Is your will out of date? The life changes that mean it no longer fits

If your life has changed since you signed, your will probably needs a look

Your will likely needs updating if you have married, divorced, had or adopted a child, lost someone named in it, moved to Texas from another state, bought or sold significant property, started a business, or simply cannot remember what it says. A will speaks as of the day you die, using words chosen years earlier, so it can be legally valid and still leave property to the wrong person or name an executor who can no longer serve.

Reviewing older wills is a large part of my practice. Families are usually surprised by how much has drifted, and relieved by how manageable the fix is. This guide walks through the changes that matter, what Texas law does with some of them on its own, and how to review your documents yourself before calling anyone. It is general information, not advice about your will.

Changes in the family

Family changes are the most common reason a will stops fitting. Each one can change who should inherit, who should raise your children, and who should be in charge of the estate.

The roles in a will deserve as much attention as the gifts. The sister you named as guardian when your children were babies may now live across the country or have health problems of her own. The friend you chose as executor may have moved away or become difficult to reach. A child who was twelve when you signed may now be a capable adult who could serve, or may be someone who should receive an inheritance in trust rather than outright.

• Marriage or remarriage, especially when either spouse has children from before
• Divorce or separation
• The birth or adoption of a child or grandchild
• The death of a spouse, an heir, an executor or a guardian named in the will
• A child who has grown up and can now serve as executor, or who should not
• An heir who has developed special needs, a substance problem or creditor trouble

What Texas law does on its own after a divorce

Texas does not leave a former spouse in charge of everything just because no one updated the will. Under Texas Estates Code Section 123.001, when a marriage ends in divorce or annulment after a will is signed, the will is generally read as if the former spouse had died before the divorce, including any appointment of the former spouse as executor or trustee. The same treatment extends to the former spouse's relatives who are not related to you, unless the will, a court order or the divorce property agreement says otherwise.

That is a safety net, not a plan. It removes the former spouse but does not say who should take their place, and the result may not match what you would choose today. It also does not fix beneficiary forms on accounts outside the will, which follow their own rules. TexasLawHelp.org notes that a divorce ends a medical power of attorney naming the former spouse as agent, but you still need to name someone new. In my experience, the months after a divorce are exactly when a new will and new powers of attorney matter most.

Changes in what you own

A will written when you rented an apartment and had a single savings account was not written for a house, a retirement account, rental property or a business. Property changes do not usually invalidate a will, but they can make it misfire. A specific gift of an item you no longer own may simply fail. A business may need instructions about who runs it. Real estate in another state may need its own planning.

Also look at how new assets are titled. A house bought with a transfer on death deed, an account with a payable-on-death designation, or a retirement plan with a named beneficiary will pass outside the will entirely. If the will and those designations point in different directions, the designation usually wins, which can leave one child with far more than you intended.

• Buying or selling a home or rental property
• Starting, buying or selling a business
• Opening retirement or investment accounts
• Receiving an inheritance you want to keep separate
• Acquiring property outside Texas

Moving to Texas with a will from another state

Under Texas Estates Code Section 251.053, a written will signed in compliance with the law of the state where it was signed, or where you lived, generally does not have to meet the Texas signing and witnessing rules. So the will is usually still valid. It may not be written with Texas in mind. Texas is a community-property state, which changes what a married person owns and can leave by will. A will from a common-law state may assume ownership rules that do not apply here. It may also lack language that makes probate simpler in Texas, such as naming an independent executor.

If you moved to the Dallas area from another state and have not looked at your will since, I would put a review near the top of your list. The same goes for powers of attorney and medical directives signed elsewhere; TexasLawHelp.org notes, for example, that a medical power of attorney from another state is valid here only to the extent Texas law allows.

An evening review you can do at the kitchen table

Before calling an attorney, take out your will and read it from start to finish with a pen. You are not checking legal language, just whether the people and property in it still match your life. Make notes in the margins of a copy, not on the original.

• Is everyone named still living, and do you still want them in that role?
• Does the executor still live nearby and have the capacity to serve?
• If you have minor children, is the guardian still the right choice?
• Are gifts to children held in trust until a sensible age?
• Does the will mention property you no longer own?
• Do your beneficiary forms match what the will says?
• Where is the signed original, and does your executor know?

The papers around the will age too

When people think about updating, they think about the will. In my experience, the documents around it drift just as often and cause just as much trouble. A durable power of attorney naming someone who has since died or moved away leaves no one ready to pay your bills if you become ill. A medical power of attorney naming a former spouse ends with the divorce, leaving a gap. A beneficiary form on a retirement account may still name a parent, or the estate itself, which can push the account into probate.

So a real review covers the whole set: the will, any trust, the financial and medical powers of attorney, the directive to physicians, every beneficiary form, and the way your house and accounts are titled. That sounds like a lot, but most families can gather it in an afternoon, and seeing it side by side is the fastest way to find the contradictions.

Do not mark up the original

This is the mistake that worries me most. People cross out a name, write in a new one, initial it and assume the change counts. TexasLawHelp.org warns that changes made to a will after it is signed are not valid, and that to change anything you start over with a new document. Handwritten edits can create confusion about what you meant, and in the worst case invite a dispute.

The right way to change a will is a new will that revokes the old one, or in limited cases a formal amendment called a codicil that is signed with the same formalities. I usually recommend a new will, because it gives the family one clean document to work from.

How often to revisit your documents

There is no legal schedule. In my experience, a good habit is to reread your will and beneficiary forms every few years and immediately after any of the life changes above. Many people tie it to something they already do every year, like gathering tax documents. Others use a milestone, such as a child turning 18, a retirement or the sale of the family home, as the prompt to sit down with the documents again.

If your will is very old, or you are not sure whether you have one, it helps to know what Texas does when there is no valid will at all. I explain that in what happens to a Texas family's house, accounts and children if there is no will. And if you have been told an updated will "avoids probate," read five things Texas families believe about wills that are not true before you rely on it.

When you call me about an older will

Bring the will, any codicils, your powers of attorney and medical directives, recent beneficiary statements, and a note of what has changed since you signed. I read the documents, ask about your family and property today, and tell you plainly whether a small change will do or whether a new will makes more sense, and what it will cost.

I meet with people in Dallas and the northern and eastern suburbs by phone or at my office in Lake Highlands. Updates are often quicker than people expect, because many of the decisions were already made the first time. For advice on your own documents, talk to a licensed Texas attorney who has read them.

Questions people ask me