Why You Should Change Your Will After These 3 Occasions
You probably know that you should update your will when you get children, marry, or acquire more assets. However, these are not the only situations that call for the change of a will. You may also need to change your will if you arrive at any of these occasions.
Divorce
Depending on your state, you may have to change your will even if you don't want to cut your spouse's out of the will. This is because, upon divorce, some states automatically revokes any gifts you had apportioned to your spouse. Therefore, if you still want to leave the assets to your former partner, you have to make a new will and specify the assets you are bequeathing him or her.
At the same time, you shouldn't assume that is what your state will do; you need to confirm it. Other states do not factor in the effect of divorce of a will. Therefore, if you want to redistribute your gifts to other people, you have to make a new will.
Get Stepchildren
Your children may be entitled to some of your assets upon your demise, but your stepchildren may not enjoy the same benefits. Therefore, if you acquire some stepchildren, and you want to secure their future, then you have to change your will to accommodate them.
Move to a State with Different Property Laws
In a common law property state, any assets you acquire and register in your name is yours. If you acquire a joint property and put both of your names in the title, then you both own half of it. This is different from a community property state in which anything you acquire after marriage is owned by both of you whether or not both of your names appear on the deed or title.
Therefore, what is yours individually in a common law state may turn out to belong to both of you if you move to a community property state. If you don't change your will, then your heirs may not get the properties you have bequeathed them because the assets may not be yours to dispose of in the first place. You can consult resources like Robert J Willis, Attorney at Law and ask how your state could affect property law definitions for your will.
To change your will, you can either make a codicil (it only includes what you want to add or subtract from the original will) or write a new will. It depends on how many changes you wish to effect; for a minor update, a codicil will do, but draft a new will if you are planning to effect numerous changes.
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