If you die without having made a will, your estate passes under the rules of Intestacy. These rules set out a statutory prescribed order of who benefits under these circumstances. The legislation does not include unmarried cohabiting partners.
At TLS, we encourage everyone to put in place a will to ensure that your estate will go where you want it to go. Many people assume that the law will recognise a ‘common law spouse’ but it does not. The cost of a will is nothing compared to the cost of having to make a claim against an estate because no will has been made. Factoring in your partners grief and potential frayed family relations depending upon your circumstances it makes sense to consider this now and be in control of your final wishes.
There is legislation in place (Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975) that enables certain categories of people to make a claim against a deceased’s estate if they have not been adequately provided for and if they were financially dependent on the deceased.
If you would like a chat about making a will, please feel free to contact me for a free 30-minute consultation.
Sophie Campbell
01637 800 306
