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Not Bothered About Making A Will? Think Again

20 January 2009

If you’re not bothered about making a Will, think again. New rules coming into force on February 1 could have damaging effects on the loved ones who survive you, warns Kent lawyer Nicola Rostron.

Nicola, associate and senior solicitor in the private client team at Furley Page, said: “The financial hardship, not to mention fractured family relationships, that can result from the absence of a proper Will should persuade people once and for all against dying intestate.

“They need to be aware of what happens to their estate on their death – particularly to some of their assets such as jointly-owned assets; pension pots and life assurance policies which may not necessarily pass as part of the estate and could need particular attention when drafting a Will.”

When someone dies without leaving a Will their estate is distributed according to strict statutory rules. Statutory legacies are paid to surviving spouses or civil partners, the amount received dependant on whether or not the deceased is survived by children (or their children); by parents; or by brothers and sisters (or their children.)

From February 1 statutory legacies will increase as follows:

  • Where the deceased is survived by a spouse/civil partner and children the level is doubled -  from £125,000 to £250,000
  • Where the deceased is survived by a spouse/civil partner and parents or siblings but no children the level is increased from £200,000 to £450,000

If the value of the deceased’s estate falls below these levels it passes entirely to a surviving spouse/civil partner but if it exceeds the new limits the rules are:

Where the deceased is survived by a spouse/civil partner and children:
 

  • The surviving spouse/civil partner takes the personal chattels and the first £250,000 together with a life interest in half the remainder
  • The other half of the remainder passes to the children of the deceased equally (and is paid to them when they reach 18.) The half held on life interest for the surviving spouse/civil partner is also divided equally between the children when the survivor later dies.

Where the deceased is survived by a spouse/civil partner and no children but parents or siblings:
 

  • The surviving spouse/civil partner takes the personal chattels and the first £450,000 and half the remainder
  • The other half of the remainder passes to the parents of the deceased equally or, if they have died, to the siblings of the deceased (or their children) equally.

Where the deceased is survived by a spouse/civil partner and no children, parents or siblings the surviving spouse takes everything. Where only the children survive they take everything equally but where there’s no surviving spouse/civil partner or children there’s a strict list of surviving relatives. In the event that no relatives are found, the entire estate passes to the Crown. 

For further information contact Nicola Rostron at the Canterbury office on 01227 763939 or the Chatham office on 01634 828277.


 

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