If you choose not to draw up a last will and testament, then who determines who gets what? It wont go the way you would have preferred. To make sure your preferences are adhered to, you should to draw up a will.
If you pass away without leaving a probate will it’s the courts that dictates how your assets is divided. The intestacy rules are used and it may not be what you’d have hoped or wished.
If you are legally married or have a civil partner but are without offspring and your assets is worth a certain amount or less then your civil partner would receive the total of the assets including any life insurance . If the estate is valued at more than this amount and you have existing family, your partner would still get this amount, in addition to 50% of the remainder. There is an priority in which family will inherit, with existing parents positioned at the top of the list, followed by siblings and so on.
If you have a spouse and children then your partner would gain the set amount as above and 50% of the remainder. The offspring would receive half of the amount over the excess immediately and the remaining 50% on the death of your spouse.
Should you have children but no lawful partner, then your offspring would divide the estate. This could not be at all what you’d have wished. You might have a partner who depends on you and who you might have wished to inherit at least a proportion of your property, who’d receive nothing.
To avoid all potential apprehension about your property, however basic it may seem, it would be prudent to construct a last will and testament. There are various ways to do this. You could write it on your own or hire a professional will agent or a solicitor.
Many people construct their own will, mostly using a form which can buy from the post office. Be wary if you proceed along this path – it’s deceptively easy to make an error and you could potentially find it void. The cost of having a will constructed, particularly a comparatively simple one, is not exorbitant and you can be confident that your wishes will be fulfilled.
A skilled will agent or a solicitor will be experienced with handling all forms of questions and will be able to aid you. You might have queries to do with starting trusts and maybe taxes.
Having constructed your will, it’s a good decision to reassess it from time to time, as your situation changes. If you decide to alter it, then it’s prudent to revoke your previous one and have it remade. If the amendments are minor, it might be simpler to write a codicil to form a part of the last will and testament and to be read in association with it. Any codicil will have to be made in the same fashion as the will in relevance signatures and witnesses.
Please be aware that any health insurance will terminate on the death of the will holder and no value will be attributed to It in the will.
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