Many people can find the idea of making a Will difficult. It can be hard to think about death and making decisions about what will happen to your estate after you are no longer here. Yet, not making a Will can make things very hard for those you leave behind. Not being able to refer to a properly written Will to ascertain what your wishes are can lead to ambiguity and disagreements.
Your Will normally also contains important information about how you wish to be remembered at your funeral and whether you prefer to be buried or cremated., These, plus a whole host of other key details that will help loved ones handle the admin at what will be an emotionally difficult time for them.
Dying intestate – what does that mean?
When a person passes away without making a Will in England or Wales, this is formally called dying intestate. In such cases, the law decides how their estate is distributed and relatives get no say in that. The law also has final say about who deals with the estate and carries out the related admin. If children, other dependents or pets are involved and formal arrangements have not been made for their ongoing care in the person’s Will, this will need to be agreed by the courts too.
In other words, making a Will while you are still able to saves a great deal of complexity and heartache for other people further down the line. It also saves time, as handling an intestate person’s estate can take several months or even years to finalise. You can also use your Will to leave money to a good cause of charity, stipulating how much, and what you would like the funds of bequest to be used. Again, the best way to be sure that this will actually happen after your death is to write it in a formal, correctly witnessed Will and let someone know where that Will is stored.
Intestacy laws – who is entitled to what?
A common misconception among many people is that a person’s ‘common law’ partner automatically has the right to inherit their estate. This is not the case. Under intestacy laws, only a married spouse or civil partner can inherit under intestacy laws. Anyone not married to, or not in a civil partnership with, the deceased person, however long they may have been in a relationship or lived together, will not have an automatic right to inherit anything if there is no Will, or they are not mentioned in it.
Instead, intestacy laws will look first for direct descendants to inherit the estate. This will mean any living children of the deceased, and/or any grandchildren and includes any officially adopted children and their own descendants, but not stepchildren. Next in line are any living parents, followed by brothers, sisters, nieces or nephews and grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. If there really are no surviving relatives to inherit, the person’s estate will pass to ‘the Crown’ to be used by the state as it sees fit. This can be in the form of money, belongings or property.
What to do if you think you’re entitled to an inheritance
If you think you could be entitled to the whole or a share of a deceased relative’s estate through the laws on intestacy, you can make a claim to see if you are eligible. An intestacy solicitor will be able to help you track down the details of the person’s estate and family line and make your claim. They can also help you look for any Wills that may have been made and filed without your knowledge, or refer you to an intestacy expert who can support you in this search.
In order to make your intestacy claim as straightforward as possible, you will need to have plenty of evidence of your eligibility, in the form of family tree information, birth and death certificates and as many details about the deceased person and their estate that you can find. It goes without saying that, the more information you can provide, the quicker the process will be.
If you are concerned about dying intestate yourself, and would like to know that your loved ones will be correctly looked after in your Will, a family solicitor specialising in Wills, legacies and end-of-life planning will be able to help you draw up a document reflecting your exact wishes. This will save lots of hassle for your loved ones when you die and can offer you great peace of mind in the meantime.