Intestacy and why drawing up a Will is so important

What is Intestacy?

If a person dies without leaving a valid will, their estate is said to be intestate or that they died intestate. If that happens, the estate, once all debts have been paid out (and Inheritance Tax (IHT) if the estate is above a certain threshold), the remaining estate is shared out amongst the next of kin. There is an established pecking order for this within the law.

Only married or civil partners and a number of other close family members can inherit under the rules of Intestacy. Major problems can arise if the deceased has no direct relatives.

Invalid Wills

If a someone dies and the Will is deemed to be invalid, the rules of intestacy apply. this might happen if a DIY Will was not signed properly or not witnessed in the correct way. If this happens the estate will be divided according to thes intestacy laws and not according to the wishes expressed in the Will.

Married and Civil partners

Spouses or Civil partners will only inherit the estate when a person dies intestate if they are married or in a civil partnership at the time of death. Divorced couples or those who have had their civil partnership dissolved will not inherit. However, being separated whilst still married or in a civil partnership, is no bar and you can still inherit your partner’s estate under the legal that apply.

If there are surviving children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren and an estate is valued at over £250,000, the civil partner or spouse will inherit:

All the personal property and belongings of the deceased
The first £250,000 of the estate
A life interest in half of the remaining estate. This means that you do not have the right to sell that part of the estate, but you do have the benefit of it during your lifetime.
Anything left over after this has been taken into account will be divided equally between the children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren of the deceased.

Children

Children of the deceased will inherit the estate when there is no surviving spouse or civil partner. when there are two children or more , the estate will be divided in equal shares equally amongst them. If there is a surviving civil partner or spouse, the children will inherit the remainder of the estate after the initial £250,000 that goes to the spouse has been subtracted. In the case of minors (children under the age of 18), the inheritance will be managed by a trustee until the child comes of age.

Joint property and bank accounts

In the case of joint home or bank accounts ownership , the surviving partner or spouse will normally continue to own the property as it is not regarded as an ‘inheritance’ as such. For nearly all property bought by married couples, the ownership is as ‘joint tenants’. Importantly any property and money that a surviving partner inherits is not counted as part of the estate when it is being valued for inheritance purposes.

No surviving relatives

If the deceased has no surviving relatives, the estate will go to the Crown, known as ‘bona vacantia’. The Treasury Solicitor is then responsible for dealing with the estate, and may give out grants from the estate to those who think that they have a genuine case to inherit some or all of the estate value. Not the best way to deal with this sort of matter perhaps.

By not leaving a valid Will, a person who dies intestate can leave behind a tangled web for both solicitors and family members to unravel. That is why it is so important to make sure that you have an up to date and valid Will. It will also ensure that people who are not in line to inherit from an intestate estate such as friends or carers can be remembered. Intestacy can be very complex, often taking years to sort out. To avoid this unnecessary situation, talk to a lawyer about drawing up a suitable valid Will now.