No one likes to think about death, and it is easy to keep putting off writing your Will until another time. However, as none of us know what the future will hold, it is never too soon to write a Will.

But do you know what will happen should you die without having a Will in place? Here the rules of intestacy are put into action. These rules determine how your estate will be divided.

If married or in a civil partnership at the time of death and there are no children the surviving spouse will inherit everything, but if you are not married, your partner will only inherit parts of the estate in joint names.

If there are children but no surviving married partner or civil partner the children will inherit the estate. However, if there are children, and one surviving married or civil partner, the first £270,000 in sole ownership will be inherited by the surviving spouse and the remainder divided equally among the spouse and children. Assets held jointly will pass by survivorship.

The rules of intestacy are strict and laid down by statute. If you want your estate to be distributed according to your wishes you need to have a Will in place.

If you would like to speak to Davies Estate Planning about drawing up a Will please use our contact form, drop me an email or give me a call on 0808 146 9295.