Amy Winehouse's Will: Ex-Husband Blake Fielder-Civil Left Out
For some reason, the media appears to be surprised that ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil has been left out of Amy Winehouse's will, which is set to disseminate a fortune estimated to be between $15 and $30 million.
The pair was divorced in 2009 after a two-year marriage that was often riddled with violence, drugs, co-dependence, and criminal charges.
In fact, Fielder-Civil is currently serving a 32 month sentence for burglary and possession of an imitation firearm.
While legal experts in the UK believe that Amy Winehouse's will splits the late singer's estate between her parents and brother, the Daily Mail reports that, after the divorce, Winehouse removed Blake Fielder-Civil from the document.
Though this blogger cannot speak to British estate law, if Winehouse lived in the United States and had failed to remove her ex-husband from the will, state law would likely do so for her.
Many states have statutory provisions that, upon divorce, automatically revoke parts of a will that leave money or items to an ex-spouse. The will is then interpreted as though the ex-spouse never existed.
In these states, the only way for an ex-spouse to remain part of a will is for the document to contain a statement that, despite a divorce, the testator still wishes for that gift to remain valid.
If Amy Winehouse's will is any indication, she did not wish for any potential gifts to Blake Fielder-Civil to remain valid, or to allow such a determination to be left up to the courts. Changing her will upon divorce was thus the right way to proceed.
Related Resources:
- Winehouse Cut Ex Out of Will (Newser)
- When Changing a Will is Appropriate (FindLaw)
- Divorcing? Don't Forget to Update Your Will! (FindLaw's Law & Daily Life)