From 1st October 2014 spouses and civil partners have new inheritance rights under the intestacy rules, along with adopted children, unmarried fathers and other family members. There are also changes to the powers trustees have to deal with the capital and income of trusts and the way in which personal ‘chattels’ are defined.
Following the recent changes, we spoke to Sue Mason of SJM Wills & Associated Services who made the following observations:
It is now even more important to write a Will as the new changes in law following the Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 will leave co-habiting partners, children from previous marriages, and other immediate family (parents, siblings) completely left out of your estate if you die without a Will.
Previously, for married couples without children, not having a Will meant the surviving spouse was entitled to the first £450,000 of the estate, plus half of the remainder. The rest would be divided between the deceased’s parents and siblings. Under the new rules, the surviving spouse will receive the whole lot. With more and more families having larger estates (including house, bank accounts, ISA’s, cars etc), this makes it even more essential for anyone getting a divorce to write a Will! But also, if you want any of your other family members to inherit from your estate, then a Will is necessary.
Previously, for married couples with children, not having a Will meant that the surviving spouse was entitled to the first £250,000 of the estate. Anything above £250,000 would go to the children (with a complicated system of the spouse taking half of the the income from the money but not the capital). Under the new rules, the surviving spouse will still be entitled to the first £250,000 but will also be fully entitled to half of the remainder. All the children will get is half of anything above £250,000. Therefore if you want your children to inherit more money from your estate, (especially children from previous marriages for example) you must write a Will.
Unmarried partners are surprisingly, still not entitled to anything from the estate, even if they have children with the deceased. So it remains the case, that the only way to ensure that part, or all of your estate will go to your partner, is to marry them or write a Will!
Now really is the time to make a Will, especially if you want certain loved ones to benefit from your assets following your passing.
Call Choice financial solutions on 0800 612 8099 to arrange your Will appointment now.
Will Writing is not regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority