Life Changes That Require a Will Update (and Why It Matters)

For many people, a will is something they prepare once and then don’t think about again.

But life doesn’t stay still.

Christmas, in particular, is a time when people naturally reflect on family, dependants, and the question most don’t like to ask out loud:“If something happened to me, would everything be in order?”

The reality is that a will isn’t a set and forget document. As your life changes, so do your assets, responsibilities, and the people you need to protect.

Many people don’t realise how common life changes that require a will update actually are, from family milestones to property, business, and superannuation changes that quietly alter their estate planning position.

Why Wills Aren’t “Set and Forget”

Your will is meant to reflect your current life not who you were five, ten, or twenty years ago.

Over time, changes can quietly make an otherwise valid will outdated or incomplete. When that happens, the risk isn’t just administrative inconvenience. It can lead to:

• Delays in administering an estate

• Disputes between beneficiaries

• Outcomes that don’t reflect your intentions

Regular reviews help ensure your wishes remain clear and workable as your circumstances evolve.

Common Life Changes That Require a Will Update

Based on what we see in practice, the following life changes are the most common triggers for a will review

Buying or Selling Property

Property acquisitions or sales can significantly change how your estate is structured. A will prepared before major property changes may no longer align with your asset base or intentions.

Marriage, Divorce, or Separation

Marriage can affect the validity of an existing will, while divorce or separation often requires updates to beneficiaries and executors to reflect new realities..

Birth of a Child or Grandchild

New dependants introduce guardianship considerations and may change how assets should be distributed.

Business or Trust Structure Changes

Changes to companies, trusts, or partnerships can have implications for how assets are dealt with on death especially where control and succession are involved.

Changes to Superannuation or Insurance

Superannuation and insurance are often governed by beneficiary nominations, not your will. These still need to be consistent with your broader estate intentions.

Common Mistakes We See

Many estate issues arise not because people avoided planning — but because plans weren’t updated.

Common mistakes include:

• Forgetting to update a will after marriage, divorce, or separation

• Leaving out new children, grandchildren, or blended family arrangements

• Not accounting for business interests, new properties, or super changes

• Losing track of where the original signed will is stored

These issues are entirely preventable with regular reviews and good record-keeping.

How This Links to Tax, Super, and Structures

While a will is a legal document, it doesn’t exist in isolation.

From an accounting and tax perspective, estate planning often intersects with:

• Ownership structures (companies and trusts)

• Superannuation balances and beneficiary nominations

• Insurance proceeds

• Record-keeping and documentation

If these elements aren’t aligned, it can create unnecessary complexity for executors and beneficiaries down the track.

This is where visibility matters.

What HelloLedger Helps With (and What We Don’t)

HelloLedger does not provide legal advice or draft wills.

Our role is to help clients stay organised, informed, and coordinated — particularly where estate planning intersects with tax, superannuation, and business structures.

As a SAPEPPA advisor, we work within a structured framework that recognises estate planning as part of a broader picture that includes:

• Structure

• Asset protection

• Estate planning

• Exit and succession

• Profit and planning

In practice, this means we help clients with:

• Keeping copies of key estate planning documents securely on file

• Ensuring superannuation and insurance beneficiary information is visible and consistent

• Identifying where life changes may have tax, compliance, or structural implications

• Coordinating with trusted legal professionals when updates are required

For legal documentation and updates, we work alongside specialist estate planning firms, including LightyearDocs and Abbott & Mourly, to ensure advice is handled by the right professional while keeping everything aligned from a financial and compliance perspective.

Our focus is clarity, coordination, and continuity — not replacing your solicitor, but helping ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

A Simple Next Step

If you already have a will, a good place to start is simply by pausing to check:

• When it was last updated

• Whether it still reflects your current circumstances

• Who is named as executor and guardian (if applicable)

• Where the signed original is stored

It’s also worth checking that your will aligns with any superannuation or insurance beneficiary nominations you have in place.

You don’t need to make changes immediately. Often, the first step is just understanding whether your existing arrangements still make sense.

If questions come up, a conversation with your accountant and solicitor can help clarify what—if anything—needs attention.

A Thought for This Time of Year

Estate planning isn’t about expecting the worst — it’s about caring for the people who matter most.

Christmas often brings that into focus.

A quiet review now can provide peace of mind that your wishes are clear, your records are organised, and your loved ones are protected not just legally, but practically.