What Happens If I Die Without A Will?
If you die without a Will in the UK, the government will allocate your money, property, and possessions according to the rules of intestacy!
We offer extensive Will drafting and estate planning advice. We cover all the different types of trusts, and advise based on the client’s circumstances, for example:
- Inheritance Tax planning
- Care home fee concerns
- Bloodline planning
- Ensuring an unwanted Will claim is not successful
Why You Need A Will
If you die without a Will in the UK, the government will allocate your money, property, and possessions according to the rules of intestacy! This means you will have no control over who will inherit from your estate and make it really challenging for your family to sort out your affairs.
If there are no surviving relatives to inherit under the rules of intestacy, the whole estate will pass directly to the Crown – this is known as bona vacantia.
31 Million UK adults DO NOT have a Will! That’s 59% of UK adults who have not written a Will, which equates to 31 million people whose property, money, possessions, and other assets could be inherited by someone they have not chosen when they die.
ACT NOW! Protect your assets and loved ones before it’s too late.
We make processes easy and transparent
We have a simple, friendly and straightforward 3-step process. Our qualified Will writers and estate planners will discuss what you are trying to achieve with your Will and come up with a solution that works for you. There are NO additional fees or hidden charges
Step 1. Get in Touch
Step 2. Face-to-Face Consultation
Step 3. Your Will Order
Our services
Get a quote
Important Reasons Why
You Should Write Your Will
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Provide for your loved ones
After your death, a Will ensures that your money, property, and possessions are bequeathed to the people who are most important to you. -
Decide who you would like to administer your affairs
Within your Will, you can name an executor, or several executors, who are responsible for settling your affairs and carrying out your final wishes. -
Prevent disputes among the family
Outlining your wishes in a legally binding document will significantly reduce the chances of a dispute between your family and friends over your estate. -
Protect your partner if you are not married
If you or your partner are not married or in a civil partnership, and you die without a will, your partner will have no right to inherit from your estate. If the family home was solely owned by the deceased, this could result in the surviving partner losing their family home.
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Protect your assets against care home fees
A trust can be included as part of your will and can offer increased asset protection for your loved ones. This type of will is called a trust will. -
Specify who will take care of your children
You can specify who will to take care of your children after you’re gone, but without a Will, the court will decide who will become the children’s carers from your family members or state-appointed guardians. -
Reduce inheritance tax liabilities
Don’t pay any more inheritance tax than you need to, a professionally written Will could help you to reduce the amount of inheritance due on your estate. -
Decide what happens to your pets
You can also use your Will to specify a guardian for your pets and make provisions for them.
FAQs
Mirror wills are usually drafted for couples, married couples, or civil partners. Normally, on the first death, the estate is inherited absolutely by the survivor, and then on the second death, the estate is divided amongst the beneficiaries as outlined in both Wills.
A single Will is created for an individual and is not usually recommended for couples with joint assets.
Legacy gifts – usually, a gift of property, either in its entirety or divided amongst your beneficiaries
Pecuniary gifts – gifts of money
Specific gifts – such as family heirlooms, jewellery, sentimental items, shares etc
Residuary gifts – what’s left after all debts are settled, and all other legacies are satisfied
An executor is someone named in your Will who is responsible for administering your estate after your death; an executor may have to apply for special legal authority called a grant of probate before being able to deal with your estate.
Probate is the legal right to deal with a deceased person’s estate and includes property, money, and possessions. You should not make any type of financial planning or place a property on the market until a grant of probate has been obtained. We will provide free help and guidance for your executors; we will outline their responsibilities and provide professional probate services if required.
If your executor doesn’t know where to find your will or something has happened to it, then it might as well not have been written. If your Will has been drafted by Macanta Wills and Estate Planning, we will securely store your Will free of charge and provide you with an official storage certificate for easy retrieval by your executors.
It is possible to protect all or part of your estate, if you are a couple, by utilising a trust in your Will (Wills trust). However, this can be complicated, and it’s important to obtain specialist advice from our estate planning team to ensure this solution is appropriate to your circumstances.