Changes to the Intestacy Rules
16th April 2010 by: David Maxwell
The Intestacy Rules which set out how your estate is divided in the absence of a Will were amended last year when the Government increased the level of the ‘statutory legacy’ for married couples and civil partners, after concerns that the previous level was too low.
Previously if you left a spouse or civil partner and children when you died intestate, then your partner received your personal belongings and the first £125,000 of your estate (this has now increased to £250,000). The remainder of the estate is then split in half, with half going to your children if they are 18 or over, and the other half being put in trust for your partner’s lifetime.
If there are no children, then the surviving partner would previously have received your personal belongings and the sum of £200,000 (the cash sum has now increased to £450,000). The rest of your estate is split in two, with half going to your partner, and the other half to your parents, or if they have already died, your brothers and sisters or their descendants.
Despite common misconceptions about “common law husbands and wives “ currently cohabitees receive nothing on an intestacy (although they can apply to the Court seeking a payment which depending on the circumstances the Court may approve ).
Research over the past 20 years has shown that the general public is in favour of cohabitants having automatic rights through intestacy and the Law Commission has recently produced a consultation paper on the topic.
The Consultation Paper proposes that cohabiting partners, including gay couples, would be entitled to at least a proportion of their partner’s estate automatically if the deceased partner did not leave a will. A cohabitant who had a child with the deceased would be entitled under the intestacy rules to the same entitlement as a spouse regardless of how long they had been living together. Cohabitants without children and who had been living together for at least 5 years they would also be entitled to the same interest that a spouse or civil partner would be entitled to. For those cohabitants that had been living together for between 2 and 5 years before the death, the surviving partner would be entitled to 50% of the amount which a spouse would have received from the estate.
Clearly there are public policy considerations given that the option to marry or enter into a civil partnership is available and individuals make choices for which they ought to bear the consequences, however, the fact remains that marriage as an institution is on the decline and perhaps as a society we ought to reflect this not least in our intestacy provisions.
Previously if you left a spouse or civil partner and children when you died intestate, then your partner received your personal belongings and the first £125,000 of your estate (this has now increased to £250,000). The remainder of the estate is then split in half, with half going to your children if they are 18 or over, and the other half being put in trust for your partner’s lifetime.
If there are no children, then the surviving partner would previously have received your personal belongings and the sum of £200,000 (the cash sum has now increased to £450,000). The rest of your estate is split in two, with half going to your partner, and the other half to your parents, or if they have already died, your brothers and sisters or their descendants.
Despite common misconceptions about “common law husbands and wives “ currently cohabitees receive nothing on an intestacy (although they can apply to the Court seeking a payment which depending on the circumstances the Court may approve ).
Research over the past 20 years has shown that the general public is in favour of cohabitants having automatic rights through intestacy and the Law Commission has recently produced a consultation paper on the topic.
The Consultation Paper proposes that cohabiting partners, including gay couples, would be entitled to at least a proportion of their partner’s estate automatically if the deceased partner did not leave a will. A cohabitant who had a child with the deceased would be entitled under the intestacy rules to the same entitlement as a spouse regardless of how long they had been living together. Cohabitants without children and who had been living together for at least 5 years they would also be entitled to the same interest that a spouse or civil partner would be entitled to. For those cohabitants that had been living together for between 2 and 5 years before the death, the surviving partner would be entitled to 50% of the amount which a spouse would have received from the estate.
Clearly there are public policy considerations given that the option to marry or enter into a civil partnership is available and individuals make choices for which they ought to bear the consequences, however, the fact remains that marriage as an institution is on the decline and perhaps as a society we ought to reflect this not least in our intestacy provisions.
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