How Often Should You Update Your Will?
Review your will every three to five years, and update it whenever a major life event happens, such as marriage, divorce, a new child, a death in the family, a big change in assets, or a move to a new state. A will that is never revisited can quietly drift out of date.
A will is not a document you sign once and forget. Your life keeps changing, and your will should keep up. The common guidance is to review it every three to five years even if nothing dramatic has happened, and to update it promptly whenever something significant does.
The periodic review matters because small changes accumulate. Tax thresholds shift, the value of your home or retirement accounts grows, an executor moves away, a named beneficiary’s circumstances change. A scheduled look every few years catches all of that before it becomes a problem. The event-driven update matters because some changes, like a divorce or a new child, can dramatically alter who should inherit.
Life Events That Should Trigger an Update
Beyond the routine review, certain events should send you straight to your will. The most important are:
- Marriage or remarriage: a spouse usually should be added, and blended-family situations need care. See estate planning for blended families.
- Divorce or separation: you will likely want to remove a former spouse as beneficiary and executor; some states revoke those provisions automatically, but do not rely on it.
- A new child or grandchild: add them as beneficiaries and, for minor children, name a guardian.
- A death of a beneficiary, executor, or guardian named in your will.
- A major change in assets: buying or selling a home, a business, or a large change in net worth.
- A move to another state, since signing rules and probate laws differ; check your state’s requirements.
- A change of heart about who should inherit or who should serve as executor or guardian.
How to Update a Will Correctly
There are two proper ways to change a will, and one tempting wrong way. For a small change, you can add a codicil, a short written amendment that must be signed and witnessed with the same formality as the original will. For bigger changes, or after several small ones, it is usually cleaner to write a new will that expressly revokes the old one. Most estate planners now favor a fresh will over a stack of codicils, because layered amendments can create confusion and contradictions.
The wrong way is to simply cross out lines or handwrite notes on your existing will. Marking up a signed will can invalidate it or trigger a dispute about your intentions. Whatever route you take, the update has to meet your state’s signing and witnessing requirements. Our guide on how to write a will covers those formalities, and DIY will vs attorney can help you decide whether to involve a lawyer.
Never edit a signed will by hand. Crossing out names or writing in margins can void the document or invite a challenge. Make changes only through a properly executed codicil or new will.
What Happens If You Don’t Update It
An out-of-date will can quietly defeat your own wishes. It might leave assets to an ex-spouse, name an executor who has died or moved away, or fail to mention a child born after it was signed. In some states an unintentionally omitted child or spouse can claim a share by default, and in others the gap leads straight to a family dispute.
The result is the same risk that people who never make a will face in part: the law, not you, fills in the blanks. To see how default rules work when a will is missing or incomplete, read what happens if you die without a will. Keeping your will current is the simplest way to make sure your actual wishes, not a default rule, control.
A Quick Review Checklist
When you sit down to review your will, run through these questions:
- Are the right people named as beneficiaries, and is anyone missing?
- Is your executor still willing, able, and appropriate, with a backup named?
- For minor children, is the guardian still the right choice?
- Do your beneficiary designations on retirement and insurance accounts match your will?
- Have your assets changed enough to affect how you want them divided?
- Have you moved states or experienced a major life event since you signed?
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should you update your will?
Review your will every three to five years and update it after any major life event, such as marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, a death in the family, a big change in assets, or a move to another state. Regular reviews keep it accurate even when nothing major has changed.
What life events require updating a will?
Marriage or divorce, a new child or grandchild, the death of a beneficiary or executor, a significant change in your finances, buying or selling major property, a move to a new state, or a change of heart about who should inherit or serve as executor or guardian.
How do you update a will?
You can add a codicil, a short signed and witnessed amendment, for small changes, or write a new will that revokes the old one for larger changes. Either way, the update must meet your state’s signing and witnessing rules to be valid. Most experts now favor a new will over multiple codicils.
Can you change a will yourself?
Yes, you can write a codicil or a new will yourself, but you cannot simply cross out or handwrite changes on the existing document, as that can invalidate it. Any change must be signed and witnessed according to your state’s requirements.
What happens if you don’t update your will?
An outdated will may leave assets to the wrong people, name an executor or guardian who is no longer appropriate, or omit new children entirely. In some cases courts apply default rules that do not match your wishes, leading to disputes or unintended outcomes.