According to a recent YouGov survey, 44% of over-50s tend to revise and change their Will several times, mainly due to complicated family dynamics

Nearly Half of Over 50s Often Change Their Will

According to a recent YouGov survey, 44% of over-50s tend to revise and change their Will several times. The main reason for this seems to be the complexities of modern family life.

The survey found that people tend to change their Will following a sudden change in circumstances or a certain life event. These include events such as the death of a close-relative (parent or partner) and having a child.

There are a lot of over-50s who haven’t actually made a Will yet (about 26%). In cases where someone dies but hasn’t written a Will, their assets will be dealt with under intestacy rules. These situations can result in claims going to court if family members are unhappy with the way the estate has been distributed. Therefore, to prevent disputes between your surviving family members, it’s important that you set time aside to write your Will.

Taiba Choudhry, Solicitor in the Wills and Probate team at our Abbeydale Road Office, has noticed the trend that over 50s seem to alter their Wills more than other age groups.

Brits generally seem to be very hesitant talking about death. Maybe this is because they’re scared of it or even because they can’t be bothered to deal with the legal side. Research by LifeSearch found that almost a quarter of Brits avoid discussing death; both their own and the death of a loved one.

It’s becoming more common to change your Will

It’s no doubt that family structures are changing more and more. What with people divorcing and remarrying and having children in multiple marriages, families are becoming more complex. Therefore, people have to think about their Will in even more detail, hence why people are altering them more.

With such complicated family dynamics, the likelihood of a Will being contested is also on the increase.

Taiba said: “It’s true that dynamic family circumstances are the reason for many over 50s altering their Wills. However, they sometimes talk to us about changing their Wills in situations where they don’t actually need to do so”.

On the up side, contentious probate is very accessible at the minute. This is when a family member contests a Will because they feel they have not been appropriately provided for in said Will. This is certainly a positive; what with the complexities of Wills nowadays.

 

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