What could happen if you died without a Will
A Will is an official, written document which allows you to stipulate how you want your belongings to be distributed after you die. It lets you choose who you want to benefit from your estate, guardians to look after your children (aged under 18) and executors to deal with your estate after you are gone. A Will can also provide tax advantages for your dependents.
If you die without making a Will you’re said to have died intestate and in these circumstances the government’s rules of intestacy apply. These rules are very specific regarding who can administer your estate, who will inherit from it and how much they will receive and it may not be what you wish to happen.
Intestacy rules apply only to assets you own solely: if you own your property, for example, as joint tenants or have a joint bank account, your share automatically passes to the other person when you die and do not form part of your estate.
If you are married couples or in a civil partnership
It cannot be assumed that everything will automatically go to the surviving partner or immediate next of kin when you die. The rules of intestacy have financial limits on the amount that a spouse or civil partner can inherit in certain situations.
If you are unmarried with a partner
Unfortunately, the rules of intestacy do not cater for unmarried couples or couples living together. If you died without a Will, your unmarried partner will not be able to benefit from your estate.
If you have step children
The rules of intestacy only recognise natural or adopted children. If you have step children and died without a Will, your step children will not be able to benefit from your estate.
If you have step parents or step brothers or sisters
Again, the rules of intestacy only recognise natural or adopted parents, brothers and sisters. If you died without a Will, your step parents, step brothers or sisters will not be able to benefit from your estate.
If you want to leave gifts to friends and charities
Many people wish to leave a gift to friends and charities when they die, however as they are not recognised as a person’s next of kin, under the rules of intestacy they will not be able to benefit from your estate if you died without a Will.
As the rules of intestacy were established back in 1925, they do not cater for some of the relationships and family situations that are common in modern day life. The only way to ensure your property and possessions go to the people you want is to write a Will.
Making a will is easy as long as you seek legal advice from a trained expert, so to create your living will, get in touch with a trusted firm today.
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