Most people treat a will as a set-and-forget document. Sign it, file it, done. But a will describes your life at the moment you signed it, and life doesn't stay still. Here are five events that should send you back to review it, including one that may have cancelled your will without you knowing.

1. You got married (this one can cancel your will)

Under the Wills Act 2007, marriage or civil union revokes an existing will unless the will was made "in contemplation of" that marriage. Plenty of people are walking around with a will they believe is valid but that was quietly revoked on their wedding day. If you married after signing your will, treat it as urgent.

2. You separated or divorced

The reverse surprise: separation alone does not revoke your will. Until a dissolution order is made, an ex-partner named in your will can still inherit and still act as your executor. Once the divorce is formalised, the law treats your former spouse as having died before you for most purposes in the will, which creates its own gaps. Either way, a review is needed the moment you separate, not when the paperwork ends.

3. You had children (or grandchildren arrived)

A new child means two questions your current will may not answer: does the estate plan provide for them, and who would raise them? Your will can appoint a testamentary guardian. Without that, the decision can end up with the Family Court. Blended families need particular care; stepchildren aren't automatically provided for.

4. You bought property or set up a trust

Buying a home, an investment property, or a business changes what your estate actually is. If assets moved into a trust, your will may now deal with property you no longer personally own, and the two documents need to work together rather than against each other.

5. Your executor or a beneficiary died (or you lost touch)

An executor who has died, moved overseas, or fallen out of your life leaves your estate without a driver. The same review applies when a beneficiary dies or when relationships change. A quick check every few years catches these quietly accumulating problems.

The five-minute test

Read your will tonight. If anyone named in it has died, married, separated, or been born since you signed it, or if you have, it's time. A review is usually a short appointment, and often no changes are needed. What you're buying is certainty.

Not sure your will still says what you want? Get in touch - we're local to East Auckland and a review is quicker than you'd think. And if you don't have a will at all, start with our article: What happens if I die without a will in New Zealand.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

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