Ex-spouses and out-of-favour relatives could benefit from a lack of urgency when it comes to updating wills, a new report warns.

Three out of five people have never revisited or updated their formal last wishes, a survey by Cancer Research UK found.

This is despite the fact that 63 per cent have a will that is more than five years old, while a third are in possession of a legacy document more than a decade old.

The charity found that a change in family circumstances was the most common reason for a will to become out of date.

More than half of divorcees in the survey and 85 per cent of people separated from a partner have not updated their will, according to the research.

Paul Farthing, director of legacies at Cancer Research UK, said: "Maintaining an up-to-date will should be a key element of everyone's financial planning. It is important to make sure, particularly as personal circumstances change, that it is always in line with your current wishes.

"Whilst many of those who have an out-of-date will may be planning to revisit it when they get older, it is important for everyone, whatever stage they are at, to make sure their will is always kept up to date.

"The laws dictating how your estate will be divided up if you die with an out-of-date will are complex and may not be as you would expect.''

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Of those who said their will was out of date, 16 per cent said it was because it did not include a gift to charity that they now intend to make.

Mr Farthing said: "Leaving a gift to charity is a simple yet impactful way for anyone to support a good cause. We would like to encourage everyone who needs to update their will to consider leaving a charitable legacy when they're doing so.''

This gives me a wicked smile cos my ex-dh and I took nearly 3 years to divorce and I don't know how many times I said to him and his g/f that he should do a will otherwise his house and everything would come to me. I did mine as soon as we separated. He never did.

There were times during that period when I quite cheerfully wished the tosspot dead, never happened though, but can you imagine the hell it would've caused? His horrid sister would've hated it.