If you fail to construct a last will and testament, then who determines who receives what? Often it wont go the way you would have chosen. To make sure your preferences are adhered to, you need to make a last will and testament.
If you die without leaving a probate will it’s the law that decides how your property is divided. The intestacy rules will be used and it may not be how you will have expected or wished.
If you are currently married or have a civil partner but are without offspring and your estate is valued at a certain threshold or under then your civil partner would receive the whole of the estate including any life assurance . If the estate is worth above this figure and you have surviving relatives, your spouse would still receive this amount, in addition to 50% of the remainder. There is an order in which family will inherit, with surviving parents situated at the start of the list, followed by brothers and sisters and so on.
If you have a spouse and children then your partner would receive the set amount as above and half of the surplus. The offspring would receive 50% of the total over the set amount immediately and the other 50% on the death of your partner.
If you have offspring but no legal spouse, then your offspring would divide the estate. This could not be at all what you’d have wanted. You might have a partner who relies on you and who you would have intended to obtain at least part of your assets, who would get nothing.
To remove all potential worry about your estate, regardless of how straightforward it may seem, it would be wise to write a will. There are many ways to do this. You could build it yourself or hire a trained will writer or a solicitor.
Many people build their own last will and testament, mostly using a template which can acquire from the post office. Caution is advised if you go down this route – it’s very easy to make a mistake and you could even make it void. The expense of having a will drawn up, particularly a relatively basic one, is not excessive and you can be assured that your intentions will be realised.
A trained will agent or a solicitor will be experienced with processing all types of questions and will be able to assist you. There could be enquiries to do with setting up trusts and perhaps taxes.
Having written your will, it’s a good decision to reassess it periodically, as circumstances change. If you resolve to change it, then it’s probably better to nullify your earlier one and have it redone. If the amendments are minimal, it might be simpler to write a codicil to make a section of the will and to be used in partnership with it. Any codicil will have to be constructed in the same fashion as the will in relevance signatures and witnesses.
Please be aware that any health insurance cover will terminate on the death of the will holder and no value will be attributed to It in the will.
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