Six years ago, a man created a legally valid will. In that will, he left the majority of his estate to his parents and his non-married partner at the time. A year later, the man and his partner ended their relationship. Two years ago, he became engaged and subsequently married a new partner.
How do these events affect the man's will?
Six years ago, a man created a legally valid will. In that will, he left the majority of his estate to his parents and his non-married partner at the time. A year later, the man and his partner ended their relationship. Two years ago, he became engaged and subsequently married a new partner.
How do these events affect the man's will?
The man's will is revoked by his subsequent marriage.
(B) The man's will gets revoked by his subsequent marriage. A marriage nullifies a pre-existing will unless it is apparent from the will that (1) the person writing the will was expecting to marry a particular individual, and (2) the person writing the will intended that it should not be revoked by the marriage. In this case, the man made his will while still involved with his former partner, so it is unlikely that he wrote it with the expectation of marrying his current spouse.
Option (A) is incorrect because getting engaged has no effect on the will's validity.
Option (C) is also incorrect because marriage invalidates the will, and there is no rule under which a new spouse automatically becomes entitled to half of the estate.
Option (D) is incorrect because the will is fully revoked by marriage, and all gifts mentioned in it will fail.
Option (E) is also incorrect because the will is revoked by marriage, so there is no need for a codicil to modify it. Instead, the property will pass to the man's spouse through the intestacy rules.