- Estate planning
- 4 min read
Why You Need a Will (Even If You Think You Don't)
What actually happens to your money, your home and your children if you die without one.
Around 60% of UK adults don't have a will. If you're one of them, the law — not you — decides who gets what. That's almost never what you'd have chosen.
Without a will: the rules of intestacy
If you die without a will, your estate is distributed under fixed legal rules. Unmarried partners get nothing automatically. Stepchildren get nothing. Your spouse may not get everything you assumed they would.
What a will lets you do
A properly drafted will lets you choose who inherits what, who looks after your children, who manages your estate and how to minimise inheritance tax.
- Name guardians for children under 18
- Choose executors you actually trust
- Leave specific gifts to family, friends or charity
- Set up trusts for vulnerable beneficiaries
- Plan around inheritance tax thresholds
When to review it
After any major life event — marriage (which usually revokes an existing will), divorce, a new child, a house purchase or a significant change in assets.
— The takeaway
A will is the single most important document most people never get round to writing. It usually costs less than a weekend away.
— Wills & Probate
Need help with this in real life?
— Probate
6 min read
What executors actually have to do, and how long it really takes.
— Lifetime planning
5 min read
Who makes decisions for you if you can't? You decide, but only while you still can.
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- info@nps-law.co.uk
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