If you die intestate i.e., without a Will, rules known as the Intestacy Rules dictate who will inherit your estate. For the most part this will be your next of kin, but if you are married, or in a civil partnership, the situation may be more complicated than you think. The spouse or civil partner will inherit all of the furniture, for instance, even if it consists of items which have been in the family for generations and which you would expect to go down to the children.
Where assets other than furniture are concerned you might expect the spouse or civil partner to inherit everything, but the rules currently provide that in certain cases “issue” (i.e., children, grandchildren etc.) should receive a share, as may other relatives if there are no issue.
The Law Commission, an independent body which recommends changes in the law, has suggested in its latest report to the Government that in cases where there is a spouse or civil partner, but no issue, the law should change and that brothers and sisters for instance should not be entitled to inherit on intestacy. But where a person dies leaving both a spouse or civil partner and issue, the rules will still provide for assets to be shared. This may not be very satisfactory, especially if the spouse is a second spouse and a step-parent to the children.
Whether the changes proposed by the Law Commission are enacted, and whatever the intestacy rules may be, it’s a good idea to make sure that they don’t apply in your case by making a Will and saying what you want to happen to your estate. Contact us for details of how to go about doing this.
