Research on the Will writing industry reports that 45% of British adults have a Will, which is an increase of 6% from last year when the research reported that only 39% of British adults had a Will. Whilst the figures are heading in the right direction there is still a huge number of adults that don’t have a Will.

There are many reasons that you should have a Will in place and there are just as many explanations as to why people decide not to have a Will, or rather, don’t get around to making one.

There is a lack of information or misinformation which means that adults are not prompted to either prepare Wills or review their Wills following a change in their family structure or their financial circumstances.

Many assume that if they were to die without a Will then their estate would pass entirely to their husband or wife but that is not always the case. Let me try to illustrate why with an example.

Let’s assume that Mrs A is married to Mr A and that she dies without a Will. This is Mrs A’s second marriage and she has children to this marriage as well as children to her previous marriage. The estate is worth £400,000 and includes the family property which is held in her sole name.

If you die without a valid Will then the intestacy rules will apply which are the rules that state how your estate must be shared.

In this situation, Mr A would receive assets up to the value of £250,000 and all personal possessions (whatever their value). The remaining £150,000 will be shared between Mr A who will receive half of what remains (£75,000) and the children of this marriage and the previous marriage who will receive the remaining half equally between them.

We are living in a time where changing family structures mean that there is a stronger imperative to write a Will to ensure that your assets pass where you intend rather than relying upon the intestacy rules which don’t always suit your situation. You might want to strike a balance between providing for your husband or wife but ultimately ensuring that your estate passes to your children. Relying upon the intestacy rules is simply not an option.   

If you would like any more advice regarding Wills and Trusts or would like to speak to one of our specialist advisers, please click here for a call back or message us your enquiry.