Does Marriage Cancel Your Existing Will? What UK Couples Need to Know in 2025

You’ve planned the venue, sorted the caterers, and probably spent far too long arguing about table plans. But there’s one thing about your wedding that almost nobody thinks about until it’s too late:

Getting married automatically cancels your will.

Not “might cancel” or “could affect”. It wipes it completely—even if you made it last month, even if your partner is named in it, even if a solicitor drafted it for you.

Most people find this out years later, often when it’s become a problem. Some never find out at all, which is worse.

If you’re getting married, recently married, or helping someone who is, this is what you need to know about wills, marriage, and why England and Wales have this bizarre legal rule that catches thousands of people out every year.

Does getting married really cancel your will in the UK?

Yes. In England and Wales, marriage automatically revokes any existing will unless that will was specifically made “in contemplation of marriage.”

That’s not legal jargon—it’s the actual test. If your will doesn’t explicitly state it was written in anticipation of your upcoming marriage to a named person, it becomes invalid the moment you say “I do.”

Doesn’t matter how recent it is. Doesn’t matter how carefully it was written. If you die married without making a new will, the law treats you as though you never had one.

(Scotland has different rules, but this applies across England and Wales.)

What happens if you die after getting married without a new will?

When your will is cancelled by marriage and you don’t replace it, your estate gets distributed according to intestacy rules—the government’s one-size-fits-all plan that almost never reflects what people actually want.

Here’s how it plays out in practice.

If you have children

Your spouse doesn’t automatically inherit everything. Under intestacy rules, they get the first £322,000 of your estate plus half of anything above that. Your children get the other half.

For most families, this is a complete shock. People assume marriage means their spouse inherits the lot. It doesn’t.

In practical terms, this often means your children suddenly own part of your home. They have a legal interest in it. If your spouse wants to sell or remortgage later, it gets complicated. If your children are under 18, trustees need to be appointed. If they’re adults, they can legally force a sale to access their inheritance.

Most married couples would never choose this arrangement—but without a will, it’s what happens.

If you don’t have children

Your spouse usually inherits everything, which sounds fine until you consider:

• What if you own property as tenants in common? Your share doesn’t automatically pass to them.
• What if you have children from a previous relationship you intended to provide for?
• What if you wanted to leave something to siblings, parents, or friends?

Without a will, none of those intentions matter. The intestacy rules make the decisions, not you.

If you own a home

This is where marriage and intestacy combine to create situations that would horrify most couples.

If you own property—whether jointly or alone—the way it’s inherited depends entirely on how it’s legally held and whether you have a will. Marriage doesn’t automatically sort this out. It often makes it worse.

If you own as tenants in common, your share of the property doesn’t automatically pass to your spouse under intestacy. If there’s a mortgage, whoever inherits may also inherit debt they can’t afford. If you intended children from a previous relationship to inherit eventually, intestacy rules might block that entirely.

For homeowners, getting married without updating your will is one of the riskiest legal oversights you can make.

What is a “will made in contemplation of marriage”?

There’s an exception to the automatic cancellation rule, but it’s narrower than most people realise.

A will made “in contemplation of marriage” is one that explicitly states it was written in anticipation of a specific upcoming marriage. If it’s worded correctly, it survives the wedding and remains valid.

The problem? Most people either:

• Don’t have this wording included
• Think they do, but don’t (it needs to be very specific)
• Made the will using a DIY kit that missed it entirely

If you’re not 100% certain your will was drafted in contemplation of marriage—and to the right person—assume it was cancelled when you married.

Do prenups or joint ownership mean you don’t need a will?

No. This is one of the most common and dangerous misconceptions.

A prenup deals with what happens if you divorce, not if you die. It’s an entirely different legal document with an entirely different purpose. It does not replace a will.

Joint ownership can help in some cases—if you own property as joint tenants, the surviving owner automatically inherits the whole property regardless of intestacy rules. But even then:

• It doesn’t cover anything else you own
• It doesn’t protect children from previous relationships
• It doesn’t appoint guardians if you have young children
• It doesn’t cover what happens if both of you die together

You still need a will. Joint ownership is not a substitute.

When should you make or update your will if you’re getting married?

The short answer: before the wedding or immediately after.

If you already have a will, assume it’ll be cancelled the moment you marry. Make a new one either shortly before the wedding (specifically in contemplation of marriage) or straight after.

