Is my will worth the paper it's written on? I have recently had a child with my partner and have two other children from a previous marriage. My partner reviewed her will and is encouraging me to do the same. Is this necessary? I last reviewed my will in 2001, are there any external factors which may influence my will that I could be unaware of? Hugo Smith, partner at law firm Bircham Dyson Bell, says you should review your will now. Once made, a will should be assessed regularly to ensure that it is still appropriate. Certain changes in your circumstances should be a trigger to reviewing a will. These might be changes in your personal or financial situation, or the personal or financial circumstances of those who would benefit. There have also been significant changes to the inheritance tax (IHT) regime in recent years, which might mean that your current will is no longer tax-efficient. The obvious triggers for a review of a will are changes in your family circumstances. If you enter into a relationship, or have children, you will want to ensure your partner or children benefit from your estate. If you enter into a relationship without marriage, an up-to-date will is particularly important, as under intestacy laws an unmarried partner will have relatively few rights on your death. If you marry or enter into a civil partnership, your will must be reviewed as it will automatically be revoked by the marriage or civil partnership. Divorce, again, should prompt a review. If a marriage ends in divorce, with a decree absolute, your existing will remains in force, but will be read as if your former spouse has died. The effect of this may be that your entire estate will pass to the children of that marriage. If, however, the marriage ended in a separation, or a "decree nisi," but not a "decree absolute," then the will is unaffected and your former spouse may still inherit the whole of your estate. Where you have remarried or entered a new relationship, particularly when there are children from more than one relationship, it is important to plan your will carefully to avoid disappointed expectations among the family. Do you need help from our experts on a wide range of financial questions? Email us at money@ft.com As children grow up and marry, or have children of their own, different considerations arise. Is it appropriate that they receive large sums outright? Should any assets go directly to grandchildren, rather than children? If a beneficiary is financially immature, going through a difficult divorce, in financial difficulties, or perhaps simply engaged in a financially exposed business, it may be preferable to protect their inheritance by putting it into trust. Finally, changes in your financial situation, or that of your family or other beneficiaries, may make a reallocation of assets appropriate. Have items mentioned in the will been sold? Equally, have new items been acquired that should now be specifically disposed of in the will? Have the needs of different beneficiaries changed? The impact of the recent economic volatility on asset values may result in a will no longer having the desired effect. For example, the value of different gifts may have been affected to different extents. Reviewing your will is also a good opportunity to undertake a more comprehensive inheritance tax planning exercise. Since you made your will 11 years ago there have been a number of significant changes in your life: your marriage has ended, you have a new relationship and a new child. In addition, your financial position may have altered and there have been changes to the tax regime. Your particular concerns should be to ensure that your partner and new child are properly provided for. If your current will remains in force, it is possible that your estate may pass either to your former spouse, or to the children of your marriage, with nothing passing to your partner and new child. You should urgently review your will.