| It is a common misconception that making a Will is an | | | | However, if there are no children, the surviving |
| expensive business – and this deters many | | | | spouse receives the first £450,000 and a lifetime |
| people from doing so. There's the added factor that | | | | interest in half of what is left – with the rest |
| making a Will means people must confront their own | | | | going to other close relatives specified in the rules. |
| mortality. But whilst a properly drawn up Will by | | | | But problems arise where, for example, the value of |
| professionals can cost more than £100, the failure | | | | the matrimonial home is similar or more than the |
| to make a Will can prove far more costly for those | | | | amount the spouse is entitled to. This can lead to |
| left behind, long-term. | | | | other relatives wanting to realise their share of the |
| And the damage is not just financial - it can cause | | | | estate by having the property sold – particularly |
| intense stress and emotional damage, and sometimes | | | | in the prevailing financial climate where those |
| the loss of a home. The individual at risk of this is | | | | beneficiaries may have their own need for ready |
| often a bereaved husband or wife who discovers he | | | | cash. |
| or she has no choice but to move out of the | | | | The situation can be compounded if the marriage is |
| matrimonial home, particularly in the case of second | | | | the spouse's second (or subsequent) marriage and |
| marriages. | | | | where children from an earlier marriage are involved. |
| According to the Financial Times, more than 1,200 | | | | The surviving spouse often has to go to court in an |
| spouses who have lost their partners have been | | | | effort to stay in his or her home which is costly, time |
| forced out of their homes by children or other | | | | consuming, emotionally draining and bad for family |
| relatives because their partners did not make a Will. | | | | relations. There is the added factor that inheritance |
| Where no Will is made, the statutory intestacy rules | | | | tax is quite likely to reduce drastically the amount of |
| are applied in dividing up and distributing the estate of | | | | the estate available for beneficiaries. |
| the deceased. The spouse does not automatically | | | | In a culture where only half the adult population |
| inherit everything the deceased owned – a fact | | | | makes a Will, and where property prices frequently |
| of which many people are unaware. Under these | | | | exceed the statutory amount awarded to spouses |
| intestacy rules, husbands and wives automatically | | | | under the intestacy rules, individuals must give serious |
| receive their spouse's personal belongings such as | | | | consideration to making a Will sooner rather than |
| jewellery, cars and furniture; together with the first | | | | later. It could save a lot of heartache for your |
| £250,000 of the estate and, finally, a lifetime | | | | spouse and your family - and will minimise the financial |
| interest in half of what is left. The rest goes to the | | | | cost to your estate after you die. |
| children. | | | | |