About the Contractual Will Agreement

So you and your partner have each made a Will. They have left something (or perhaps everything) to you. And you have left something (if not everything) to them, if you die first.

That is a lot of trust. What if you die and they change their Will leaving everything to their children (not your children). That is unfair. That is not what we agreed.

You left your partner assets in your Will on the basis that some of it will go to your side of the family.

Where is my protection?

WHY DO I NEED A CONTRACTUAL MUTUAL WILL?

A Contractual Mutual Will is not a Will. It is merely an agreement to say that both of you use best endeavours to preserve the intentions of the Wills. That intention may, for example, be that you leave everything to your 2nd wife on the basis that when she dies 1/2 of the entire assets, that are left, go to your children. The other half goes to her children.

If she does not do that then she is in breach of the Contractual Will Agreement. Your children (or if dead, your grandchildren) can sue her estate.

Basically, it allows you and your spouse to agree that the surviving spouse must distribute her estate in the way you both intended. Your partner is allowed use of the assets after your death. However, they only use up your assets at a rate which is normal for the life style that they had when you were alive.

The Contractual Will Agreement continues to have effect even though your surviving partner remarries or changes his or her Will.

A Contractual Will Agreement only operates on the assets of the estate at the time of your death. It does not operate on any assets acquired by your surviving partner after you die. The surviving spouse may dispose of those assets as he or she pleases.

You can start building your Contractual Will Agreement for free. You can read all the hints for free. You can read the Summary for free. Only at the very end are you asked whether you would like to buy the document.

You can start building your Contractual Will Agreement now. You can always come back to it later and pick up where you left off. Try it.....