New data reveals 18% of people in the UK die before the state retirement age of 67* – the national retirement age and the point at which many only begin to consider estate planning – says TWM Solicitors, a leading private wealth and family law firm.
This delay can have serious consequences.
TWM’s recent research shows a 17% year-on-year increase in estates left without a valid Will – rising from 43,600 to over 51,140**. Dying without a Will (known as dying ‘intestate’) can leave loved ones facing uncertainty, stress, and potentially costly legal disputes.
Dying intestate also means there will be no executor following your death, meaning your loved ones will have fewer powers over what happens to your estate in the immediate aftermath of the death.
In such cases, the court appoints someone to distribute assets according to strict intestacy rules, which may lead to outcomes the deceased never intended, including assets passing to estranged spouses, distant relatives the deceased may never have known, or even passing the money to the Crown if no surviving relatives can be traced.
David Lunn, Managing Associate at TWM Solicitors, says: “Many people make the mistake of delaying writing a Will because they don’t think they’ll need it until much later in life. Understandably, it’s the kind of topic and task many don’t like to think about. However, the possibility of dying without a Will means this approach just isn’t worth the financial and emotional fallout it can have on your loved ones.”
Another, often overlooked drawback of dying without a Will is the time and costs that are often committed to looking for a Will which does not exist. Even if your wishes mirror the intestacy rules, it is easier to produce a Will which says so than to prove (as far as one can) that no Will was ever made.
Remember also that the intestacy rules prioritise blood relatives and make little-to-no provision for unmarried or unregistered partners, who might miss out on inheriting property and possessions. So, if you are in a serious, long-term relationship, outside of marriage, then you really do need to consider writing a Will.
The lack of a Will can also leave a range of other problems for the bereaved family to deal with.
David Lunn explains: “The essence of a Will is to remove doubt as to what you really wanted – something as simple as making clear your funeral wishes in a Will can avoid upset and dispute.”
Not producing a Will early enough could lead to a last minute ‘home-made’ Will, which can lead to errors
When you leave writing your Will too late, you run the risk of making errors, especially if you try to write it yourself instead of drafting it with a lawyer.
David Lunn says: “Even for people with simple estates, Wills are technical documents that require time and care to be produced.”
“Having a professional help you write your Will is essential. Inheritance can be a sensitive and complicated topic – if you have a loved one draft your Will for you, there may be misunderstandings.”
Some common errors in home-made Wills include:
- Not reviewing your Will frequently enough, and not updating it when your circumstances change
- Excluding people who might expect to receive something in your Will without being aware of the claims that they might be able to bring against your estate and how to protect against that
- Dividing your wealth ‘asset by asset’. For example, if you give your house to a loved one in your Will, you may not own that specific property when you die
- Not accounting for the possibility that beneficiaries may predecease you – if your chosen beneficiary dies before you, a well drafted Will would make clear who should inherit instead.
* Statistics from the Office of National Statistics
** Source: Ministry of Justice, 2023/24 vs 2022/23, year-end Q3 2024
