Most couples draft their last will and testament shortly after getting married and in most instances married couples nominate each other to be the sole heir of the other’s estate. This means that should one spouse pass away before the other, the surviving spouse would be the sole heir of the estate.

But what happens should parties divorce and they did not change or revoke their will and one spouse pass away after the divorce?

Section 2B of the Wills Act No. 7 of 1953 deals with the effect of divorce on a will and states that:

“ if any person dies within three months after his marriage was dissolved by a divorce or annulment by a competent court and that person executed a will before the date of such dissolution, that will shall be implemented in the same manner as it would have been implemented if his previous spouse had died before the date of the dissolution concerned, unless it appears from the will that the testator intended to benefit his previous spouse notwithstanding the dissolution of his marriage”

In short this means that if you pass away within three months after the divorce your ex-spouse will not inherit from you unless it was the intent that they should. This  basically means you only have a grace period of three months after a divorce to change your will if you do not want your ex-spouse to inherit from your estate. After three months your estate will be divided according the last will you made before the divorce.

If you are not sure if you should make a new will it will be best to consult with your Attorney to help you draft a new will or give you advice on it