When you pass away, you want to ensure your loved ones are taken care of and that your belongings are distributed according to your wishes. The best way of making sure this happens is to leave a Will.
As Catherine Causey, private client solicitor at WBW Solicitors in Newton Abbot, explains, unless you ensure that your Will is legally valid, you die ‘intestate’ and the law dictates who gets what and how much, irrespective of need or your wishes.
Under the Wills Act 1837, to be legally valid a will must be:
- In writing;
- Made by a person who is 18 years old or over;
- Made voluntarily and without duress from someone else; and
- Made by a person who is of sound mind.
It is also a legal requirement that a Will be signed by the person making it in the presence of two witnesses, and then signed by the two witnesses, in the presence of the person making the Will.
However, since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Government has introduced new, temporary rules which allow for Wills to be witnessed remotely until January 2021. The person making a Will must still sign in the presence of two witnesses in their clear line of sight, but they can now do this virtually via video link.
Those witnessing a Will, or the spouse or civil partner of the witness, cannot benefit from it. If the will stipulates that they do, the Will is still valid but the beneficiary is not allowed to inherit.
Intestacy rules of inheritance
If you die without leaving a Will, once any outstanding debts have been paid off, the balance of what is left (known as the residuary estate) will be shared among family members according to the intestacy rules under the Administration of Estates Act 1925.
If you have no surviving children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren, your spouse or civil partner will inherit everything. However, if your spouse or civil partner dies within 28 days of your death, your estate will be distributed as if you were not married.
If you have children, grandchildren or great grandchildren and your estate is worth more than £250,000, your spouse or civil partner will inherit all your personal property, the first £250,000 of your estate, and half of the remaining estate. They will also inherit any money held in a joint account with you, and any property you owned as beneficial joint tenants.
If your estate is worth less than £250,000, your children will not automatically inherit anything. Half of anything in your estate worth more than £250,000 will be divided equally between your children, including adopted or illegitimate children, when they reach the age of 18, marry or enter a civil partnership.
Grandchildren and great-grandchildren inherit equal shares of the estate to which their parent or grandparent would have been entitled if their parent or grandparent dies before the intestate person, or their parent is alive when the intestate person dies but dies before reaching the age of 18 or without marrying or forming a civil partnership.
If you have no surviving spouse, civil partner, children or grandchildren, the residuary estate will be divided between your relatives in the following order:
- Your parents;
- Whole blood siblings, or their children if any sibling pre-deceased the intestate;
- Half blood siblings;
- Grandparents;
- Uncles and aunts of whole blood; and
- Uncles and aunts of half blood.
If there are no surviving relatives who can inherit under the intestacy rules, the estate passes to the Crown. This is known as bona vacantia.
How we can help
If you want to make a Will, you are strongly advised to seek expert legal advice. Our specialist private client solicitors can help you draw up a Will to exactly reflect your wishes and ensure that it is legally valid.
For more information on drawing up a Will or any other private client matter, contact Catherine Causey at WBW Solicitors in Newton Abbot on 01626 202404 or email catherinecausey@wbw.co.uk.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
