Beena Makwana
Solicitor
17 January, 2012

Why You Shouldn’t Fail to Make a Will

There are so many misconceptions as to why people do not make a will:

“I’m too young” “it’s too expensive” “I don’t have many assets” “Everything will go to my spouse”

To put it simply, if you do not have a Will, the government will decide who inherits your possessions, property and money, which is governed under the Law of Intestacy (1925) rather than your wishes. For example, if you are unmarried and have no close relatives, your Estate will automatically pass to the Crown (government) if there is no valid Will in place! Even if you were married and you die without having made a Will, the intestacy rules apply in an arbitrary manner, particularly if there are no children. This may lead to your spouse having to share your estate with relatives (e.g. brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles) whom you may never have intended to benefit.

The intestacy rules at present do not recognise co-habitees. Therefore if you live with your partner and die without having made a will, your partner will not even come into the equation when it comes to inheriting your Estate and they would have to make a claim on the estate claiming financial dependence if appropriate which not only will become time consuming during a period which is already distressing, but also costly and could even result in family feuds.

The only certain way to ensure that your spouse, partner or relative etc inherits what you intend is by making a Will. This could be almost anything from personal belongings to pets or property. You will also help avoid unnecessary arguments amongst family members or relatives that can arise when a deceased person’s wishes are unclear. It also allows you to greatly reduce your inheritance tax you pay, or even eliminate it altogether as certain things can be given to particular people and organisations without inheritance tax being charged on them. This then allows you to provide more money for the people you want to receive it rather than paying it to the taxman.

It’s an easy task to put off, however designating a day for a little unpleasantness can help relieve many days of heartache for the loved ones in the future.

Please call our specialist solicitors on (0116) 2999199 who will be happy to have a FREE consultation with you to discuss your requests.