Older Separating Couples Failing to Update Wills

An interesting subject seems to be trending at the moment, "silver separators”, this is when older couples are separating much later on in life and are failing to update their wills with their change of circumstance.

The number of people falling into this category has increased by 85% since the year 2000. This could be partly down to people living longer and therefore wanting to take advantage of their increased life expectancy with a new start, or it could be down to society's increasing acceptance of separation later in life; either way, it is causing issues for those left behind as such major life transitions are sometimes left out of wills.

It has been estimated that 25% of those aged over 50 have not updated their will for more than five years, and 10% have not updated their will for more than 10. The most astounding figure shows that 70% of over 50s have no will at all.

Such separations can give new life to those who are moving on, but without taking such changes into account in their will it can lead to an immense amount of family strife when someone passes on.

However, whilst divorce and separation are important reasons to rethink and rewrite a will later in life, other reasons include new children or grandchildren being born, or buying and selling property.

It is very important to take all the above reasons into account when considering redrafting a will, and the sooner they are recognised the better. Have you got experience of older couples separating yet failing to update their wills?