On 16th May 2025, the Law Commission released their final report on Modernising Wills Law. The report, alongside a draft bill, have been presented to Parliament for review, and the Government have released an initial response, welcoming the report and its detailed consideration.
The law around wills in England and Wales has remained largely the same since the Wills Act was passed in 1837, and this report is the largest review of the law since then.
The report itself made 31 recommendations to legislation around wills, including legal recognition of electronic wills and implementation of safeguards for vulnerable people. Family lawyers, however, have been most interested in the recommendation to change the law that marriage automatically nullifies a will.
Background to the law
The Wills Act 1837 stated that a will is automatically revoked if a person gets married or forms a civil partnership. The only exception is if the person drawing up their will knew they would be shortly married or in a civil partnership and this is clear from the drafting of the will.
By getting married, your spouse automatically becomes your next of kin, and they will inherit your estate if you die.
If you have a pre-existing will, leaving money and assets to other family or friends, getting married revokes all these wishes, and it is essentially as though you have no will. Everything would pass to your spouse automatically unless you have another will drawn up.
Why does it matter?
- Lack of education – it is not generally known or understood that marriage revokes a pre-existing will which can mean if a person dies, their wishes may not be adhered to as their will no longer legally stands
- Vehicle for abuse – this law means vulnerable people can be convinced into a marriage where the perpetrator of abuse will take advantage of the fact that their will, potentially leaving their estate elsewhere, is nullified
Scenario:
A divorced woman has her will rewritten after divorce, leaving her estate to her three children from the marriage. She meets a new partner and moves in with him. Soon after, they marry but she does not update her will. The woman passes away suddenly, and her estate passes directly to her husband. He can respect her wishes and divide it between her children himself, or he can keep everything as legally it is his. Her children receive nothing. They could take the matter to court, but this is an extensive, emotionally and financially traumatic process.
What does the Law Commission’s report recommend?
The Law Commission has recommended both in its report, and the draft Bill, that the law that automatically revokes a will upon marriage be abolished. This ties in with the Government’s ongoing drive to prevent predatory marriages and protect victims from domestic abuse.
Laws for unmarried partners
One area that the Law Commission has not made recommendations on is that of unmarried partners. The law does not protect cohabitees in the same way it does for married couples and there is no such thing as a common law marriage. Cohabiting partners do not have any rights to inheritance if their partner dies, regardless of the time spent living together or whether they have children. If an unmarried partner has no will, their estate will either pass to their children, or other next of kin.
It is hugely important, therefore, that should you want to leave your estate to your partner, you have a will drawn up clarifying this and that it is legally approved.
It is hoped that the laws for cohabiting couples will be progressed under the Labour Government. However, currently there are very few protections for cohabitees.
Next steps
The Government has issued an initial response to the Law Commission’s report. However, a full response is awaited once the report has been given full consideration.
Important reminders:
- Marriage nullifies a will – if you have a will in place leaving your money to children, family, or a charity, you will need to update your will if you marry or enter a civil partnership
- Divorce changes the legal provisions of a will – if you divorce and your spouse is a beneficiary of your will, it is essentially as though they have died and they will not inherit anything. If you wish to leave your ex-spouse inheritance, you will need to update your will
- Cohabiting partners will not inherit from their partner unless there is a will in place – any estate will pass directly to next of kin
Useful Links
Unmarried partners’ rights after death
