Couples often say they want ‘matching wills’, but that phrase can describe mirror wills or mutual wills
Mirror wills usually contain similar terms while allowing each person to change their own will later. Mutual wills are much more restrictive because they may involve a binding agreement not to alter the agreed inheritance plan after one partner dies.
Mirror wills
Mirror wills are common because they are flexible. A typical arrangement leaves assets to the surviving spouse or partner and then, on the second death, to children or other beneficiaries. But the survivor remains free to make a new will. That flexibility can be helpful after remarriage, a change in family circumstances or new tax legislation.
It can also be the weakness. After the first death, the survivor could change the will, redirect assets to a new partner or favour one branch of the family. The children named in the original mirror wills do not necessarily have a guaranteed inheritance.
Mutual wills
Mutual wills are intended to address that risk by creating an agreement that can become binding. But they can also create inflexibility. The survivor’s circumstances may change dramatically over many years, yet the original arrangement may constrain what can be done. Disputes can arise over whether a binding mutual-will agreement existed and what property it covers.
Make an informed choice
For blended families, second marriages and cross-border estates, the choice deserves careful legal advice. Trust planning, life interests or other structures may sometimes achieve the intended protection more clearly than relying on a mutual-will doctrine.
The important question is not which type sounds safer. It is what the couple wants to guarantee, what flexibility the survivor should retain and how the plan will work if life changes.
If your circumstances involve more than one country, speak to an appropriately regulated adviser before changing a pension, investment or estate-planning arrangement.
