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WHERE THERE'S

A WILL

The rules which deal with an estate when someone has died and not left a Will, can be bewildering and complex. Indeed, a whole industry has evolved to track down long lost heirs for family estates where no Will can be found. The industry even resulted in a day time programme for television!

It is important to understand the intestacy rules are strictly applied to any situation where a Will does not exist or where the Will does not work properly. This second situation is known as a partial intestacy. Fundamentally it is necessary to be aware that cohabitees, even if they have lived together for many years, do not feature in the rules which can result in unfairness.

Whilst we at Law Express would encourage everyone to make a Will (and review it regularly), we are aware that this frequently does not happen. It can often be difficult to resolve to do these things and lifestyles can make this a complex undertaking. It is misguided, however, to believe that a surviving husband, wife or civil partner will inherit the whole of an estate without any problems.

The good news is that for the first time in many years the financial limits within the rules have been substantially increased. Briefly:

Where you are married* and the total value of your assets is less than Ł250,000 your surviving husband or wife will be entitled to the whole estate.
Where you are married* and the total value of your assets is more than Ł250,000 and there are no other surviving relatives your surviving husband or wife will be entitled to the whole of the estate.
Where you are married* with children and the total value of your assets is more than Ł250,000 it can be problematic. In this case your surviving husband or wife will only be entitled to receive the Ł250,000 and income from the half of the value of the remainder. Your children will be entitled to receive the rest of the estate.
Where you are married*, with no children, and the total value of your assets is more than Ł250,000 and there are other relatives it can also be problematic. In this case the surviving husband or wife will be entitled to receive the first Ł450,000 and half of the rest. The remaining half will be distributed to other relatives in this order:

- Parents
- Brothers/sisters or their children
- Half brothers/sisters or their children
- Grandparents
- Uncles/aunts or their children
- Half uncles/aunts or their children
Where you are unmarried and have children your children will inherit equally.
Where you are unmarried and have no children your assets will be inherited in the order of the list above.

*includes civil partners

These rules primarily relate to assets owned in your sole name but can also relate to some jointly owned assets. If you have any concerns about your current circumstances do not hesitate to contact us at Law Express.

To assist we have represented this in a graphic form which may be easier to understand. (click here to view)

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