Changing a WILL – is it allowed?

Changing a WILL – bursting the myths

Is changing a WILL allowed? This is a very common question I’m asked. And before I answer it, let me narrate a short story.

Once upon a time, there lived an old man with his family in a small town. He was kind, rich and successful. He had hearing issues and his family members were aware of it. He had three children, daughter in laws, grandchildren and he loved them all.

One day, he discovered about a new innovation in hearing aid services offered by a particular ENT Doctor. He contacted the doctor immediately and went to see him. The doctor examined the old man and offered to provide him with the new hearing aid kit that would help him and the old man took it, immediately.

Three months later he visited the same doctor again. The doctor greeted him and asked him if everything was ok. To this, the old man smiled and replied – “I never told my family members I could hear. I mingled with them and pretended I could not hear. Life went on, as usual except – I changed my WILL three times just in the last month!”

Changing a WILL – the process

Changing a Will is allowed – as many times as you want. If you want to make small changes in the Will, then you can do a Codicil, but if you want to make significant changes like altering the beneficiaries and so on, then it is better to redraft the Will entirely.

As life moves on, you will keep adding assets and building on your fortune. You can add specific clauses in your Will that will cover future assets and their distribution. We all know that the one constant thing about Life is that it changes everyday. Hence it is quite likely that you will need to rethink and change your WILL every now and then.

At Terentia, my team and I normally advise our clients to update their wills every 5 years when they are younger – 30s to 50s. We strongly advise peoople over 50 years of age to redraft their WILL every 3 years.