New Inheritance Law in the Absence of a Will |
Posted: March 10, 2015 |
A major overhaul of laws governing inheritance, when someone dies without a will, came into force on 1st October 2014. Even after the reforms, the common law partners still do not have any protection under the law. The children from married partners may end up finding that they are now entitled to less than what they expected.
Who Are Affected By the Change of Laws? In case a person dies without making a will, you would be required to follow a set of Intestacy Rules that helps in determining who gets exactly what. The new inheritance rules are not expected to affect families of those, who die leaving behind less than £250,000 in terms of assets. The new inheritance rules would be having a crucial impact on families of those who die leaving behind more than £250,000. Needless to say that with prices of houses having shot up in the recent past, there is a growing number in this category of people. Reason behind the New Inheritance Rules In case someone passes away without leaving a will, legally they are referred to as those that have died intestate. If the deceased had failed to leave a will stating his wishes, all his possessions and assets (referred to as his estate) would be distributed in accordance with the Rules of Intestacy. The ultimate intention is to ensure that when someone passes away without leaving any will, his property distribution should be dealt with quickly and sensibly. This is the primary reason behind the common sense changes to update or modernize the existing law and to ensure that administering an estate is made easier and faster. The new inheritance rules have been formulated with the sole intention of modernizing and speeding up the distribution of assets of the deceased who left without a will. The amendments brought the law into line with the modern day expectations and intend to make the process simpler to manage for family and friends. Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Bill 2014 From October 1, 2014, an attempt was made to simplify the intestacy rules existing then in England and Wales. The Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Bill 2014 was introduced. This Bill also, impacted the then existing wills. Some of the changes brought about by the new inheritance rules are discussed briefly below: 1) Married Individual Having No Children With effect from October 2014, if a person who has a civil partner or spouse, but has no children, his spouse would inherit all his assets, if he dies without leaving his will. 2) Married Individual Having Children According to the reforms, when an individual passes away without leaving a Will and his spouse and children are left behind, the surviving partner will be entitled to the Statutory Legacy of £250,000 including the deceased's all personal belongings (personal chattels) and also, half of his estate automatically. The surviving children would then be entitled to receive the remaining half-share on trust, once they are 18 years of age. According to the previous laws, the spouse would be receiving the income from the half share of the deceased’s estate, which would automatically be transferred to the children when their surviving parent passes away. 3) Statutory Legacy increase The Statutory Legacy would increase, minimum every five years, adhering to the consumer price index. 4) Personal Chattels Personal chattels have been redefined by the new Bill in October 2014. Personal Chattels now encompasses each and every tangible movable property, apart from the property: Consisting of money or even securities for money That was used at the intestate’s death primarily for business purposes That was held at Intestate’s death exclusively as an investment. The change in definition necessitated some modifications in the then existing wills and numerous wills had to be updated accordingly since October 2014. Research reveals that numerous people die without leaving their wills every year. Everyone should be encouraged to make a will so that their property could be distributed as per their own wishes, when they pass away. Visit our website http://www.disputingwills.co.uk for detailed information on wills.
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