Personal Finance Information |
What Happens if You Die Without Making a Will
If you die without making a Will in the UK, the state will decide who gets what and how much, so those who you would want to benefit may get far less than you hoped. Your estate (your property and all belongings) are frozen and become subject to the law of intestacy. You are said to have died 'intestate', meaning everything you own will be valued, tax paid at 40% if worth more than £275,000 (as at August 2005) and then shared out to your surviving spouse or relatives or given to the state if you don't have any. The problem with this is that neither you or your family will have any say in the matter if you didn't make a Will. The beneficiaries and the share they receive will be decided by the state and the whole process can takes months or even years because you didn't take the time to make a Will. Whilst the law and complete strangers decide how your belongings are shared, your surviving spouse or partner has all the usual household and living expenses to pay. If you are the main breadwinner they will probably be on a reduced income. Your surviving spouse or partner may not have access to money, she or he would normally have a right to if you had made a Will, because the assets could be frozen until all the formalities have been sorted out. If you have got a valid Last Will and testament it should take no longer than three months to complete the legal process and release your assets to the people who you chose. So Who Gets What if You Die Without Making a Will? When someone dies without making a Will or Last Will and Testament, their estate (all their property and belongings) are distributed according to the law of intestacy. This is where, in effect, the state writes your Will for you and is most likely not to meet your wishes. The following outlines the basic rules that decides who gets what: If you are married at the time of your death If you are married with children at the time of your death If you are married without children but have parents or siblings If you are not married at the time of you death Notes: Copyright © Make Your Will - Free Guide to Making a Will in the UK http://www.make-your-will.co.uk All rights reserved. Please feel free to publish this article online provided that the article and this copyright statement remain unchanged with live links.
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 403, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
Saving Money - The Magic 20 Percent Saving money is not easy and is made more difficult if you have a short-term outlook regarding your personal finances. If, like many people, you are living from one pay cheque to the next, it is difficult to put some money aside for a rainy day or for a summer holiday. 10 Steps to Take if You Are a Victim of Identity Theft There have been an estimated 9.9 million victims on America and over 40% of all consumer complaints in the U. Bank On It: Places to Hide and Invest Money Today I passed a thermometer at a bank that read 110 degrees, but I am not telling you that to show you how hot it was. I am telling you that because this bank really needs to fix their thermometer. Can You Afford Not To Look After Your Personal Finances? Investing is a subject a lot of people don't want to think about. And there is good reason for that. Learning the Basics of Handling Money With prices increasing all the time, saving money can be harder and harder to do. Here are some solutions for saving a little so that you can still meet your needs and still find ways to trim off a little for the future. Budgeting Tips to Save Real Money Sticking to a budget can be difficult, but with so many demands on your finances you have to be extra cautious. TV ads are constantly bombarding the airwaves with messages that you need to buy this or you must have that. Save Money on Gas Gas prices have soared to unimaginable heights of late. Since most of us are not likely to turn to bikes or horse-drawn buggies we will have to learn to get the most from our gas dollars. The World is Not Enough - Calling for a More Ethical Approach to Personal Finance At a time when the entire world's attention is focused on the problems of world debt, with the Live 8 concerts, the G8 summit in Scotland, the Make Poverty History Campaign (MPH) and the various anti-poverty marches, it seems that everyone wants the world's governments to behave more ethically towards the manner in which international finance is conducted. This is obviously a laudable attitude to take, and has gained immense momentum with such a groundswell of public opinion that even the UK Chancellor, Gordon Brown, has stated he is planning to participate in the Make Poverty History demonstration in Edinburgh during the G8 summit. Students Investing in Their Future Need to Manage Their Finances Today With the A-level results coming out, the long wait for UK school leavers hoping to go to university will soon be over. All the hard work that has been put into achieving the grades required will now pay off and the fun and freedom that is student life can begin. Reduce College Debt with Scholarships Six Scholarship judges were sitting around an ovaltable. Forms were piled into 50 boxes. Kundalini Lessons - Money I've been going through and interesting growth period lately that I thought I'd share, as some of the lessons were pretty profound (at least for me).I've written before about my awakening and the joys and tribulations since, and I've also mentioned that it's an ongoing process which, as far as I can tell, doesn't really end til you shuffle off this mortal coil. Your Dry Cleaner's Double Standard Women are charged more for dry cleaning services. Don't fume, find a better way. Photo Checks - A Great Alternative in Checking It's the little things in life that make it interesting. Everyday life can be so boring at times. Personal Finance - Why You Should Compare, not Despair Sorting out your personal finances can be a tricky and exasperating time. Whether you are looking to obtain money through a loan, protect your finances with life insurance, medical, travel or car insurance, save some money through an individual savings account (ISA), apply for a credit card or a mortgage, change a telephone or fuel utility supplier, or simply decide what the best current account is for your needs, the choices are seemingly endless as well as being extremely complicated. Financial Readiness: Preparing for BRAC (Base Realignment And Closing) The recommendations for military base closings have been released and the news is not good. If the recommendations are accepted, you will lose your job. Personal Loans For Homeowners - One Of The Numerous Rewards For Being A Homeowner You no longer look at the pictures of homes cause you yourself bought one. Well, you know how you got that, it was a huge investment. Live Green; Save Green! Have you seen the recent article on a new "green" residential high rise in Battery Park? It's called The Solaire. For a look at the hopeful future of architectural efficiency, check out the myriad of cost saving and environmentally-friendly features of the building:http://www. Identity Theft is a Major Problem: Whose Responsibility is It to Protect the Consumer? We have heard a lot about consumers' personal information getting into the hands of identity thieves. More and more people are taking steps to minimize their exposure to such theft by reducing information on personal checks, refusing to share social security numbers with just anyone who asks, being prudent in their use of credit cards, and shredding "junk" mail that might allow another person to pose as them. Money Saving Tips. Maximize Savings on Everyday Items! Frugal living is more than a lifestyle. It's a passion. Estate Planning Basics You have probably accomplished a great deal with your life. Over the years you have worked, planned and saved. |
home | site map | contact us |