Writing a will is a question of control. If you have no will when you die, you run the risk that the State will take over the distribution of your wealth. Writing a will puts you firmly in the driving seat, and ensures that this process happens in accordance with your wishes.
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There are many good reasons for writing a will.
Writing a will helps ensure that the right people benefit from your wealth. A will speeds up the transfer of your wealth and achieves this at lower cost. The will ensures that your children are taken care of as you wish, not only in material terms: you can use your will to name guardians for your children, should they be orphaned before they are 18.
Your will is also a powerful way to reduce your exposure to Inheritance Tax.
Equally, your will must be kept up to date. If your circumstances change, your will may no longer reflect your intentions, and an outdated will can be as problematic as having no will at all. A will written when you are single, for example, becomes invalid if you marry.
Remember – an out of date will can be as bad as no will at all!
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Dying intestate
Dying without having written a will is known as dying “intestate”. When this happens, you and your family lose control of your estate. Instead the state takes over, and the rules of intestacy are applied, as enshrined in UK law.This highlights the principal purpose of ensuring you have an up-to-date will in place: for the control it gives you over the distribution of your estate, when you die.
The rules of intestacy
While there are minor variations from region to region within the UK, the rules of intestacy work as follows.
Married with children
If you are married with children, your spouse is entitled to all personal belongings plus the first £125,000 absolutely, plus a “life interest” (which means the right to income) from half the remaining estate.
Your children are entitled to half the remaining estate when they reach 18, and the remainder of the estate when your spouse dies.
Married with no children
In England and Wales, where your net estate does not exceed £450,000 your spouse or civil partner receives all. If your net estate is worth more than £450,000 your spouse receives that amount, plus half the balance.
The remainder is divided between other relatives in the following order: parents, or if no longer living, brothers and sisters, or if no longer living, nephews and nieces.
Single person
When a single person dies, their estate passes to their children if they have any. If not, then it is passed to the nearest relations. If no relations exist, the estate passes to the Crown.
Information updated August 2010
