Katie Price has revealed that she hasn’t updated her Will in several years, explaining that her ex-husband Peter Andre and only three of her five children would inherit her estate if she died unexpectedly.
During a discussion on Loose Women, Katie admitted her current husband and their two children were not named as beneficiaries in her Will and would be omitted from any distribution of her estate as it stands.
Katie Price stated: “Talking of Wills, Pete would get everything and Junior, Princess and Harvey. I haven’t even changed my Will thinking about it, and I’ve been married twice since Pete!”
However, she evidently does not realise that marriage automatically revokes a Will, which means that her previously written documents are likely to be invalid and her estate would be dealt with under the rules of intestacy.
These legal regulations will divide the estate in a pre-determined way and, even if the person is married, in a civil-partnership or have step-children, assets may not automatically be distributed to the family members that expect to inherit them.
The celebrity’s well documented private life is a high profile example of a ‘blended family’, where couples share children from previous relationships and partners. In the case of Katie Price, she has five children from three fathers and has been married three times. The fact that her Will is likely to be invalid is particularly concerning given that her personal wealth is estimated at £45 million.
Tom Curran, Chief Executive at Kings Court Trust said: “Although Katie Price has gone through the process of creating a Will, due to her personal circumstances it could be completely invalid – which means her wider family could claim a stake in her estate. It will also mean that any estate planning she has put in place could be meaningless and as a result her estate could be taxed at 40%.
People may assume that a Will is only beneficial in later life or if the individual is not in good health. However, regardless of your personal circumstances it is important to plan ahead, particularly if you own a property or have savings, investments, insurance policies or own a business. There are also numerous benefits to having a Will, from ensuring you leave an inheritance to family and friends, to potentially reducing the amount of Inheritance Tax that may be payable on your estate.
Contested probate cases have risen significantly in recent years and when estates contain significant assets, there is always a chance that disputes over how they are distributed will emerge. With increasingly complicated family structures often involving step children and more than one marriage, this is likely to be a trend that becomes increasingly common in coming years. As a result it’s important that people not only create a Will but also update it after any major life changes, such a marriage.”