What does divorce change in a will automatically?
Unlike marriage, divorce does not revoke a will. Instead, once a marriage or civil partnership is legally ended, the law treats your ex-spouse as if they had died on that date. Two things lapse automatically:
- Gifts to your ex-spouse — anything left to them fails and passes to whoever is next in line under the will.
- Their appointment as executor — if you named them to administer your estate, that appointment is cancelled.
What in a will stays the same after divorce?
Every other clause — gifts to children, family, friends and charities, guardian appointments, funeral wishes, the residue — remains valid and enforceable. This catches people out in both directions: some assume the whole will is dead and do nothing, while others assume nothing changed and leave in place a document that no longer reflects their life.
Should you still make a new will after divorce?
Even after the automatic tidy-up, what remains is rarely what you would choose fresh:
- If your ex was your only executor, the job falls to a substitute — or, if you never named one, to the courts. See what an executor does and why substitutes matter.
- Lapsed gifts may land in the residue, or pass to people you only included to please your ex.
- Guardianship clauses, trustees and substitute beneficiaries often assume a family structure that no longer exists.
- A new partner you now want to provide for inherits nothing unless you say so — unmarried partners have no automatic rights at all.
What is the cleanest fix after divorce?
A new will revokes the old one completely and lets you rebuild around your life as it is now. Our guide to changing your will covers the mechanics. With SwiftWill, updates are free for life, so you can make your will in about 15 minutes today and adjust it again whenever things change — one-time £35, no subscriptions.