Dying Without A Will – A Surefire Way To Heartache

Dying without a Will is unnecessary but I’m certain some of you reading this will not have a Will. In fact, if you’re aged between 35 and 54, I’ll guess that just one in three of you will have a Will, and if you’re over 55, only one in four of you will have a Will.

More specifically, only 32 percent of Britons aged between 35 and 54 have a Will, claims ThisMoney.co.uk. What I find surprising is that one in four people over the age of 55 don’t have a Will either. And that’s a real shame because dying without a will is a surefire way to heartache.

I’m in my mid-thirties, with a long-term partner and two children, earn a good salary, am a homeowner with some savings, and I don’t have a Will. As we can see from the shocking statistic above, I know I am far from being alone in that.

Now perhaps we’re just a bit lazy or perhaps we don’t want to think of our mortality, but actually we’re being a little bit foolish. And that’s because, worryingly, a high proportion of us are dying without a Will – also known as dying intestate.

What Does Dying Intestate Mean?

When a person dies without making a Will, their property and money must be shared out according to specific rules (which may not be in accordance with their wishes).

Upon their death, the ‘intestate person’ will have their property and assets apportioned in accordance with the ‘Rules of Intestacy’.

Rules Of Intestacy (Dying Without A Will)

According to the Money Advice Service, the most common Rules of Intestacy are as follows:

• If you’re not married and not in a civil partnership, your partner is not legally entitled to anything when you die.
• If you’re married, your Spouse might inherit most or all of your estate and your children might not get anything (except in Scotland). This applies even if you are separated but not if you’re divorced.
• If you die with no living close relatives, your whole estate will belong to the Crown or to the government.
• Any Inheritance Tax that your estate has to pay might be higher than it would be if you had made a will.

I found a helpful quiz on the Government website which tells you who inherits when a Will is not made.

Inheritance Tax

As mentioned earlier, dying without a Will may result in unnecessary Inheritance Tax becoming payable (the threshold is currently £325,000). By making a Will, you’d have the opportunity to take advantage of exemptions and reliefs available which include:

• Spouse or civil partner exemption (inheritance to Spouse or Civil Partner is not liable to Inheritance Tax)
• Gifts to charity
• Gifts made to political parties

If the facts above haven’t persuaded you to sort out a will right now, then these facts may shock you into action:

• In 2009, the Treasury gained a humongous £76m and in 2010, it gained £53m from people who died intestate. Who really wants to give their hard-earned assets and savings to the Treasury unless necessary?!
• Being a parent, what really scares me is this: if you’re both unmarried and have dependents and die without a Will your children will likely end up in the care of Social Services until formal arrangements with a suitable guardian are made.
• Finally, did you know that thousands of homes are unnecessarily sold each year to pay for Care Home fees because Wills weren’t in place? Don’t let this be you!

Making a Will with my partner is now top priority for us. I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

Interesting fact: The world’s oldest Will – found on Wall of Tomb of Kings – dated back to 2600 BC! That’s one clever Mummy!