WRITING A WILL - A COMPLETE GUIDE

Intestate - What happens if you die without making a will.

If you die without leaving a valid will, you are said to have died intestate. Usually in instances where one spouse dies before the other, depending on the estate's size, all or the greatest share of the estate goes to the surviving spouse.

The present intestacy laws date back to 1858 when Probate Registries were first introduced. Since then they have been regularly updated to try to take account of the changes in personal circumstances and the change in the value of money.

The intestacy law, however, was considered by some to need a complete review. The general opinion was that this law no longer adequately met the needs for distributing the average person's estate and has subsequently been altered. Now if there is a surviving spouse and issue, then the spouse receives a lump sum, known as the statutory legacy, and half of the remaining estate for his or her life. Life interest means that the spouse cannot spend the capital of the life interest and may only use the interest obtained from investing that sum. The statutory legacy has been increased to £125,000 if the deceased leaves issue. The value increases to £200,000 if there are no children, provided that the estate has that amount of value in it.

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