Where there’s a will...

Sue Medder and Charlie Tee of Withers LLP on how the death of two high profile celebrities reinforces the importance of leaving an up-to-date will

As the recent BBC2 show, Can’t Take It With You, has shown, it is very important for families to have wills stating what they would like to happen to their assets after their death. If you die without a will or with a will that is out-of-date, a number of problems can arise and the end result is often not what you would wish.

Two recent public disputes about inheritances highlight the importance of these issues and serve as a salutary lesson to the 70% of the population currently without a will.

One of the great publishing successes of the last few years has been Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, which has sold millions of copies worldwide, spawned a successful series of films in Sweden and is about to culminate in Hollywood, with David Fincher’s forthcoming film, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. However, the Swedish novelist has not been able to enjoy his success, having died suddenly before his books went global.

Despite having lived with Larsson for more than 30 years, his partner was not entitled to any of his estate because Larsson died without a will; the estate instead passed under the Swedish intestacy laws (which, like English intestacy laws, do not recognise cohabitation) to his family, from whom it is claimed he was estranged.

This has led to a series of court battles between his family and his partner as they fight for control of Larsson’s legacy and wealth.

Legal status

It is estimated that there are currently 2.3m cohabiting couples (similar to Stieg Larsson and his partner) in the UK, and it would be instructive to know how many of them realise that in the absence of any will, they would have no rights to any of their partner’s estate upon their partner’s death. Despite the longstanding misconception of a commonlaw wife, there is no such legal concept in England and Wales, and under the statutory intestacy rules, an unmarried partner would not stand to inherit anything, irrespective of how long they have lived together.

Under the intestacy rules, even if you are married, your spouse will only receive all of your personal belongings and the first £250,000 (£450,000 if you are married with no children) of your estate outright (they will also receive any property owned together as joint tenants). The balance will be split into two equal shares.

One such share will pass to your children at 18 in equal shares, while the other share will be held in trust for your spouse, so that they receive the income from it during their lifetime and it will then pass to your children. Although £250,000 is a large sum, the value of many people’s homes is in excess of this and so the end result can often be that the family home has to be sold and the proceeds divided up.