From Lawpack's Last Will & Testament Kit.

If you don't make a Will, you cannot control who will inherit your property after your death. Should you die without one, your property will be distributed according to law (the law of 'intestacy'), which is likely to be against your personal wishes. In some cases your estate may go to the Crown instead of the people you want to benefit. By making a Will you can determine precisely who will inherit your property and let your loved ones know that you have considered their needs.

Equally important, you can determine who will handle your affairs after your death and who will act as guardian for any minor children you have if they are left without a surviving parent. You can also use your Will to express your preferences for burial or cremation and for donating organs or your entire body for medical purposes. In addition, making a Will gives you the opportunity of reducing your Inheritance Tax liability. This is particularly important if you have substantial assets.

If you die without making a Will, or if your Will is invalid, you die 'intestate'. This means that the management of your affairs is then placed in the hands of administrators who are appointed by the court and who are likely to be close members of your family. The administrators distribute your estate according to the rules of intestacy.

The rules are complex, but broadly speaking the bulk of your estate will go to your spouse or, if none, to your children and, if none, to other specified blood relatives. The effect of the rules depends partly on the size of your estate. If you have surviving children, then your spouse will only receive a maximum amount of £125,000 outright from your estate. The balance is then shared between your spouse who takes half of the remainder as a life interest (and thereafter it goes to your children) and your children take the other half outright providing that they are not minors. If you leave no surviving children, then your spouse takes a maximum of £200,000 outright with a life interest in half of the remainder, the rest of which goes to other close relatives as defined. The amount your spouse gets therefore may be less than you expect. It's therefore always wise to have a valid Will rather than rely on the intestacy rules. The rules for spouses set out here are the same as the rules for those gay couples who register as civil partners under the Civil Partnerships Act 2004.

It's also possible to die partially intestate. This occurs if you fail to deal with all of your property in your Will or if a particular someone who was due to inherit in your Will dies before you or if you divorce and your ex-spouse's legacy becomes invalid as a result. It's therefore important to keep your Will up to date.

It's particularly important to make a Will if you're not married to your partner. Under the law of intestacy, your unmarried partner has no automatic right to any part of your estate and so he or she will have to establish a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 which can be costly, time consuming and not necessarily successful.

Once you've drawn up your Will, changes to your circumstances (e.g. marriage, divorce, having a child or moving house) can make parts of the Will invalid or unfair and open to a successful claim under the Inheritance Act. You should therefore review your Will regularly to reflect any major life changes, preferably every five years.

Law stated as at 1 March, 2006

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.