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| 70% have no Will.. | Wills.org.uk - The UK's Leading Will Writing Organisation |
Online WillsStatistics indicate that around 70% of Britons do not have a will. This is bad news for their families and good news for the Treasury.
Last year, the Treasury made £18 million out of unclaimed estates from those dying without a will and without a family to claim it.
To encourage more of us to draw up a will, we have not held, but reduced our online will writing prices for the second time since we started up in business 5 years ago.
For every will written we donate £1 to one of our approved charities, RNLI or Children in Need.
Many people think that that if you don't make a will, the money will go to your spouse. In fact, the state decides, through intestacy rules, what will happen.
In England and Wales, if you have children (including from a previous marriage), your spouse or civil partner can receive a maximum of £250,000 (including your home) and all your personal belongings. The limit was raised from £125,000 in February 2009.
The rest is split in two. Half is put in trust, on which the surviving spouse can draw interest for their lifetime. The other half goes directly to the children. If they are under 18, it's held in statutory trust until they come of age.
Where there are no children, in England and Wales the spouse or partner can inherit a maximum of £450,000, with the balance again being divided in two with half going to your parents or, if they're dead, your siblings or their children.
Fortunately, any joint accounts or jointly owned assets, such as your home, automatically pass to the other person before these limits apply.
Even then it depends on how your home is owned.
Matt Walkden of MW Legal Services tht operate
www.Wills.org.uk
, says: 'Dying without a will leaves your spouse with problems at a distressing time. If there's no will, there are no executors to administer the estate, so the survivor has to apply for a grant of letters of administration before the estate can be sorted out. Until this is granted, assets, such as bank accounts, are frozen.'
If you're living together and are not married or in a civil partnership, you have no automatic rights, so it's vital to write a will.
To get your will written quickly and with the best value for money service around, please use our online will writing form.
You especially need to take advice if you have stepchildren or it's likely your estate will have to pay inheritance tax (IHT). Inheritance Tax is charged at 40% on everything over £325,000.
Married couples and civil partners inherit without paying tax and can use their partner's unused IHT allowance when they die, raising the limit this year to £650,000. The limit increases annually.
Wills can also be used to set up trusts, which are useful if you have young children.
If you need an expert, contact Matt Walkden on 0800 840 6360 or use the contact form on this website.
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