If you want to ensure your loved ones are taken care of and that your belongings are distributed according to your wishes after you pass away, then it clearly makes sense to leave a will.

However, situations change: you may, for example, fall out with an intended beneficiary and wish to remove them from your will. Shana Broaders, a private client law solicitor at WBW Solicitors in Newton Abbot explains how you can go about this.

English law allows you to leave your estate to whoever you please, and to leave them out or remove them if you have a change of heart.

However, under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975, some people have a legal right to seek provision from your estate after you die if they feel they have not been adequately provided for. These include:

• your husband, wife or civil partner;
• your offspring or anyone who has been raised as your child (for example, a foster child or stepchild);
• anyone you were formerly married to or in a civil partnership with (as long as they have not married again or entered a new civil partnership);
• anyone who was living with you for the two years prior to your death;
• someone who was dependent on you financially before you pass away.

If you do want to remove someone from your will, it is possible to do this via a codicil – a legally binding supplement to an existing will that makes some amendments but leaves the rest of the will intact. However, codicils can get lost or make the will over-complicated and thus more open to challenge, so your best option is to start afresh and get a completely new will drawn up.

To minimise the risk of the will being challenged by the excluded beneficiary, use an experienced private client solicitor to draw it up, who will ensure the will is clear, legal and unambiguous.

You could leave the person you want to exclude a token gift, such as a small amount of cash, to show they were not forgotten.  Your private client solicitor may include a statement in your will that any gift will be forfeited if a beneficiary seeks to challenge the will.

Another option is to lodge a witness statement alongside your will. This allows you to explain the decisions you have made in drawing up your will, including your reasons for disinheriting the excluded beneficiary.

A final safeguard against a potential challenge to your will is to ask a doctor or other medical professional to write a statement confirming that you are ‘of sound mind’ before the will is drawn up. You could also ask the medical professional to be a witness to the signing of your will as an additional safeguard.

For more information on removing someone from your will, or any other private client issue, contact Shana Broaders at WBW Solicitors in Newton Abbot on 01626 202394 or email shanabroaders@wbw.co.uk.

WBW Solicitors has offices in Axminster, Bovey Tracey, Brixham, Chard, Exeter, Exmouth, Honiton, Launceston, Newton Abbot, Paignton, Seaton, Sidmouth, and Torquay.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.