You will find that lots of people wish to change their name for a wide variety of different reasons.

For some, it may be as a result of wishing an alignment of name with a person thought of as family but to whom they are not directly related. They may wish to recognise the significance of that relationship in the form of a change of name deed, in the taking of that person's surname for instance.

For others, it may be a simple wish to take another name for personal reasons; and for some a reversion perhaps to a former name for example, maiden name.

There are a wide variety of reasons and the reason and context is always relevant in Will writing. Careful consideration needs to be taken to ensure that the correct legal name is referred to, but also the relevance and importance of referring to any former names to ensure there are no difficulties when it comes to actual administration of the Will and dealing with probate.

If you have entered into a Change of Name Deed then it is important that you disclose the existence of that to your Will writer so they can ascertain if and how they need to reference that.

If you are also considering changing your name at some point in the future, this again is something that should be discussed with your Will writer so they can explain to you how this may affect any Will being created.

Change of Name Deeds need to be very carefully worded and drafted correctly, as they can fail on numerous grounds. For instance, lack of clarity/ being vague/ coming across confused in terms of which name is to be used going forward for instance.

Also, it is a legal Deed and as such you need to ensure you have the benefit of legal advice on the same and that it is drafted correctly but also executed correctly, so it can actually be used and relied upon in the future.