As a will becomes effective at date of death, account should be taken of the fact that circumstances might have changed since it was executed. Given the unprecedented economic and tax changes that have taken place recently it is recommended that wills should now be reviewed.

Specific reasons for reviewing a will in the current climate include:

Specific Provisions in a Will

A will could provide that a specific asset is to be inherited but that particular asset may no longer exist. For example, if the asset consists of shares in a company, the company may have since been liquidated, the shares might no longer exist and the bequest might then fail.

Alternatively assets may have reduced significantly in value and the value of the inheritance could be significantly lower and represent a lesser share of the estate than intended. For example, in an attempt to treat all children fairly, a will might provide that one child receives cash whilst the others receive property. The property might have dropped in value and as a result the children could potentially receive unequal benefits under the will.   In certain cases this might result in a claim against an estate by a child.

Drop in Value of Assets

A drop in the value of assets also reduces the overall value of the estate. A will could provide that certain persons are to receive a cash sum. There may no longer be sufficient cash in the estate to fund these inheritances, or the assets intended to be sold to pay these cash sums may no longer have sufficient value.  This could also result in a forced sale of other assets in the estate originally not intended to fund the cash legacies.

Reduction of Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) Tax-Free Thresholds

Grandchildren and other persons are often provided for in a will with the CAT tax-free thresholds in mind. The tax-free thresholds apply to gifts and inheritances depending on the relationship between the parties and had previously increased annually in line with inflation. However in the mini budget on 7 April they were reduced by 20% (see table):

 
This could result in an inheritance previously within the tax-free threshold becoming taxable. For example a will executed in 2008 might currently provide for a bequest to a grandchild of €50,000 on the basis that this would have been within the tax-free threshold B.  Following the mini budget, a portion of this bequest would now be taxable. 

Investment Strategy Changes

A will might provide that assets in an estate be invested in a certain manner either by the executors or the beneficiaries, for example, in particular types of shares. These directions may now be inappropriate in the current climate and could pose an impractical restriction on the executors or beneficiaries.