A will prior to marriage?

[Jennalong]

Would appreciate an answer from a legal person or from those in the know.
Made a will a few years ago and have a long-term partner.
The solicitor told me at the time it was OK to leave the majority of my estate to my adult children ( not his children ).
and asked if we were to marry would I want that to remain.
As I said she wrote the will to say something like the will would remain valid in the anticipation of the marriage of ( and named him )

So question is , is that correct and when we do actually marry . can I be certain it my wishes are upheld ? UK based.

I always thought a marriage overrode an existing will. Best check with your solicitor.

Check with solicitor but agree with previous poster, your marriage overrides your will.

You must re do your will when you marry. The existing will be null and void

This

No, a will can be made in contemplation of marriage, and remains valid if the marriage takes place, but the will must state that you intend to marry and that it isn't revoked at marriage. The law says the marriage should take place within a relatively short time but last time I checked I couldn't find what "relatively short time" means.

We did ours over 10 years ago and will seek legal advice if/when we marry as ours likely won't be valid. Suggest you check with the solicitor.

To be on the safe side you should make a new will immediately after the marriage.

A will can be made in anticipation of marriage, naming the person you intend to marry. In that situation the will remains valid if you marry the named person provided you do so in a relatively short period of time. As you say it has been a few years since the will was written, you should make a new will if you marry.

Will was 10 years ago.

I made it clear that we were not ruling marriage out , and it might not happen but no date etc or even if it would happen . 10 years on and obviously from my question still not happened !

Is there a solicitor on here that could answer why this could be argued that if marriage did happen , as my wishes would stay the same as per original will ?

As the will is now 10 years old, it will be invalidated if you marry. You can make a new will in anticipation of marriage provided you are going to marry in the near future, or you can make a new will as soon as possible after you marry.

You could get the will drafted electronically now, then get your solicitor to add the date, print, sign and witness the day after you get married.

UK based.

Please be aware that the succession law of Scotland and that of England (and Wales?) vary significantly. I don't know anything about that of Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, your spouse has the right to some of your estate (ius relictae/relicti). You do not have the testamentary freedom to leave everything to your children and nothing to your spouse. Such a will can be challenged by the spouse.

They also differ in the effect of marriage on a will. Scottish wills are more resilient.

The old Will could be contested by your future husband easily (Inheritance Act 1975 allows spouses to claim against a deceased's estate). You need to make provision for him in your Will to avoid him contesting it if you die before him.

I'm not a lawyer but I have experience of this (dead mother richer than stepfather).

If you are richer than your partner and you marry him then you'll be exposed to claims by him either in divorce or death.

Also note that law is different within the UK. It's usually divided as England & Wales, Scotland, and N. Ireland.

Yes, you must specify any individuals in writing, even if you just leave them a small item or sum of money. Then they cannot claim that you forgot to include them.

This is true OP. If you marry do it again.

I'm UK based . My children are named in the will as main beneficiaries . My portion of the house will go to them , he can remain in the house . It states it's his responsibility to keep it in a good state etc .
I've also left them my main estate but have also left him a portion of the value.
When I made the will ( 10 years ago ) we were not married .
He is named as the person I might marry at some point and if we were to marry then it was /is my intention to have my wishes in the will kept .
So I want to question why that would change ( as it was my wish then , and it still remains )

The will was through a solicitor , my wishes , wrote by them .

This is your answer from a legally qualified person.

Chances are you could use the same wording, just redate, sign and witnessed. Might be wise to check though.
We have been married 40 years and are currently redoing our wills for the third time, just to make sure everything is up to date and worded correctly. Generally it is a good idea to review things regularly.

We were told that wills made in anticipation of marriage would only stand for a short period of time.

Also you won’t get accurate advice by saying UK based as Scotland and England have different laws on wills and what you can do

OK I've got it out and it says.

" I make this will in expectation of my marriage to ( his name ) and I intend that this will is not revoked by the marriage "
These are the exact words.

How would that stand after the already mentioned timescale ?

Why don’t you just go and ask a solicitor in real life? You have had conflicting answers on here from people who may or may not be legally qualified – at least one person who has answered does have legal qualifications, but for something so important, and which you keep asking over again, then why wouldn’t you get a real life answer, preferably from the solicitor who actually drew up the will in the first place.

10 years is a long time, expectation of marriage suggests you actually have a date booked imminently.

You are probably best doing a new will near or soon after the wedding.

To repeat what I've already said, if you had married shortly after making that will it would have stood up. After 10 years, no chance. It will be revoked automatically if you marry.

If you marry, then it would be sensible to update the will.

Why don’t you just get it reprinted and re sign in???? If nothing has changed about your wishes ?

Which part of the UK are you in?