A woman made a will in 2009. Since then she has separated, had a second child, bought a house with somebody new, and lost the friend she named as executor.
The document names a partner she has not spoken to in eight years and leaves everything to one child. It is a perfectly valid will about a life that no longer exists.
Why reviews do not happen
Nobody prompts them. A will feels like a task that was completed, filed and finished. There is no annual reminder, no renewal date and no moment that forces the question.
The events that should trigger a review
Marriage, separation or divorce, a birth, a death, a significant property purchase or sale, a business change, moving abroad, or a change in the circumstances of anybody named.
The ones people never think about
An executor who has moved abroad, a guardian who is no longer suitable, a beneficiary who has died, a specific gift of something no longer owned, or a business that has been sold.
Explain what happens automatically
That certain life events can affect a will's validity depending on the jurisdiction, and that this catches people out. Anybody marrying or separating should check rather than assume.
Explain the separation trap
A separation is not a divorce, and people frequently assume a will has been overtaken by events when it has not. It is the most common and most serious version of this problem.
Explain what a small change involves
That not every update requires starting again, that some changes can be made simply and what each route costs. People postpone because they imagine the full process again.
Explain what a rewrite costs
A figure. People assume it is as expensive as the original and frequently more, and the number is usually the thing that unblocks them.
Explain the risk of amending it yourself
That marking or altering a will can cause real problems, and what to do instead. People try, and it creates exactly the dispute the will was meant to prevent.
Suggest a review interval
Every few years, and after any listed event. A stated interval gives people a prompt that nothing else in their life provides.
Offer a review service
A short appointment, a fixed fee, checking whether anything needs to change. Many clients need nothing and appreciate being told so, which is the ground in will review enquiries after a change in circumstances.
Contact your own past clients
Anybody whose will is more than a few years old is a legitimate and welcome contact. Most firms never do it and it is the easiest work available to them.
Handle the sensitive versions carefully
Separation, estrangement, illness and bereavement all sit behind these enquiries and need a person rather than a form, which is the tone in will writing enquiries that need a gentle first step.
Keep your own published information current
Fees, processes and services change, and an out of date page misleads people, which is the discipline in updating an assistant for a new service.
Answer at the hour people think about it
Late at night, after a life event has prompted it, the same urgency pattern as lock upgrades after a break in handled sensitively.
Getting started
Publish the events that should trigger a review, what a change costs and your review service, then capture enquiries at any hour. SpideyChat for law firms answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.