Yes — after you marry, divorce, or welcome a new child in New York, you should update your will, and in most cases you should do it promptly. A will is a snapshot of your wishes at the moment you signed it, but your family is not a snapshot. When the people you love, the people you trust, and the assets you own change, an outdated will can distribute your estate to the wrong people, name a fiduciary you no longer trust, or accidentally leave out the very child you most want to protect. This advisory guide walks you through what each life event changes under New York law, and — just as importantly — how to think like a consultant about choosing the right plan and the right people to carry it out.
At Morgan Legal Group, our consultative approach is built around a simple idea: a will is not a form, it is a set of decisions. The statute tells you how to sign a document; it does not tell you who should raise your children, manage your money, or inherit your home. Those choices deserve deliberate counsel.
Why Life Events Demand a Will Review
New York wills are governed by the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL). A will only takes effect at death and must be admitted to probate in the Surrogate’s Court. Until then, you remain free to revise it as your life evolves. The danger is not that the law forbids changes — it is that people simply forget to make them, and the law fills the gaps in ways they never intended.
Consider what happens when there is no valid will at all. Under EPTL Article 4, New York’s intestacy rules decide who inherits, in fixed shares, regardless of your actual relationships or wishes. A new spouse, an estranged relative, or a distant cousin may take a share the law assigns to them — not the share you would have chosen. (We explain this in depth on our Intestacy: Dying Without a Will page.) Even with a will, life events can quietly distort your plan if you leave it untouched.
The Three Triggers
| Life Event | What It Can Change | Why You Should Update |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage | A new spouse acquires statutory protections | A surviving spouse has a right of election under EPTL 5-1.1-A to claim a minimum share regardless of the will. Updating lets you plan around or alongside that right intentionally. |
| Divorce | Bequests and fiduciary appointments to a former spouse | New York law revokes certain provisions favoring an ex-spouse upon divorce, but relying on automatic rules is risky. A fresh will removes ambiguity and re-appoints trusted people. |
| New Child | Inheritance shares, guardianship, and trusts for minors | An older will may not mention a new child, may divide assets unevenly, and almost certainly lacks updated guardian and trustee choices for a growing family. |
Marriage: Protecting — and Planning Around — Your New Spouse
When you marry, New York gives your spouse meaningful protection. The spousal right of election under EPTL 5-1.1-A allows a surviving spouse to claim a minimum elective share of your estate even if your will leaves them less. That protection is powerful, but it can collide with other goals — for example, providing for children from a prior relationship.
The advisory question is not merely “Did I add my spouse?” It is “How do I balance my spouse’s protected share with everything else I want to accomplish?” This is where consultative planning matters. Tools such as trusts, beneficiary designations, and carefully drafted bequests let you honor your spouse’s rights while still protecting other heirs. Our Will Drafting Overview explains how these pieces fit together.
Divorce: Removing the Wrong People — Deliberately
Divorce is the life event people most often overlook in their estate plan. While New York law revokes certain testamentary gifts and appointments to a former spouse after a divorce judgment, leaning on those automatic rules is a mistake. Automatic revocation can be incomplete, contested, or simply confusing for the people left to administer your estate.
The cleaner approach is to execute a new will (or, for narrow changes, a properly drafted amendment — see our Codicils & Amendments page) that affirmatively:
- Removes your former spouse as a beneficiary, executor, and trustee.
- Re-appoints fiduciaries you currently trust.
- Updates guardianship choices for minor children.
- Re-examines beneficiary designations on assets that pass outside the will (these are not controlled by your will at all).
A do-it-yourself edit rarely satisfies New York’s formalities. To stay valid, any new will must still meet the execution requirements discussed below.
A New Child: The Most Time-Sensitive Update
A new child — by birth or adoption — changes the math of your estate and raises questions a will written before they existed simply cannot answer. Who will serve as guardian if both parents are gone? Should the child’s inheritance be held in trust until they are mature enough to manage it? Who is the right trustee to oversee those funds for years, possibly decades?
These fiduciary choices are the heart of consultative planning. The “right” guardian is rarely the most obvious relative; the “right” trustee balances financial competence with genuine care for your child. We counsel parents to separate these roles when appropriate — the person who is wonderful at raising children is not always the person best suited to manage money.
How New York Requires a Will to Be Signed
Updating your will only helps if the new document is valid. Under EPTL §3-2.1, a New York will must satisfy these formalities:
- The testator must sign at the end of the will (or another person may sign in the testator’s presence and at their direction).
- The testator must declare the instrument to be their will (this is called publication).
- There must be at least two attesting witnesses.
- The testator signs in the witnesses’ presence or acknowledges the signature to each witness.
- The witnesses sign at the testator’s request and add their residence addresses.
- Both witnesses must sign within one 30-day period (there is a rebuttable presumption that the 30-day requirement is met).
For a fuller walkthrough, see our NY Will Requirements and Will Execution pages. Note that a “living will” is a separate health-care document about end-of-life medical decisions — it does not distribute property. If you also want to address medical wishes, that is handled on our Living Will page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a brand-new will, or can I just amend the old one?
It depends on the scope of the change. A minor, isolated update can sometimes be made with a properly executed codicil. But after a major life event — especially divorce or a new child — a fresh will is usually cleaner and less prone to dispute. We advise on which path fits your situation.
Does divorce automatically cancel my entire will in New York?
No. New York revokes certain provisions favoring a former spouse, but the rest of your will generally remains in effect — and the automatic rules can be incomplete. Executing a new will removes any ambiguity.
Will my new spouse inherit even if my old will leaves them out?
Possibly. Under EPTL 5-1.1-A, a surviving spouse may claim a minimum elective share regardless of the will. The right plan addresses this deliberately rather than by accident.
What happens to my new child if I never update my will?
Your will may not provide for the child, and it almost certainly lacks updated guardian and trustee choices. If no valid will exists, EPTL Article 4 intestacy rules — not your wishes — decide who inherits.
Talk to a New York Estate Planning Attorney
Marriage, divorce, and a new child are exactly the moments when good counsel pays for itself. The goal is not just a signed document — it is the right plan, naming the right fiduciaries, executed correctly under New York law.
Russel Morgan, Esq. and the team at Morgan Legal Group advise New York families statewide on updating wills, choosing executors and trustees, and protecting the people who matter most. Schedule a consultation today: Book a 30-minute meeting.
Further reading from Morgan Legal Group: New York will execution requirements.