To worry about not having wills

[Orangesandlemons77]

DH thinks we don't need wills as we are married but I worry about what would happen if one of us was to die intestate.

We are both in our 50s. Don't have much savings but the house is paid off and worth around £400K and he has around £200K in a private pension.

How would this be divided without wills? I understand it is shared above £322K? Would this mean selling our home?

And there are some new rules coming in after 2027 that pensions are part of the estate, not sure if that will change anything.

He has stated in his pension it is to be left to me, but not sure how that would work out.

I think it sounds like a potential minefield and that we should get wills sorted. AIBU?

I think everyone should make a will, but that's a personal opinion.

Pension instructions can be given to the provider, if you own your house as joint tenants ownership reverts to solely you outside of the will. Joint savings similarly are yours. A will is preferable but can be super cheap or even free, download an online template and follow instructions

We're not joint tenants, the house is in his name only.

Do you have access to all money and savings accounts? If not you will find it really difficult to get access without a will. You may have to apply for probate to access lots of things and that can take a long time.

My understanding is that if you die intestate but married (leaving aside pension) in your example

Estate = £400k

• Spouse gets £322k
• Remaining £78k split:
• £39k to spouse
• £39k to children

That £39k has to be found from somewhere. So it could force a house sale or remortgage at a difficult time in your life.

A will is honestly very impact vs cost.

No will ‘might’ get the same outcome.

It will mean a huge amount of faff and uncertainty for the person who’s still alive because proving that one doesn’t exist is actually quite difficult.

It’s choosing to create additional hassle, stress and cost for the person who’s still alive.

Or, can do very basic will with minimal hassle at zero cost, and make life easier for the bereaved person.

Are there children involved?

Firstly, you can make something called a mirror will where you jointly state that whoever dies first leaves everything to the other party.

But what would happen if you both died at the same time? Where would you want your estate to go?

Yes you should both have wills, if you die intestate getting probate is more complicated and takes longer - you don't need that at an already stressful time.
Without a will, the spouse doesn't inherit everything automatically - If you have children, 50% of anything above £322K will be divided between them.

It's very clear on the Government website how intestacy works. There's a hierachy of interests as outlined above.

It's much easier to get a will done.

Why aren't you on the house deeds? No reason for the house not to be split between you. I would be looking sideways at your DH by now...he's not acting in your best interests.

Also LPAs are very important.

Note to self:blimmin get on with sorting one out.

Yes, this is what I thought. The money could be taken from the pension, but unsure about that as I am not yet pension age, or even over 55 yet. Could be a 'pension pot' I suppose?

I will try talking to him again about wills.

I met DH years after he had bought the property and it has just stayed the same since then

Yes they are quite easy, I did mine online.

Is there a reason for that? It’s concerning you’re not a co-owner and he won’t make a will.

Edit, you answered as I was typing.

We don’t have wills because we have no assets, but they’re so simple to sort out, why wouldn’t you for all that peace of mind?

You're not on the deeds? Bloody hell - yes, insist on wills. Especially if there are children - jointly or (even more so) if he has them with someone else. You could lose your home.

Dealing with the estate of someone who died intestate is extremely complicated. Maybe you could ask him to consider making it easier for the person who will be grieving and faced with a mound of paperwork?

Just do the wills, an hour of your life plus a couple of hundred pounds at most, and all this stress is gone.

Not true. Our son died at 31 intestate and it was a very simple procedure.

Maybe it depends on how complex the estate is, houses, pensions etc I can imagine it might be simpler for a younger person perhaps with less assets / simpler estate?

I have ordered a pack online from cancer research uk (to donate to) which looks helpful

You definitely need for your DH to have a will and you should have one also, especially if you have DCs. Make sure a younger family member knows where you keep a copy of yours.

Wills can be simple and inexpensive. Ours were about £200 for both. DH and I had 'mirror' wills where we left everything to the other spouse so that the survivor would have as little disruption as possible for supporting our DCs.

A will is like a marriage certificate: it is a magic piece of paper for eliminating many other layers of red tape. It guarantees that your DH's estate goes where he wants it to go and reduces the risk that any of it might 'disappear'.

Also, if possible, you need to be added to the house deed as 'joint tenant'. This means that the house will pass directly to you just as you continue to have access to any joint accounts. If only your DH is on the deed this could make life very tricky for you, especially if there is no will. You could become homeless and/or owe a big inheritance tax bill unnecessarily.

Regarding pensions, your DH is correct that he designates the recipient(s) directly to the pension provider. It is part of his estate but not governed by a will. If your DH has not designated a recipient, you could use a will to prove that you are his heir to help you claim the pension. (NB: he can designate anyone and there are MN horror stories of pensions going to previous wives or to mothers b/c the DH had not updated his pension recipient).

Thanks the pension is going to me I remember that getting done.

If he insists on not having a will ask for your name to be put on the deeds. Explain what an added faff it causes the person not to have a will, hopefully he’ll come around.

My mum is an only child and her last surviving parent didn’t have a will it just takes longer to sort it out than if a will existed.