When it comes to dying intestate, there really are no advantages to it. In fact, there are quite a few disadvantages to it. Not just for you as the deceased, but for the loved ones that you leave behind as well.
We’ve put together this guide to the major disadvantages of dying intestate to help you find the motivation you need to get your Will written.
The Advantages of Dying Intestate
Dying intestate is not just caused by the deceased not writing a Will, it is also caused by an invalid Will being left by the deceased. The disadvantages to dying intestate are the same whether you have no Will or an Invalid Will. You should use a Will Checking service, such as the one provided by WillFinda to ensure that any Will you write is valid.
The Law Over Your Wishes
The biggest disadvantage to dying intestate is that it is the law and not the wishes of the deceased that dictate who inherits the deceased’s estate. Not only does the law decide who inherits, but also how much the deceased inherits.
If you die and leave behind a spouse, children and a large estate. The children will be favoured over the spouse when it comes to how the estate is divided. This may not be what the deceased wanted, but their wishes do not matter in the eyes of the law as there is no Will to outline what they may or may not have wanted. Any other beneficiaries you may have wanted to inherit are generally not considered.
An example, if the deceased left behind a wife and two children, then:
- For an estate of £250,000 or less, the wife inherits everything.
- For an estate of £500,000, the wife inherits £250,000, and each child inherits £125,000
- And, for an estate of £1,000,000, the wife inherits £250,000, and each child inherits £375,000
This has been over simplified for the sake of example, but it gives you a good idea as to how an estate is divided under the laws of intestate. In the case of a second spouse, the spouse inherits the bulk of the estate and the children of the first marriage often lose out.
Inheritance Tax
The other major disadvantage to dying intestate is inheritance tax. When you write a Will, you can write in trusts and other ways of reducing your inheritance tax bill. Without a Will, none of these provisions can be made. Therefore your loved ones end up losing out on money that they could have otherwise kept.
No Way to Make Special Provisions
There may be causes or people outside of your immediate family that you want to be remembered when you die; but when you leave no Will, none of these wishes can be honoured. It then falls to beneficiaries of your estate to decide whether or not they want to honour any wishes of yours that they are aware of.
In some cases, your beneficiaries may apply for a Deed of Variation within two years of the date of your death to put a Will in place to ensure your wishes are met. However, this requires all of the beneficiaries to agree. Find out more about Deeds of Variation here.
Need to write your Will? Do it today with WillFinda! Call us today to find Will writers in your area.
