Recent research has been carried out by Direct Life Line Insurance which revealed that 60% of divorced adults in the UK, who are now in a new relationship, have failed to update any of their personal finances since their previous marriage. This includes the beneficiaries of their pension, death in service benefits, health and life insurance, money in trust or their will.
2000 UK adults took part in the study which found that 29% of those previously married and now in another serious relationship haven’t made provisions for their new partner in their will and those that did update their will to reflect their new circumstances took on average two years to do so.
14% of the sample had made provisions in their will for children from their previous marriages while 68% of the respondents who are divorced with children did not transfer any assets to them before re-marrying or entering a new relationship. Only 7% claimed to have amended their health insurance with 6% revising their life insurance. One in five updated their pension beneficiary by switching the recipient details to their new partner with equal hesitation in updating the recipient of death in service benefits.
Jane Morgan the business manager at Direct Life Line Insurance concluded on the findings:
“Our research shows that many Brits are letting their financial administration slip behind when it comes to updating wills, pensions and policies. It can be easy to forget about things like death in service certificates….but it’s important to keep these up to date.”
If I can help you update any documentation please contact me Heather Warnock on 0141 552 3422 or by email heather@mitchells-roberton.co.uk