Still not made a Will? The good news is the Government has made one for you. It’s called the Laws of Intestacy. The bad news is this is what it says …

Financial problems will be the last thing you want to leave your loved ones after your death. But if you die without making a Will, that’s exactly what could happen.

If you’ve not made a Will yet, your wishes are taken away from you. Instead, the Laws of Intestacy come into play … and that can spell bad news for your loved ones.

To My Family

I hereby leave you several months, maybe years, of financial hardship and hassle while you sort out my affairs.

To my Spouse

I hereby leave you most (but perhaps not all) of everything I own.

To my Partner

You may well get nothing.

To my Children

I hereby leave you the remainder of my estate and I give you the authority to enforce the sale of any part of it (including the family home) to realise your inheritance.

To Social Services

If my children are orphaned I give you the authority of guardianship and the power to choose who shall look after them, including allocating them to foster parents.

To HMRC

I hereby leave you all the tax that I could have avoided if I had done the necessary planning.

To my Bank and/or Solicitor

I hereby give you the authority to charge by estate whatever is necessary to sort out the mess I leave behind. I realise that this could make you one of the beneficiaries of my estate.

To anyone else who I wanted to leave something to

I leave you nothing.

Signed on behalf of the deceased by

H.M. Government

Please click here to download a summary of the Intestacy provisions in England and Wales 2019.