The Lord Chancellor has announced a change to what we sometime call the Rules of Intestacy. Dying intestate means that you have died without a Will.
Currently, if you die without a Will, and you have children, under the Rules of Intestacy your spouse or Civil Partner gets the following:
All your personal belongings
Any joint assets
The first £250,000 of your estate
Half the remainder (the other half goes to your children).
The £250,000 figure is due to increase to £270,000 from 6th February 2020. These figures are reviewed every five years, although this one was late because of the election.
Although the increase in this amount is welcome, it is no substitute for a well-planned Will. Remember, unmarried partners receive nothing under the Rules of Intestacy and your children would inherit your wealth at 18. The Will is also the place where you appoint Guardians to bring up your children if you have died, and decide who will look after their money. Without a Will, these people may not be the ones you would have chosen. We also ask all our clients whether they would want their spouse to inherit everything, only to lose it if they need long term care, or even remarry later on.
You can find out here who would inherit your estate if you died unexpectedly.
Making a Will ensures that your family inherit what you want, when you want, with least fuss and legal costs. To find out more about our service why not get in touch today?
