There are a number of aspects of your Wills that you should keep under review from time to time.
Your executors are the people you appoint to administer your estate. They gather valuations, submit forms and promise to deal with your estate correctly, including the final distribution to your beneficiaries.
When your children are young, you are likely to appoint as executors, each other, then some combination of your brothers and sisters, or perhaps a professional company if there’s a need.
Although my advice is to review your Wills every year or so, and certainly when significant changes happen in your life, I try to emphasise that a really sensible time to review things, is when your children turn eighteen.
When they’re adult, they can be promoted as executors, and on the basis that they are also your beneficiaries, they may also be the people most incentivised to sort things out.
At the time your eldest child reaches eighteen years, it suits some families to promote that child as guardian, for the younger children, on the basis that they have had the opportunity to observe that child mature, and such an arrangement is potentially the least disruptive to a family where children have all reached teens.
All my clients are encouraged to consider a “wipe out” clause. That is, if your obvious choices (say each other and your children equally) are all wiped out in a common accident, who would then benefit. It’s often a combination of siblings, and sometimes includes a charity.
Sadly, people do fall out, and occasionally, people change their minds about the charities they want to support, both in their lifetimes, and correspondingly, on death.
It makes sense to keep such provisions under review from time to time.
If you want to chat through whether some changes warrant new Wills or not, please feel free to pick up the phone to me at my office on 01727 840 240 or drop me a line at Jane@jcwillsandprobate.co.uk as I’d be happy to chat through ideas with you.