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If you die before you have made a will, your
property will be distributed in accordance with
an Act of Parliament called the Administration of Estates Act
1925. This Act contains a detailed
table of who should receive what proportion of
your property when you die, according to
Parliament's idea of what is usual and
proper. For certain people, this may be
acceptable. However if your property is
distributed in this way:
- Your
property may not be distributed to your
loved ones. For instance, de facto
partners will not be provided
for.
- Your
property may be distributed to someone
you would have chosen not to
provide for; e.g. rich or estranged
siblings or cousins.
- If your
spouse remarries, their new spouse may
benefit from assets that you may have
wished to reserve to your children.
- You will
not have the opportunity to benefit any
charities of your choice.
- Unless you
have consulted a lawyer or read the
statute yourself, you will not know
exactly how your property will be
distributed.
- If you have
no close relatives, your property may go
to the government.
For all these reasons, it is desirable for you
to prepare a will or have a solicitor prepare one for
you. Before you do so, you should read the
guidelines contained on the following pages.
You should consult a firm of solicitors if:
- You do not
understand any of the advice on the
following pages.
- You have
questions of your own which are not
answered on the following pages.
- You are
anticipating divorce.
- You are
contemplating remarriage. Once you marry,
any will made prior to that marriage
becomes void. If you want the will to
survive the marriage, a special clause is
needed.
- You have
children of a previous marriage.
- You hold
property as a joint
tenant.
- You have
significant assets outside of the UK.
- You have a
family trust.
- You have
prepared your own will, but would like it
checked by a solicitor to ensure that it
is valid.
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