Consumers should examine their will every five years to ensure that people who will benefit from it are still alive and living at the same address, according to an independent financial advice firm.
Paul White, spokesperson for Belgravia, commented that it is "very difficult" for an individual to get probate if they are not physically in the country, noting that administration could be a "nightmare" when nominated executors live abroad.
He added that new additions to a family may also require changes in a will to be made.
If there were no second generation people in the family at the time of a will being written then a rewrite may be required in order to take them into account or to allow benefits to be passed on should their parents predecease them.
Recent research from Barclays Wealth indicated that 63 per cent of people in the UK have no will.