Welcome Changes to Intestacy Law
Added: (Fri Mar 13 2009)
As of the 1st of February 2009, bereaved husbands, wives and civil partners will be entitled to up to £450.000 of the deceased’s estate if a will has not been made or cannot be located. This new ruling has doubled the previous statutory entitlement of £125,000 where there are children and £250,000 where there are no children.
This is the first time intestacy law has been changed since 1993 and means that the bereaved spouse will now receive the first £250,000 if they have children and £450,000 if there are no children. These changes have been welcomed as the previous figure was criticised by many as being too low.
Intestacy law applies only to part of the deceased’s estate, after any enforceable debts and funeral expenses have been covered and where either a will has not been made, or cannot be found. Also referred to as ‘intestate succession statutes’ or ‘the law of decent and distribution’, intestacy law determines how an estate is shared out and who is entitled to a share.
Despite these changes to intestacy law, will writers cannot stress enough the importance of writing a will. Obviously, none of us look forward to making such decisions and without proper advice from an experienced will writer; you could risk making a will which is either incomplete or invalid.
Marketing Director of Trust Inheritance, Andrew Hall, had this to say:
“I cannot stress enough how important it is for people to have a proper will made. Although will writing kits are available from most stationers, they are often difficult forms to fill in and should a mistake be made, or significant assets be overlooked or omitted, then the will could be deemed invalid.”
As well as the DIY will writing kits which are available, there’s also a host of online will writing services available at relatively cheap prices. However, some of these ‘cheap’ online services still run a risk of being deemed invalid as some of these will writing services are sometimes conducted by relatively inexperienced individuals.
Andrew Hall went on to say:
“For those trying to find a will writer online; don’t be swayed by the more competitive prices. If it sounds too good to be true, it often is. Ensuring your will writer has the proper qualifications and a proven track record to professionally draft your will is paramount to ensuring your wishes are carried out to the letter when the time inevitably arrives.”
Trust Inheritance was founded in 1990 and is a Registered Trust Corporation. Their team consists of members and student members of the Law Society and the Institute of Legal Executives. Trust Inheritance are also founder members of the Professional Association of Legal Services. For more details, please visit http://www.trustinheritance.com.
Submitted by:Trust Inheritance Find out more.