What’s happening?
From 06 February 2020
the amount someone receives should their spouse or civil partner die intestate
is set to increase.
What does this mean?
If someone dies
without having made a Will, they’re deemed to have died intestate and the
distribution of their estate is determined by the Intestacy Rules (“the
Rules”). Under the Rules currently, where there are children the spouse or
civil partner of the deceased inherits the first £250,000 of the deceased’s
estate plus any personal belongings, with anything left over after that then
split equally between the spouse and the children of the deceased.
Okay, so what’s changing?
From next month, the
amount the spouse or civil partner receives is set to increase from £250,000 to
£270,000. The rest of the distribution remains the same, with the spouse or civil partner still receiving all personal belongings plus half of whatever else is left.
This is a good thing, then?
Yes, this increase is
very much welcome albeit perhaps somewhat overdue as it had originally been
expected to increase back in October 2019. This is because there’s a statutory
instrument which requires the government raise this amount in line with the consumer
price index every five years and the previous increase was made back in October
2014. The government however, as you may recall, was a little preoccupied at
the back end of last year, what with the impending election - hence why this is
only coming in now.
It is however also
worth pointing out that this increase only applies where there are children.
Where the deceased didn’t have any children, their spouse or civil partner
still inherits their entire estate. It also doesn’t apply to unmarried couples
or cohabitees where the Rules continue not to make any provision for them.
So what’s next?
Well first off this
latest increase is expected to apply for the next five years, whereupon the
government will then increase it again. This is unless there are any wholesale
changes to the Rules between now and 2025.
That notwithstanding,
the biggest detail to take away from this is the importance of having a Will.
It’s just the fact remains that under the Rules, estates are
rarely distribute as people would have intended and can bring about a whole raft
of problems that could otherwise have been avoided had there been a Will.
Contacting us
If you have any
questions regarding this article or how it might affect you or your loved ones,
please don’t hesitate to contact us. Similarly if you’d like to look at getting
a Will, please do get in touch.