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Wills: guidance on the effect of a divorce on your Will

If you are about to divorce, here is some important information to ensure you set your will up for today, and for post divorce.

Impact of Divorce on your Will

In England and Wales, a divorce does not automatically revoke your Will, but it significantly changes how the Will is interpreted. The law treats your former spouse as if they had died on the day the divorce was finalised (when the decree absolute or final order is granted).

Once your divorce is finalised the key impacts are:

Gifts Fail: Any gifts or share of your residuary estate left to your former spouse in the will become void and cannot take effect.

Executor/Trustee Appointments Cease: Any appointment of your ex-spouse to act as an executor or trustee becomes invalid.

Guardianship (for children): The appointment of an ex-spouse as a guardian generally fails, unless it is specifically stated otherwise or the court intervenes.

Rest of the Will Remains Valid: The remaining parts of your will are still valid and will be executed according to its other terms, applying the "ex-spouse is deceased" rule.

If you are writing your Will prior to your divorce being finalised, you should name alternate or replacement people as Executors, Guardians, and Beneficiaries of Gift or your Residuary Estate if this is your wish.

Steps to take in adeus

In the Residuary Estate section of the Will, you can simply put zero (0%) share in the Partner section, and leave your estate to other people - for example your children or other individuals.

Individuals - for example your soon to be ex-spouse - with a zero share will be automatically excluded from the final Will.

If you would like to be more specific, in the final section 'Have you Excluded Anyone?' you can provide the reason for excluding your spouse, this ensures it is clear that you intentionally omitted them from your Will.

Get Legal Advice

If you are working with a lawyer to finalise your divorce, this is a topic you should discuss with them to ensure the instructions in your Will are aligned with any paperwork being prepared for your divorce.


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