Happy dying with no will. What am I missing?

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I live alone in a mortgaged property, no kids. Is it ok to not have a will and just leave everything to my next of kin? I don't see the point in spending money writing a will if I'm happy with the laws of intestate. Is there any other reason why I would need one? Maybe I could leave my box of diaries/journals to a friend but only so that she could burn them for me. I suppose I need a will for that? Seems overkill.

If you died intestate

According to intestate laws, my assets would go to my living parent and then my siblings. That seems fine to me?

I did my Will for free during Free Will Week. I did it with a large firm of solicitors who asked me to make a donation to the local hospice for payment. There was no pressure to give anything at all. I did make a donation but it was an amount I could afford.

I’m happy knowing that my final wishes will be met. I definitely don’t want my family to have any hassle when I die.

The amount that I currently have is very small. I have multiple siblings so if they all got a share then it's really just pocket change for them.

Not sure why people are assuming that I have no family. I have family and I am happy for my money to go to my parent and then to my siblings if parent is deceased. This is what intestate law says and I'm happy with that.

The only argument I've seen so far is that dying without a will causes a lot of adminstration for someone. But then at least a couple of people replied saying this wasn't the case, so I'm not sure what the truth is there.

My dad died intestate and it was utterly straightforward to sort it all out. You have to gather the same info re their assets as if they had a will - most wills don't list all the accounts and say eg my ISA to go to Auntie Jean, my post office account to the next door neighbour etc. It's just once it's all added up it then has to be shared out via the intestacy rules.

I suppose the only plus to a will is that it states who the executor is / should be but if you're friends with your family I can't see that being a biggie [shrug]

Get free legal advice- i would recommend getting a will because

1. you can do them for free
2. you would save your next of kin a lot of hassle
3. its stressful dealing with a loss and having to do extra stuff on top
4. the laws are ever changing so whats relevant today may not be when its your time
5. i see no disadvantages only advantages

Naming an executer and a beneficiary (potentially the same person) makes everything so much simpler for the person who has to sort everything out once you're gone. Don't burden them unnecessarily with the extra admin intesticy would take.

You can buy a Will template for only around £10.

You might also want to put in your wishes for your funeral. At least people will know what you wanted rather than having to guess.

If relatives eligible under intestacy rules can't be traced your estate will go to the gvt. Make a will ensure someone benefits even if charity

Dying without a will doesn’t necessarily cause a lot of admin.

the only real difference is you apply for letters of administration rather than probate, which is effectively the same thing anyway.

the rest is all the same.

How is it a massive pain?

I’ve dealt with both. Probate for one, letters of administration for the other.

in fact the will one was more of a pita as I had relatives on my back asking what it said and what they’d been left, then one sibling decided they didn’t like it and put a caveat on stopping probate.

‘Next of kin’ is the common term for your closest relative. If you have no relatives, you have no next of kin and yes, without a will, your estate goes to the government and/or King Charles or Prince William (if you live in particular areas)

https://theconversation.com/why-some-people-from-the-north-of-england-end-up-leaving-everything-to-king-charles-when-they-die-218974

Well, it's pretty selfish to not have a will in place and expect your next of kin to have the added administrative burden and stress that goes along with applying for probate without a will in place. It's not "easy", it's time consuming and difficult at a time of great stress, when you're already grieving and there's probably a lot of other shit you're managing in your own life. I think you're basically saying 'fuck you' to your family by not making things as easy for them as possible.

What’s the “extra administrative burden”?

i didn’t find applying for letters of administration much different to applying for probate. It’s pretty much the same process except you not finding and sending the original will.

it’s a shit process regardless.

Agree @Whycanineverthinkofone , having done it both ways there's really no difference

My sister hadn't made a will on this basis

it really bugs me because it saddles people with horrible admin, which seems particularly unfair in the case of old folks

also, I've never looked but in case of intestacy, does it get divided or do the state decide who is next of kin? So they'll pick one parent?

I don't understand why anyone does this to avoid 30 mins of admin.

edit to add - my auntie died intestate and so far it's been a nightmare of legal stuff going back and forth but it's not been decided who gets anything yet.

Very helpful post. Thank you. It's good to hear from someone that has dealt with it first hand.

The rules of intestacy are clearly set out in the government website. I think someone has posted a link. It’s certainly not the case that the state just picks a relative to get everything.

The key benefit of a will is making sure your estate goes where you want it to if you are not happy to follow the rules of intestacy.

In my Northern Ireland experience (aware laws are different in different parts of UK) it was cheaper to pay a solicitor to administer testate than intestate. The price difference was more than the cost of a basic will. However TBF both were for the deceased owning property which I imagine adds to the complication.

Do a cheap diy will and that way you can be sure that (a) your next of kin does get the money (it doesn’t just automatically go to them if you have no will and (b) your next of kin is spared the awful hassle of potentially costly legal shenanigans while grieving.
You only have to look at MN posts on wills and inheritance to understand that there is massive confusion about it, with people giving conflicting advice. For the sake of a few quid for a simple diy will you can save your relative a lot of trouble. Diy wills are often not recommended, but if yours will be a simple as you say, you can’t go wrong if you follow the instructions.

Who does it go to if not next of kin?

are you saying the laws of intestacy are ignored? Who by?

what are the “awful hassle” and “costly legal shenanigans”? Applying for letters of administration isn’t much different to probate.

i am executing a will atm and believe me it’s an awful hassle and the legal shenanigans are very costly. That depends on the estate and whether the beneficiaries are a pita, more than whether there’s a will or not.

You can literally write a will on the back of an envelope yourself and it's legally valid as long as you have two independent witnesses

I wrote mine using free.wills.co.uk. Not much point spending money on it but at least something is written and signed.

I have just spent 14 months on executing a will. The person who died had straightforward, simple affairs, everything was left in good order, it was below the inheritance tax threshold, didn't need to sell property or car. And it was still a total fucking ball ache. I strongly suggest you leave a will, unless you are content to make things difficult for your next of kin.

Surely you can just do a simple will? Depends how many people in your family. Like you I have no kids, no spouse. So part of me is tempted to leave my estate to charity….but I have an insane number of siblings, half siblings, step siblings, nieces, nephews and want to leave everybody something. I also have lived all over the globe so have to compile my assets from overseas too.