Summertime often means weddings. But not a lot of people know that getting married means that you need to redo your Will.
Why do I need a Will at all?
Having a Will allows you to say who you want to inherit your assets.
If you die without a Will (known as dying intestate), but with more than $15,000 in assets (which is quite likely now that most people have KiwiSaver accounts slowly building up), then not only will your family need to make an expensive application to the High Court to be able to access your assets, but the law will determine who gets what share of those assets.
It is simple to avoid that and give yourself peace of mind by having a valid Will.
Why do I need a new Will when I get married?
If you have just gotten married, the law assumes that your priorities have changed and that your existing Will doesn’t reflect those priorities.
To deal with this, section 18 of the Wills Act 2007 says that a Will is automatically revoked if the Will maker gets married. If you die after getting married and without having signed a new Will, your estate will be treated as if you have died intestate.
The only exception to this is if you signed your Will whilst you were in contemplation of a particular marriage (to a particular person, not just generally planning to marry soon), and that the marriage that occurred was the one contemplated. Usually this is achieved by inserting a specific statement in your Will that it is made in contemplation of marriage to your named partner. If you don’t have that statement, then your partner or family will have to go to the High Court to have your existing Will declared valid.
In a recent judgment, Estate of Watson [2024] NZHC 3419, the High Court confirmed that even though Mr Watson and his partner, Ms Vrieze, were in a de facto relationship when they signed their Wills, their marriage seven years later would ordinarily have revoked their Wills. Fortunately, although Mr Watson’s Will did not expressly say that it is made in contemplation of his marriage to Ms Vrieze, there was sufficient evidence to show that was the case, and the Will was declared valid.
Unless you’ve included the statement in your Will, it is important to sign a new Will soon after you get married, to ensure that your intentions for your assets are followed. This is particularly important for marriages later in life, where there may be significant assets and one or both spouses may already have children.
Obviously, ensuring your Will is up to date saves your family additional stress, time, and expense if something were to happen to you.
Does the same apply if I get divorced?
Interestingly, the same does not apply if you get divorced or enter into a formal separation agreement. Instead, under section 19 of the Act, any specific bequest to the former husband or wife is void, but the remainder of the Will will be valid.
More questions?
If you have any questions about your Will, or for information on creating or updating your Will, please contact a member of our private client team.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and not intended as a substitute for specific professional advice on any matter and should not be relied upon for that purpose.
