INTESTACY RULES
BROUGHT TO YOU BY ROTHERA DOWSON AND HM GOVERNMENT
THE FREQUENT-FLYING NEWLY-WEDS
If you’ve not made Wills yet, or even thought about doing so, don’t worry! The Law of England & Wales in effect “writes” them for you through the Intestacy Rules, even if you think you’re too young to die.
Most people do leave some family, so estates don’t usually end up with the Government. But which of your relatives will share in your estate? Sometimes the answer is just what you’d have wanted, but often it is not, and can sometimes be a complete lottery. For example:
Imagine a married couple whose passion is holidaying abroad.
This is the Last Will and Testament imposed by HM Government on us Mr FREQUENT FLYER and Mrs FREQUENT FLYER who (despite not making Wills whilst regularly getting into heavy lumps of metal that hurtle across the sky) are of sound mind etc.
1. Our funeral wishes...
... are a bit irrelevant if the plane goes down. If they do find any bits, we express no view about whether these are to be repatriated.
2. We leave our closest friends, and our godchildren...
... nothing.
3. We leave our church and favourite charities...
... nothing.
4. Anything in the husband’s sole name can go to…
... his closest blood relatives, which could mean his parents, or some (but not all) of his brothers and sisters, or cousins in Canada – the ones we’ve never met.
5. Anything in the wife’s sole name goes to…
... her closest blood relatives, which may include her horrid sister, or the troubled nephew with that unfortunate “substance issue”.
6. But a special rule for our most valuable asset - the jointly owned house – and any joint bank account. Split these equally between both families? Naaah. We give them instead to …
... the blood relatives of whichever of us happens to have been born second. A bit arbitrary, but we don’t foresee any jealousy or bitterness at this distressing time.
7. And our second most valuable asset – the death in service benefits from our jobs?...
... who cares? Let them fight over it.
8. And if the older of us has any children by a prior relationship, they could end up with...
... nothing. It won’t bother us as we won’t be here.
9. We leave the taxman...
... as much as he can get. We know the Government needs it, and we like what they’re spending it on.
10. We appoint as our executors...
... two different sets of people. Perhaps the first relatives the police track down. Or the Treasury Solicitor. No rush to sort things out.
11. If one of us has young children we leave those children to...
... someone not of our choosing. And after that to a guardian chosen by a third party, say social services. That should be character-forming.
12. In short...
... we leave a mess. Two messes, actually.
Signed (in invisible ink) by us Mr FREQUENT FLYER
and Mrs FREQUENT FLYER as our combined
Last Will whether we really want it or not:
IF THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT, YOU REALLY NEED TO WRITE SOME WILLS – ONE FOR EACH OF YOU.
ROTHERA DOWSON CAN HELP YOU WITH THIS.
It may not cost as much as a flight with Easyjet. And what it does cost is money you’ll never in fact need to spend on yourself. Treat it as a first instalment of what you’re leaving to the people you really would want to inherit.
For some clients it can even be done for free. For more information contact the Wills & Probate department at Rothera Dowson Solicitors on 0800 124 4012.
