Do you need to make a will?
If you want to be 100% sure that your possessions are distributed according to your wishes after your death, you need to write a will.
What if you don't have a will?
If you don’t have a legally binding will in place when you die, your possessions (known as your “estate”) are divided up according to the law of England and Wales. If you aren’t married or in a civil partnership, this means that your partner is not automatically provided for as your possessions are passed to surviving blood relatives in a specified order. See an overview here (pdf).
By far the easiest way to ensure that your loved ones receive your estate as you wish is to write a Will and keep it up to date.
If you don’t leave a last will and testament (this is called dying intestate), your partner’s only option is to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975: a slow process at a difficult time.
If you are separated from a spouse or civil partner, but not divorced, they remain first in line to inherit your estate even if they are living with a new partner. Making a Will gives YOU the power to decide who inherits your estate.
If there is no surviving spouse/civil partner...
Your estate will be distributed as follows:
• Divided between any surviving offspring in equal shares (or to their children if they died during your lifetime)
• If you had no children, the estate is split equally between your parents
• In the absence of surviving parents, your estate will go to your brothers and sisters (who shared the same two parents as you), or to their children if they died during your lifetime
• In the absence of surviving brothers or sisters, your estate will go to half brothers or sisters (or to their children if they died during your lifetime)
• Next in line are your grandparents (equally if more than one)
• In the absence of surviving grandparents to aunts and uncles (or their children if they died during your lifetime)
• The last possible relatives with a claim to your estate if you don’t leave a Will are half uncles or aunts, or their children if they died during your lifetime.
• In the absence of any surviving blood family members, YOUR ESTATE WILL BE PASSED TO THE TAXMAN!
If you're married or in a civil parntership without children...
Your spouse or civil partner will receive:
• personal items, including household articles and cars, but nothing used for business purposes
• £450,000 (or everything if the whole estate is smaller than £450,0000)
• half of the rest of the estate
The remainder of the rest of the estate will be distributed to:
• your mum and dad
• in the absence of surviving parents, any brothers and sisters (with the same two parents as the you) will get a share. If a sibling died during your lifetime, their surviving children are next in line to receive
• If you have none of the above, your spouse or registered civil partner gets everything
If you're married or in a civil partnership and have children with your partner...
Your spouse or civil partner isn't automatically entitled to everything. According to the law, they will receive:
• personal items, including household articles and cars, but nothing used for business purposes
• £250,000 tax free (or everything if the whole estate is smaller than £250,000)
• a life interest in half of the rest of the estate (on his or her death this will pass to the children)
The rest of the estate will be shared by your children.
As you can see, probate law can be confusing and does not guarantee that your estate is shared as you want if you die intestate. The only way to ensure that your estate is shared as you wish is to have a legally binding will.
Information checked December 2011