Don’t leave a gap. Even a few weeks or months without a valid will can be catastrophic if something happens. Car accidents, sudden illness, and tragedies don’t wait for you to “get round to it.”

Most solicitors can draft a straightforward will within days. If you’re getting married, this should be on your to-do list alongside sorting the photographer.

Second marriages and blended families: where it goes wrong most often

If this is your second marriage, or if either of you has children from previous relationships, getting this wrong can be devastating.

Without a properly updated will:

• Stepchildren may inherit nothing
• Your own children from a previous relationship can be unintentionally excluded
• Your spouse could inherit everything, cutting out children you intended to provide for
• Disputes erupt between your new spouse and adult children, tearing families apart

Intestacy rules don’t understand blended families. They were written decades ago for simple nuclear family structures. If your situation is more complex—and most second marriages are—you need a will that reflects it.

What should you include in a will when you get married?

A solid will for someone getting married usually covers:

Who inherits your estate. Not just “my spouse”—what happens if they die before you, or at the same time as you?

What happens to your home. Do they inherit it outright? Can they live there but not sell it? What if you own it as tenants in common?

Guardianship for children. If you both die, who looks after them? This doesn’t happen automatically—you need to appoint guardians in writing.

Executors. Who’s going to actually handle your estate? Make sure they’re capable and willing.

Children from previous relationships. How are they provided for? Can you protect their inheritance while also looking after your spouse?

What happens to everything else. Savings, investments, personal items, family heirlooms—who gets what?

This isn’t about being morbid. It’s about making sure the people you love are actually protected.

Common mistakes couples make after getting married

“We’ll sort the will out later.”
Later becomes next year. Next year becomes five years. Then something happens, and there’s no will.

“My spouse automatically gets everything.”
Not if you have children. Not if you own property as tenants in common. Not if intestacy rules apply.

“Our old will still counts—we mentioned each other in it.”
Doesn’t matter. Marriage cancels it unless it was explicitly made in contemplation of marriage.

“We own the house together, so it’s sorted.”
Only if you own as joint tenants. And even then, that doesn’t cover the rest of your estate.

These assumptions are precisely what intestacy rules rely on. And they produce outcomes that almost nobody would choose if they actually understood what was happening.

Does getting married cancel a cohabitation agreement?

No—a cohabitation agreement is a separate contract and isn’t automatically cancelled by marriage. However, marriage changes your legal status so dramatically that the agreement may no longer reflect your actual situation or intentions.

You should review it (and replace it with a will if you haven’t already) as soon as you marry.

What if you’re engaged but not married yet?

If you’re engaged, your current will is still valid—for now. But if you want it to survive your wedding, you need to either:

1. Have it explicitly state it’s made in contemplation of marriage to your named fiancé(e), or
2. Plan to make a new will immediately after the wedding

Most solicitors recommend option 2, because it’s clearer and avoids any ambiguity about whether the wording was specific enough.

What if you separate but don’t divorce?

If your marriage breaks down but you don’t actually divorce, your will remains valid (assuming you made one after marriage). However, you’ll almost certainly want to change it—you probably don’t want your estranged spouse inheriting everything if something happens to you.

You can update your will at any time. Separation alone doesn’t revoke it.

Divorce, on the other hand, does affect your will—it’s treated as though your ex-spouse died before you, so they’re removed from the will. But that’s a topic for another day.

The bottom line: marriage is a legal reset

Marriage isn’t just a personal commitment—it’s a legal one. In England and Wales, it effectively wipes the slate clean when it comes to your will.

That’s not a bug in the system. It’s deliberate. The law assumes that when you marry, your circumstances and wishes change, so it forces you to make a new will that reflects your new situation.

The problem is, almost nobody knows this rule exists.

So they get married, assume everything’s fine, and years later—sometimes decades later—their family discovers the will they thought existed was actually cancelled on their wedding day.

Don’t let that be you.

If you’ve recently married, or you’re planning to, updating your will isn’t something to add to the bottom of your to-do list. It’s one of the most important legal protections you can put in place.

Your spouse deserves to be protected. Your children deserve clarity. Your home and savings deserve to go to the people you actually care about.

A will makes sure that happens.

Ready to create or update your will after getting married? We can help you get it sorted quickly and properly.