Wills 'reduce intestacy risks'

By Tom Farley, Mon 8 Sep 2008 - Published in Pensions

A legal expert has reminded people that they should make a valid will rather than have their relatives face intestacy.

Suggesting that people need not wait until they are at pension age before drafting a will, Nicola Plant, partner at Thomas Egar LLP, said intestacy is a "stop gap" rather than a substitute for the document.

Intestacy, or the rules governing how an estate is divided when someone dies without making a will, can cause problems for married couples, she claimed.

Ms Plant said people tend to assume their estate will go to their husband or wife when they die, although it may not despite their intentions.

She explained: "Well that’s not the case, if you've got children the spouse automatically only gets the first Ł125,000 outright."

According to the Citizens Advice Bureau, unmarried partners and partners who have not registered a civil partnership will only inherit from each other if a valid will has been made.

In addition, by drawing up a will people can take steps to reduce the amount of inheritance tax their estate attracts.

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