what are the advantages of making a will?

Question

what are the legal problems surrounding an intestacy?

Answer 1

It means that you can decide how your estate will be distributed and, if you take proper tax advice, how as much of it as possible will remain available for distribution.

If you die intestate in the UK, then somebody will have to take out letters of administration for your estate. If you own property and inheritance tax is payable, then that money has to be paid up front before the estate can be distributed. It could mean one of your relatives having to take out an expensive loan just to pay the taxman, not to mention the solicitor's fees. (The solicitor will be asking for a few thousand pounds on account too.) The interest on the loan cannot be set against the estate, so this could cause the person taking out the letters of administration a great many financial problems, especially if other potential beneficiaries decline to share the burden. The estate has, under an intestacy, to be distributed according to the rule of law, which might not coincide with your own personal preferences. If you don't happen to have children or siblings, it could mean that the cousin with whom you have been feuding for years could end up with a generous share of your estate.

Answer 2

In intestacy, your estate will be distributed according to the relevant law, which may not be what you wished. It may be obvious to you that your precious Chinese vase goes to your niece, because you always said so, but that won't necessarily happen.

Someone will have to take out "letters of administration" to gain authority to deal with your estate, and that's a great burden on those left behind.

When a will is drawn up there is no doubt about your intentions and matters run a lot more smoothly; it's also advisable to appoint someone such as a firm of solicitors or a bank to be your executors, despite the costs, as if you appoint a named person they a)may not wish to do it, or be able to do it, and b) may not be around themselves.

Answer 3

LOTS!!!
If you die intestate and your direct next of kin cannot be decided in probate, your entire estate goes to the government! So if for example you have a secodn wife, first wife and step daughter, and they disagree over who should have the estate and there is no case for one above the other, the government gets the lot.
If you make a will it is a lot simpler, and very little of your estate is likely to be swallowed up in legal fees.
For the sake of £50-100 it is well worth it.

Answer 4

A will if properly executed by an attorney becomes part of an official court record. If in case the person who files it dies, makes sure that the people they want to bequeath something to get exactly what they want them to have, even if the copy of the will is destroyed, lost or stolen, the courts have a copy of it.

Answer 5

With a will your property goes to people who you want it to go to, after the government has taken out its whopping share. Without a will, the government takes it all. You (or should I say your beneficiaries) lose anyway. But it is much better to have a will in place.

Answer 6

in testate?

The advantage of a will is that it allows you to control how your assets are distributed. Absent a will, the government will decide and your family has little influence in the process.

A will is simple and valuable because it clarifies and codifies your wishes now while you are alive...after you are dead, all bets are off.

Answer 7

having a will makes things easier for your survivors after you die. if you don't have a will, a judge decides who gets any assets you leave behind.

Answer 8

Your stuff goes to whom you specify if you make a will. If you don't care who your gear is left to then don't bother to make a will.

Answer 9

in the uk, if you don't leave a will, then everyting can be claimed by the parents even if that person leaves a spouse and children
the state does rather well out of it as well

Answer 10

To make someone happier than you did durring your lifetime...