Why Make a Will
It is commonly believed that if you die without a Will your spouse will receive all of your estate. This just isn't so in many cases!
If you die without making a Will, you die intestate – this means the State has decided who receives your estate.
Also, if you have no Will and have not appointed Guardians, the State will decide who looks after your children.
Let's look at the Rules of Intestacy
| Rules of Intestacy | Potential Problems | |
|---|---|---|
| Married with children |
The surviving spouse receives £125,000 and a Life Interest in half the remainder. This means he or she may be able to have the use of and continue to live in your house. He or she is only entitled to the income from investments eg interest or rental income. However he or she cannot touch the capital which goes to the children on his or her death. The other remaining half is inherited by the children. If minors held in trust until they are 18 |
Can be very restrictive for the surviving spouse. Is generally totally ineffective for Inheritance Tax planning Children may not have the worldly experience to receive an Inheritance at the age of 18. With a Will there can be Trustees guidance until the age of 25. |
| Married without children | Surviving spouse receives the first £200,000 absolutely plus half the remainder. The residue passes to the parents of the deceased, if none siblings, if no descendents of siblings or half siblings it will pass to the surviving spouse |
Would you rather your estate passed to your spouse? |
| Single with children | Estate will pass to the children equally. Held in trust until they |
Children may not have the worldly experience to receive an Inheritance at the age of 18. With a Will there can be Trustees guidance until the age of 25. |
| Single without children | All to parents, if none to siblings of the full blood or the children of deceased siblings, if none to siblings of the half blood or the children of deceased siblings. If there are no descendents of the deceased�s parents, it will pass to descendents of Grandparents. If there are no descendents of parents or grandparents of the deceased the estate will pass to The Crown or Duchy of Cornwall |
If you are living with a partner and are not civil partners, your partner is entitled to nothing. Wouldn't you rather distribute your estate amongst your friends or to favourite charities? The Crown inherits a massive amount of money by default every year. |
The solution to all the above potential problems is simple. Avoid Intestacy by making a Will. Then you rather than the State can decide who will inherit your estate.
Putting the safety net of a professionally prepared Will in place will not shorten your life by one second!
If you are interested in making a Will, or have any further questions please contact Us