Revoking a very old will

jaytee28

Hi, I made a will twenty years ago after my mother passed away and it was lodged at a solicitors (who still practice).   Over the last twenty years various things have happened and the will was the last thing on my mind. I no longer have my copy of the will    I  hold my hand up to being completely negligent on this.

Recent events have made me realize I must write a new will. My question is, do I need to contact the solicitors to get them to destroy the will?   I have moved address twice since then so would I have problems proving that it's me?    Or would a new will with the appropriate wording about revoking any previous will be sufficient?

Thank you

pphillips

A new will with a revocation clause will suffice.

jaytee28

pphillips said:

A new will with a revocation clause will suffice.

Thank you

xylophone

You should advise the solicitor where the old will is held once you have a valid new will.
Or you might consider asking him to draft the new one?

Mojisola

pphillips said:

A new will with a revocation clause will suffice.

It does but it's also worth destroying any previous wills.

If you died and your family didn't know that you'd made a new will but remembered you going to the solicitor after your mother died, they could assume that will contains your last wishes and distribute your estate accordingly.

Dox

pphillips said:

A new will with a revocation clause will suffice.

Better to ensure the old one is destroyed to minimise the chances of someone trying to act on it without knowing a newer will exists. For obvious practical reasons, a revocation clause is only effective if the newer will is 'found' after the death - and if the newer will is found many months after the death, all sorts of chaos ensues.

Robert_McGeddon

Dox said:

pphillips said:

A new will with a revocation clause will suffice.

Better to ensure the old one is destroyed to minimise the chances of someone trying to act on it without knowing a newer will exists. For obvious practical reasons, a revocation clause is only effective if the newer will is 'found' after the death - and if the newer will is found many months after the death, all sorts of chaos ensues.

Maybe notify your executor(s) where your updated will is stored. You might also consider giving them a copy and checking that they're OK with distributing your estate according to your wishes.  If they do have a problem it's far better to find out now rather than when their services are called into action.

Malthusian

jaytee28 said:

Recent events have made me realize I must write a new will. My question is, do I need to contact the solicitors to get them to destroy the will?   I have moved address twice since then so would I have problems proving that it's me?   

I can't see why, standard proof of ID (passport, driving licence etc) should be sufficient. If the solicitor insists on taking your instruciton face-to-face, ask if this can be done via video call if it's not convenient to visit the office. As others have said, when the new Will is completed you should destroy the old one to ensure there is no confusion. Or if intestacy matches your wishes more closely than the old Will, do it now (and then write a new Will while intestacy serves as a second-best stopgap solution).

You don't specify what "recent events" were, but Wills are invalidated on marriage (unless made "in contemplation of marriage" when the wedding is imminent). On divorce they remain valid but are carried out as if the ex is dead.

Dox

Malthusian said:

jaytee28 said:

Recent events have made me realize I must write a new will. My question is, do I need to contact the solicitors to get them to destroy the will?   I have moved address twice since then so would I have problems proving that it's me?   

I can't see why, standard proof of ID (passport, driving licence etc) should be sufficient. If the solicitor insists on taking your instruciton face-to-face, ask if this can be done via video call if it's not convenient to visit the office. 

Absolutely no need for instructions to be given face to face.

sheramber

When my husband died last year we just phoned the solicitor and asked them to send us  his will. 
It was made in 1992 and had our old address from  then on it. 
It was emailed to us.

Gers

When I changed my will I wrote to the previous law company to destroy the previous one.  I had moved from England to Scotland by that time.  I think (think) that once they were happy with my ID that they sent it to me rather than destroy it themselves.