Does marriage revoke a will?
Yes. In England and Wales, getting married or entering a civil partnership automatically revokes any existing will, under section 18 of the Wills Act 1837. The only exception is a will made "in contemplation" of that particular marriage. If you marry without making a new will, your estate is distributed under the intestacy rules — not as your old will intended.
Detailed explanation
Many people are surprised that a wedding cancels their will. But under section 18 of the Wills Act 1837, marriage or civil partnership revokes any will made beforehand, in full. The logic dates from an era when marriage fundamentally changed a person's affairs, and the rule still applies today.
There is one important exception. If you make a will in contemplation of marriage to a named person — and the will states that it should not be revoked by that marriage — it survives the wedding. This is the safe way to prepare a will before getting married.
If marriage revokes your will and you do not make a new one, you die intestate. Your estate then passes under the statutory intestacy rules, which may not match your wishes — for example, leaving a fixed sum to your new spouse and dividing the rest with children from an earlier relationship, or excluding people you intended to benefit.
Note that this is a live area of law. The Law Commission's 2025 report recommended abolishing the rule that marriage revokes a will, partly to prevent "predatory marriages" to vulnerable people. However, as of June 2026 the reform has not been enacted, so the current rule still applies. Until Parliament changes the law, assume your existing will is revoked when you marry.
David made a will in 2019 leaving everything to his two children. In 2025 he remarries. Because he did not make a new will, his 2019 will is automatically revoked by the marriage. When he dies, his estate is shared under the intestacy rules between his new wife and his children — not as his old will had set out.
Sources
- Wills Act 1837, section 18 — legislation.gov.uk
- Law Commission — Modernising Wills Law (final report, 16 May 2025)
- GOV.UK — Make a will: when a will is not valid
- Reviewed by
- Michael Smith, Estate Planning Specialist
- Last reviewed
- June 2026
- Next review
- December 2026
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
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