The passing of a loved one is emotionally challenging, a challenge made far worse if no plan is in place for what will happen to the deceased’s estate. Preparing for the inevitable will enable you to fully plan for the administration of the estate in question and who will inherit it. 

The contents of the estate

The estate of a person includes all of their possessions and money — minus anything they owe, such as loans, bills or mortgages — and their property. Land and investments are also considered part of a person’s estate.

The personal representative

Personal representatives are made up of executors and administrators of a person’s estate. They are the persons legally entitled to be in charge of a deceased person’s possessions and property, and carry out tasks such as dividing up the legacy between those named in the will.

The will

Thinking about making a will may seem like a rather depressing topic, but its necessity cannot be stressed enough. A will must be made in front of a required witness, written without mistakes or changes and be signed by yourself. Invalid wills can cause all types of family feuds, so getting your will right and making sure it is legally binding is essential.

If no will is made, and therefore nobody is named to inherit a person’s estate, the laws of intestacy are activated. 

The laws of intestacy

If no will is left, the person who has passed away is described as having died intestate, and the laws of intestacy come into effect. These laws lay out who can and who cannot inherit from the intestate person’s estate. The following cannot, no matter how close they were to the person who has died, inherit any of the estate:

• Unmarried partners
• Lesbian or gay partners who were not in a civil partnership
• Any relations through marriage or civil partnerships
• Any former/divorced married or civil partners
• Friends or carers

Any of the above, though unable to inherit the estate, are able to apply through the courts for financial provision from it.

Married and civil partners of the intestate person at the time of their death will inherit the entire estate if there are no surviving children or grandchildren. If there are surviving children or grandchildren, the married or civil partner will receive the entire personal property and belongings, up to the first £270,000 of the estate, and half of the remaining estate, with the rest going to the descendants.

Siblings, parents, nieces and nephews can also all inherit from the intestate person, but this will depend on whether there are surviving partners, children, grandchildren or great grandchildren.

Costs

Knowing what an estate comprises of and how it will be divided and inherited is one thing, knowing how to administer it is quite another. The costs of probate and estate administration vary depending on a number of factors.

For instance, administration costs will usually be lower if there is no property involved, or if there is only one beneficiary of the estate. If property needs to be sold and a number of different bank accounts and beneficiaries are involved, then the cost will tend to be higher.