Does Marriage Revoke a Will?
Under current law it does — and divorce works the other way round. Here’s what marriage, divorce and remarriage actually do to your Will, in plain English.
Or call us on 01865 507174
The common misconception
Most people assume divorce cancels a Will and marriage doesn’t.
It’s the other way round. Getting married usually cancels the Will you already have. Getting divorced usually doesn’t.
Both are good reasons to look at your Will again — but for very different reasons, and the marriage one catches far more people out.
Does getting married cancel your Will?
Under the law as it stands, getting married or entering a civil partnership automatically cancels any Will you have already made. It happens on the day you marry. It doesn’t matter how recently the Will was written, how carefully it was drafted, or how clear your wishes were.
Unless you make a new Will afterwards, you are treated as having died without one. Your estate is then divided by a fixed legal formula — the intestacy rules — rather than by anything you chose. Your husband, wife or civil partner takes your personal possessions, the first £322,000, and half of whatever is left; your children share the other half. Stepchildren, unmarried partners from before, godchildren and charities receive nothing.
Who it catches out most
The rule applies to everyone, but three situations turn it into a real problem.
Marrying after years together
You’ve built a life and a home as a couple. The wedding cancels the Will that already reflected it.
Second marriages
Children from a first family are meant to be provided for — and intestacy may not reach them at all.
Later-life marriages
The estate is already substantial, and the sums involved make an unintended outcome expensive.
There is one way round it
A Will can be written in contemplation of a specific marriage — naming the person you’re going to marry and stating that the Will should survive the wedding. If you’re already engaged, that’s usually the tidiest answer: one Will, written now, still valid the morning after. The wording has to be right, which is where we come in.
Does divorce revoke your Will?
Divorce does not cancel your Will. The Will stays valid. What changes is how your former spouse is treated within it: from the date of the final order — once called the decree absolute — the law reads the Will as though they had died before you.
So any gift to them fails, and their appointment as your executor falls away. Everything else in the Will stands, unchanged.
That sounds tidy, and often it isn’t. Three things go wrong.
The gift goes nowhere
If your former spouse was your main beneficiary and no substitute was named, that share can fall into intestacy — the outcome you divorced to avoid.
Nobody is left to act
If they were your only executor, there may be no one appointed to deal with your estate.
Your Will still stands
A Will written around a marriage that has ended rarely reflects what you’d choose today — and the rest of it still stands.
The change only takes effect on the final order — not when you separate, and not on the conditional order.
Even after divorce, a former spouse can sometimes still claim against your estate — usually where the finances were never formally settled. That’s one for your family solicitor, but worth knowing when you decide what your new Will should say.
What if you remarry?
Remarrying triggers the marriage rule all over again. The new marriage cancels whatever Will you had — including one you made carefully after your divorce.
It also raises a second problem. If everything passes to your new husband or wife, it becomes theirs to leave as they choose. In time it may pass to their children rather than yours. This is sometimes called sideways disinheritance, and it’s the most common worry people bring us when a second marriage involves children on both sides.
There is a well-established way to deal with it, using your property.
Separated, but not yet divorced
If you have separated but the divorce isn’t final, nothing has changed. In law your husband or wife is still your spouse — for your Will, and for the intestacy rules if you don’t have one. They would still inherit.
For many people this is precisely the moment they’d want things to be different, and there’s no need to wait. You can make a new Will straight away, whatever stage the divorce has reached.
The divorce itself — the financial settlement, the property, arrangements for children — is work for a family solicitor, not something we advise on. If you don’t have one, we can point you to one. Our side is the Will and the estate planning.
And your Lasting Power of Attorney?
Marriage has no effect on a Lasting Power of Attorney. Divorce does.
When your marriage or civil partnership legally ends, your former spouse’s appointment as your attorney ends with it — unless the LPA specifically says otherwise. If they were your only attorney and no replacement was named, you may be left with an LPA that no longer works. That tends to be discovered at the point someone needs to use it. Worth checking at the same time as your Will.
The law may be changing — but it hasn't yet
In May 2025 the Law Commission published Modernising Wills Law, with a draft Bill to replace the Wills Act 1837. One of its recommendations is to abolish the rule that marriage cancels a Will — partly to address predatory marriages, where someone marries a vulnerable person knowing it wipes out their existing Will.
The Government welcomed the report and was due to give its full response by 16 May 2026. That response has not been published, and no Bill has been introduced to Parliament.
So the current rule still applies. If you marry today, your existing Will is cancelled today. If the law does change, it would be expected to apply going forward rather than to marriages that have already happened — but until it is passed, nothing about your position has changed.
Last checked: August 2026.
When to review your Will
Any of these is a good moment to check that your Will still says what you want it to.
Getting engaged
a Will made in contemplation of your marriage survives the wedding rather than being cancelled by it.
Divorce or dissolution finalised
gifts to your former spouse fail, but the rest of the Will stands as written.
Marrying or entering a civil partnership
your existing Will is cancelled on the day, so a new one is needed.
Remarrying
the marriage rule applies again, and a new spouse may inherit ahead of your children.
Separating
nothing changes automatically — in law you are still married.
A growing family
children, grandchildren or stepchildren — and stepchildren inherit nothing unless your Will says so.
Ready to make or update your Will?
We write straightforward, fixed-fee Wills — at your kitchen table, online, or urgently if time is short. You’ll know the cost before anything begins, and nobody will push you towards something you don’t need.
Your Will is written by an accredited member of the Society of Will Writers, working to their Code of Practice and holding full professional indemnity insurance. We’re professional Will writers rather than solicitors — the same legally sound documents, usually at a lower fixed fee.
Marriage, divorce and Wills — common questions
Not necessarily. A Will can be written now in contemplation of your marriage, naming your husband- or wife-to-be, so that it survives the wedding rather than being cancelled by it. If you’d rather wait, that’s fine too — just don’t leave it long afterwards.
Yes, if the marriage is legally recognised here. Where the ceremony takes place makes no difference to the effect on your Will.
It does. Forming a civil partnership cancels an existing Will in exactly the same way marriage does, and ending one has the same effect as divorce.
Your husband or wife is still treated as your spouse. If you have a Will leaving them everything, that still stands. If you have no Will, they would still inherit under the intestacy rules. A new Will can change this.
Not always. If you own a property as joint tenants, it passes automatically to the other owner on your death, whatever your Will says. It’s one of the first things we check — and it’s central to Protecting Your Home.
Take the guide with you
Separation, Divorce & Your Estate — a plain-English guide to what separation and divorce mean for your Will, your property and your estate. Free to download, with no email address needed.
Ready to take the first step?
Not sure where to begin? That’s exactly what we’re here for. Tell us a little about your situation and we’ll point you the right way — no pressure, no obligation.