When Should You Review Your Will?
Completing your Will is the first step to ensuring that your estate will be distributed according to your wishes; however, as circumstances change throughout your life, it is equally important to ensure that your Will is updated to reflect changes in your family, financial situation, and other changes that could impact your estate.
Generally, you should review your Will when any of the following events occur. Note that this list is not all inclusive and there are a variety of circumstances in which you should review and determine if an update to your Will is required.
Changes in your family:
- You get married or divorced
- You become an Adult Interdependent Partner (AIP) or cease to be an AIP
- Birth or adoption of a new child or grandchild
- Your child or grandchild gets married or divorced
- Your spouse, child or grandchild passes away
- Your child or grandchild has a disability or serious illness
- Your children reach the age of majority
- An adult child becomes financially dependent on you
- You determine that a beneficiary of your Will is financially irresponsible
- You have a change in attitude toward your appointed Executor(s), Trustee(s), or Guardian(s)
Changes to your financial circumstances:
- Good fortune or bad fortune
- An asset substantially increases or decreases in value
- You start a new business or retire from a business
- Your insurability under life insurance policies changes
- You acquire property in a different province or country
- You receive an inheritance or personal effects with high value (sentimental or financial)
Other circumstances:
- Your health changes
- You move to a different province or country
- Your Executor(s) or Trustee(s) move to a different province or country
- Your Executor(s) or Trustee(s) pass away
- A beneficiary of your Will passes away
- Changes in the law related to family law, wills and succession, adult interdependent partnerships, etc.