If you do not make a will then you will die intestate, the people you love may not get the estate you wanted them to. Intestacy rules will apply in this situation. Here is a flowchart of the route typically taken:
Joint property – there is a chance this can be inherited by the person who jointly owned the property with the deceased. This includes housing, bank accounts or building society accounts. Any money inherited via this route will not count towards the estate of the deceased.
Spouses – if you were married to or in a civil partnership with the deceased you will inherit primarily. Any divorced persons or cohabiting partners will not inherit.
Children – if there are 2 or more children the estate will be split among them; they will receive their share when they are 18 or marry before.
Grandchildren/great-grandchildren – they cannot inherit from the estate of an intestate person unless either; their parent or grandparent has died before the intestate person; their parent is alive when the intestate person dies but dies before reaching the age of 18 without having married or formed a civil partnership.
For further information on all of the above, please visit: www.citizensadvice.org.uk
If your will is invalid
If your will is declared invalid, then your property will follow the rules of intestacy as above. A will can only be invalid under certain circumstances. It can be that there was a mistake made in the creation of the will but more often it is a contentious issue.
In England and Wales, you are allowed to create a will if you are 18 or over and have testamentary capacity. Having testamentary capacity means you can understand:
That your beneficiaries will receive your assets
The extent of your estate (everything you own)
The implications of including/excluding certain people as beneficiaries
Your actions and not being influenced into making decisions.
If you are found to lack any of these abilities when you made your will, your will could be invalid.
You must make sure you are not being unduly influenced by anybody at any time and you are wiring your will the way you want to. Others cannot manipulate the contents of your will verbally, physically or emotionally. If you are concerned about this please seek independent legal advice.
Make sure you sign your will in front of a witness, this will help your case if someone is to contest the will after your death. See the section on ‘contesting a will’.
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