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This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.
Life and death are outside human control. No one can predict when or how a person might lose his life.
No matter how prepared you are, death will take you by surprise.
When you pass away, you leave a legacy for your near and dear ones. Whether big or small, it is important to define how your property and estate get distributed among your family members.
Right now, you may put off the task of writing a Will for another day. But have you ever wondered what would happen if you die without a Will?
Dying Without a Will
If you die without a last will and testament, you are deemed to have died ‘Intestate’. What this means is that once you pass away without having a valid Will in place, your property and estate are dealt with by law and not by your particular wishes.
In the United Kingdom, the rules of intestacy govern how the assets of a person are distributed in the absence of a Will.
To give you a general idea, here is how the law treats your relationship in order of priority if you die without a will:
- Married or civil partner
- Children
- Grandchildren and Great-grandchildren
- Parents, brothers and sisters
- Nephews or nieces
- Grandparents
- Uncles and aunts
- Half-uncles and half-aunts (or their surviving children)
Now that you’re aware of the order of priority, it will be easy to understand how your property gets distributed if you die without a Will.
Let’s discuss the Law of Intestacy in more detail.
Spouse or Civil Partner
The rules of intestacy state that your surviving spouse or civil partner have the first right to inherit assets up to a value of £270,000 and beyond this amount, the inheritance is divided as follows:
- All personal belongings are inherited by the surviving spouse or partner.
- Half of the remaining assets (beyond the value of £270,000) belong absolutely to the surviving spouse or partner.
- The other half of the remaining assets is distributed among the surviving children in equal shares.
Children In The Absence Of A Surviving Spouse
If there is no surviving spouse or civil partner, the children of a person dying intestate receive an equal share in the property.
Children born outside a married relationship also have a right to inherit under the laws of intestacy. Likewise, adopted children and step-children are also entitled to a rightful share.
But children can only receive their inheritance if they have attained the age of 18 years, or if they’re under 18 years but married or in a civil partnership.
Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren
If there are no surviving children, the law of intestacy upholds certain rights of inheritance of your grandchildren. If there are neither any surviving children nor any surviving grandchildren, the great-grandchildren have a right to inheritance.
Other Relatives
A person dying intestate may be survived by other blood relatives like parents, siblings, nephews and nieces. It’s obvious that these close relatives may have expectations of some inheritance too.
But the rules of intestacy are rather strict in allowing relations other than dependants a share in inheritances.
If a person dies without a Will, his/ her parents, siblings and other close relatives can only inherit if:
- The person was unmarried and without any children.
- The person has no surviving partner and the children are under 18 years of age.
Divorced or Unmarried Partner
If you die intestate, your life partner can only inherit from your estate if you’ve been a legally married couple or living in civil partnership at that time. The law does not protect the rights of divorced or unmarried partners.
This means that even if you separated from your spouse informally, they have a right to inherit from your property. On the other hand, if you’re in a committed cohabitation but not married, your partner won’t get anything.
This may seem unfair, but that’s how the legal default applies.
Other Persons Excluded From Inheritance
Any extended relations by marriage, like your brothers-in-law or sisters-in-law, will have no right to inherit from your property if you die without a Will. Moreover, any of your close friends or carers, or any other person you value or love but unrelated to you, will have absolutely no share in the inheritance.
Such persons may be able to get some financial provisions from your estate if they make any application in court.
Jointly Owned Property
Some property may be jointly owned by you and your spouse or civil partner. In such cases, if a person dies intestate the law states that the surviving partner is entitled to become the sole owner of the property. The same rules apply to jointly owned bank accounts.
However, the rules regarding joint tenancy completely differ. The surviving spouse or civil partner will not be entitled to any rights in such property.
No Surviving Relatives
If you assume you’re going to die without any surviving relatives, and so you don’t need to make a Will, think again!
Bona vacantia. If a person without any surviving relatives dies in the absence of a Will, all his assets and personal belongings are acquired by the Crown.
Family Arrangements In The Absence of A Will
It is possible for your relatives to circumvent the rules of intestacy, if they enter into a legal arrangement to share your estate. To be recognized by the law, this type of deed of family arrangement or variation should fulfil these two requirements:
- The arrangement should be made within two years of a person dying intestate.
- All heirs (recognized by the law) should agree to the arrangement.
In such an arrangement, your heirs may decide to include persons who would otherwise have no right to inheritance under the law of intestacy.
The Final Word
The rules of intestacy are quite complex.
In the absence of a Will, legal heirs may end up in disputes which can mar their relations forever. Moreover, your desire to leave a legacy for someone outside your blood relations may never see the light of the day.
The law may have been enacted in all fairness, but it may never fully honor your personal wishes and desires. If you wish to do justice to your loved ones, and leave a true legacy behind, you should take steps to arrange for your Will before it is too late.
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