Updated 23 October 2026
Wills - Potential Problem #25: Not Reviewing Regularly
A will can remain legally valid for decades while no longer producing the result you want. A new grandchild, a separation or the sale of a property can change who should benefit and what is available to leave them. Regular review helps identify those changes while you can still give instructions and make informed decisions.
The question is whether your existing will works for your family and finances today. Its age is one warning sign, but a will signed recently can also need attention after a significant event. Courts apply the law and the document; they do not simply redistribute an estate according to what relatives believe would now be fair.
1. Review regularly and treat a decade as the outer limit
Aim to have your will professionally reviewed and, where necessary, updated at least once each decade. That is an outer limit for this planning recommendation, not a reason to wait ten years. NSW Government guidance recommends a review every five years and whenever a significant event changes your circumstances.
A review does not automatically require a new document. It may confirm that the existing wording still works. Legal Aid NSW explains that a will does not expire merely through age. Set a review reminder, and bring it forward whenever relationships, beneficiaries, health or financial arrangements change.
2. Welcome new grandchildren into the planning conversation
The birth or adoption of a grandchild is an opportunity to reconsider your wishes. Do you want that grandchild to receive a direct gift, or only inherit if their parent dies before you? Those are different instructions. A will naming two existing grandchildren may not include a third born later, depending on its wording.
Discuss whether a gift should cover grandchildren as a group, which grandchildren qualify, and when that group is determined. If a beneficiary is young, consider who will manage the inheritance, the age for receiving it and whether funds may be used earlier for education or support. A fixed payment to every grandchild also needs reviewing as the family grows.
Check substitute beneficiaries if a child or grandchild dies before you. Statutory rules can preserve some gifts to descendants, but they have conditions and can be affected by the will. Clear substitute and ultimate beneficiary clauses help address the different possibilities. Becoming a grandparent does not, by itself, mean every grandchild automatically inherits under your existing will.
3. Review before marriage and again after separation or divorce
Marriage generally revokes an earlier will under section 12 of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW), subject to exceptions. These include a will made in contemplation of the marriage; certain gifts to, and appointments of, the person to whom you are married at death can also survive. Have the wording checked before the wedding. Simply assuming an old will remains effective can leave some or all of your estate governed by intestacy rules.
Separation does not have the same effect as divorce. An estranged spouse can remain a beneficiary or executor under an unchanged will. Review promptly when you separate rather than waiting for a property settlement or final divorce order. The end of a de facto relationship also calls for an express review.
Under section 13, divorce generally revokes gifts to a former spouse and their appointment as executor, trustee or guardian, subject to contrary intention and statutory exceptions. It does not automatically cancel the entire will. NSW Trustee and Guardian explains that some trustee appointments for children can remain. Check who takes over and who receives any affected gift.
4. Changing finances can alter the result without changing a word
Financial reviews should cover what you own, what you owe and how each asset is held. Purchasing property, receiving an inheritance, selling a business, retirement, substantial borrowing or funding aged care can change the estate considerably. A list of headline asset values will not reveal how much is actually available for beneficiaries.
Consider this hypothetical example. You leave a particular property to one child and your remaining estate to another, intending roughly equal benefits. Years later, the property has increased significantly in value while savings have been spent. The same wording may now produce a very unequal outcome. If the property is sold, the specific gift may fail, subject to its wording and applicable exceptions.
A fixed cash gift can lose purchasing power through inflation or absorb a much larger share of a reduced estate. Percentage gifts adjust with the pool, but percentages of the residue do not automatically equalise benefits received through separate specific gifts. Ask your solicitor to explain the likely distribution using current values, debts and the actual ownership documents.
Check loans to children, guarantees and mortgages too. Decide whether a family loan remains repayable, is forgiven or should affect the recipient’s inheritance, and document the arrangement properly. Legal Aid NSW’s distribution guidance explains that estate debts must be dealt with before distributing assets to beneficiaries.
5. Check which assets the will can control
Buying an asset does not necessarily require naming it individually in a new will: an effective residuary clause may already cover it. However, ownership matters. Joint tenancy property generally passes by survivorship, while a deceased tenant in common’s share generally enters the estate. Company property belongs to the company; personally owned shares are different.
Review superannuation nominations separately. ASIC’s Moneysmart guidance explains that super is not automatically governed by your will. Check the fund’s nomination requirements and any expiry date. Trust deeds, insurance arrangements and overseas assets also need coordinated advice. Updating your will alone cannot reliably change every payment or succession arrangement.
6. A real NSW case shows why relationship changes need attention
In Reynolds v Bonnici (2017), the Supreme Court of NSW considered gifts to a former de facto partner under a 2010 will. The deceased had not altered the will during the three to four years after their separation. His adult daughter argued that financial arrangements made during his lifetime had already satisfied the gifts.
The Court rejected that argument. It found no property settlement agreement and declared that the gifts had not been adeemed, meaning they had not been extinguished by those transactions. At paragraph 110, the Court noted that the deceased could have revoked or altered the will but had not done so.
The decision concerned particular questions within wider proceedings. It does not establish that every financial settlement leaves a will untouched. Its practical lesson is to review estate instructions expressly when a relationship ends or financial arrangements change, rather than expecting relatives or a court to infer a replacement plan.
An executor appointed years ago may have died, become unwell, moved overseas or become unsuitable for the role. Confirm that your chosen person is willing and able to act, and name a substitute. Review trustees and guardians alongside beneficiaries. Where your children are now adults, arrangements made when they were small may need reconsideration.
The Law Society of NSW explains that changes should be made through a properly executed codicil or a new will. Avoid crossing out names or attaching an unsigned list and assuming it changes the gifts. Bring your existing will, asset and liability records, ownership documents and current beneficiary details to the appointment.
Act while you have testamentary capacity. An attorney cannot simply rewrite your will for you. Review your enduring power of attorney and enduring guardianship appointment separately, because they operate during your lifetime. Once changes are signed, arrange secure storage of the original and tell your executor where it is held.
CM Lawyers assists clients in Marrickville, Sydney’s Inner West and across NSW with will reviews and estate planning. If your will is approaching a decade old, or your family or finances have changed, contact our team to check how it would operate today. This article provides general information; individual circumstances require advice.
Key resources
NSW Government — Learn about wills: five-year reviews, major life changes and estate-planning considerations.
Legal Aid NSW — Making a will: updating a will, capacity, substitute executors and safe storage.
Succession Act 2006 NSW: sections 12 and 13 on marriage and divorce, and section 41 on certain gifts to descendants.
NSW Trustee and Guardian — Changing your relationship status: how separation, marriage and divorce can affect an existing will.
Legal Aid NSW — Distributing the estate: debts, specific gifts, the residue and property ownership.
ASIC Moneysmart — Wills and powers of attorney: reviewing superannuation nominations, trusts and related planning documents.
Reynolds v Bonnici (2017): official NSW Supreme Court judgment on an unchanged will, a former de facto partner and later financial dealings, particularly paragraphs 110–113.
Law Society of NSW — The importance of a will: choosing executors and making formal changes through a codicil or replacement will.
CM Lawyers — Wills and estates and Contact our team: assistance reviewing your will and coordinating your estate plan.
