or three years or whenever a major event occurs in your family, your assets or the taxation laws (to make sure the Will is still what you want).
In particular consult a solicitor:-
a. if you change your name, or anybody named in the Will changes theirs;
b. if an executor dies or becomes unwilling to act as executor or becomes unsuitable due to age, ill health or any other reason;
c. if a beneficiary (someone who has been left something in the Will) dies;
d. if you have specifically left any property which you subsequently sell or give away or put in trust or into a
partnership or which changes its character. This applies particularly to specifically bequeathed shares in a company which restructures its share capital;
e. if you marry or divorce; or if you have children (including adopted or fostered children);
f. if you enter or end a de facto relationship.
If you wish to change your Will or revoke it or make a new Will without informing your husband or wife you may do so, but you should consult a solicitor.
Do not add to or delete from the Will after execution. Consult a solicitor if you want to change or revoke your Will because even the simplest changes must be correctly done or they may have disastrous results.
