The only certain way to ensure that your spouse, partner or relative inherits what you intend is to make a Will. If you die without having made a Will the intestacy rules apply in an arbitrary manner, particularly if there are no children. This may lead to your spouse having to share your estate with relatives whom you may have never intended to benefit. It could also result in a large part of your estate being liable to Inheritance tax, purely because it has not all passed to your wife or husband as you intended.
The rules for distributing someone's estate if there is no Will, the intestacy rules, were changed on 1st February 2009. Under these new rules there is still a division of the estate between your spouse and children or other relatives if there are no children.
For cohabiting couples, there is no automatic right for the survivor to inherit anything in the estate. If you have children together with your partner, they will inherit everything automatically, leaving your partner with nothing.
The only safe and secure way to avoid these catastrophic consequences is to make a simple Will.
Come and see Stephens Scown at St Austell, Truro or Exeter for a simple and safe solution.
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