Since 1 October 2014, when new intestacy laws came into force, if you die intestate (ie you die without making a will), fixed legal rules apply to determine who is entitled to your ‘estate’ (ie what you leave).

Under the rules, if you die intestate, your spouse (or civil partner if you are legally united in a civil partnership) will be entitled to everything.

These rules override any informal wishes you may have expressed. If, for instance, you want a portion of your estate to go to your siblings or if you wanted to leave a gift to the woman who comes to keep the garden under control, you need to put it in a will.

There is also the question of inheritance tax.

Even though assets passed to your spouse are exempt from inheritance tax on your death, you should consider what will happen when they die.
Between the two of you, you can pass on assets worth up to £650,000 (or £1,000,000, assuming you both live in your main residence) (see note 1) free of inheritance tax. If your spouse’s estate is likely to be greater than this, you should consider taking tax planning advice – which will often include advice to make a will, and probably setting up trusts to protect your assets from the taxman.

NOTE 1: An additional nil-rate allowance was introduced for main family homes that are passed to direct descendants (children, step children and grandchildren). The allowance is currently £175,000 each.

Where the value of the net estate (not just the property concerned) exceeds £2 million, this additional nil-rate allowance will be tapered away at a rate of £1 for every £2 of value. So, there is no such allowance on estates worth £2.35m (or worth £2.7m on the death of a surviving spouse where the full allowance is available to be transferred).