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The information on this website is for general guidance on your rights and responsibilities and is not legal advice. If you need more details on your rights, or legal advice about what action to take, please contact an adviser or solicitor.
It is important to ensure that you make a will, even if you don’t think that you have much money or many possessions. If you die without making a will, known as ‘dying intestate’, it can become complicated for the people that you leave behind to carry out your wishes. Also, when making a will you can specify how you would like your funeral arrangements to be made, which is an important issue for many people.
There are several other reasons why you should consider making a will, including the following:
- If you die without making a will, there are certain rules that dictate how your money, property and possessions should be allocated. This may not be in the way that you would have wanted.
- Unmarried partners and same-sex couples who are not registered as civil partners can't inherit from each other unless there is a will. Therefore, if you die without making a will, your partner may be left with serious financial problems.
- If there is no will, this could cause disagreements between family members when money and possessions are distributed.
Read Age Concern’s factsheet Making your will for further information.
Making your own will
You don't have to use a solicitor to make your will, but it is advisable. Unless you are familiar with legal terms and requirements, it is easy to make a mistake. This could cause problems for your beneficiaries, or result in your wishes not being carried out. If you do decide to write your own will, you can purchase pre-printed forms from stationery shops. It is a good idea to ask someone to check the will after you have written it. Your local Citizens Advice Bureau may be able to help you with this. Visit their website for further information, or contact them using the details given below.
Using a solicitor
The cost of making a will through a solicitor varies according to its content and complexity. You should ensure that you get confirmation of the cost before you agree to go ahead. You may already have a solicitor that you trust, but if not you could contact Community Legal Advice. They can provide you with details of solicitors in your local area who have the Community Legal Advice Quality Mark. The Quality Mark means that the organisation meets the quality standards set by the Legal Services Commission. To read more about the Legal Services Commission, visit their website, or contact them using the details given below.
Community Legal Advice is a network of legal and advice providers. Visit their website to search for a solicitor, or contact them using the details given below.
Help with the cost of making a will
Legal Help allows people with a low income to get free legal advice and help from a solicitor or an experienced legal adviser. This only includes the cost of making a will in certain circumstances, for example if you are aged over 70 years old or if you are disabled. The solicitor or adviser must have a contract with the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to be able to provide Legal Help.
To automatically qualify for Legal Help, you must either be in receipt of one of the following benefits or be an asylum seeker getting government asylum support:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit)
If you do not satisfy the above criteria, you may still be able to claim Legal Help if:
- Your gross monthly income is less than £2,435 and your disposable monthly income is less than £672.
- You have disposable income of less than £8,000.
Disposable income includes money that you have in the bank, valuable items and the value of your home, if you own it.
To see if you will qualify for Legal Help, you can use the online calculator on the Community Legal Advice website.
Probate
Probate is an official form that gives the executors of a will the right to deal with the assets and property of the person who has died. You will need to apply for a probate form if you are dealing with bank accounts, insurance policies or property. If the person who had died did not leave a will, you can apply for ‘letters of administration’, which serve the same purpose as probate.
You can apply for probate or letters of administration through a solicitor, or you can apply yourself. For further information about this, read the HMCS leaflet How to obtain probate – A guide for the applicant acting without a solicitor. To obtain probate application forms, contact Newcastle District Probate Registry office using the details given below, or call the Probate and Inheritance Tax helpline on telephone number 0845 302 0900.
You may also like to read the CLS Direct Information Leaflet Wills and Probate – Dealing with someone’s affairs when they die or Age Concern's factsheet Dealing with someone's estate for further information.
Inheritance Tax
Inheritance Tax (IHT) is a tax that may have to be paid on any estate valued at over £312,000 (current figure for 2008/9) when a person dies. A person’s estate is all of their assets and property, including houses, cars, investments, money and belongings. Inheritance Tax is currently charged at a rate of 40%. For detailed information about when Inheritance Tax needs to be paid, visit the HM Revenues and Customs website, or contact them using the details given below.
Disputing a will
English law has always recognised the freedom of individuals to dispose of assets in their will as they would like to. However, sometimes there may be doubt about the validity of the will or a dispute, because a potential beneficiary believes he or she should have been included in the will.
If someone dies intestate (without making a will) then it could be that a person who should benefit from the deceased’s estate is not automatically recognised as a beneficiary under the intestacy rules. From 1 February 2009, the statutory legacy for a spouse or civil partner will increase from £125,000 to £250,000 where the deceased has surviving children. If there are no children, the spouse or civil partner will receive £450,000 (currently £200,000).
Legally, if fair provision is not made under a will or on intestacy, certain people can claim against the estate of someone who has died. The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 enables a person to apply to become a beneficiary, or a greater beneficiary, of the estate of the deceased. The object of the Act is to allow the redistribution of the estate because either the will, or the intestacy rules, do not make reasonable financial provision for the applicant.
To qualify under the 1975 Act, the deceased must have been living in England and Wales at the time of death and:
- you must be either the husband, wife or civil partner of the deceased;
- you could be a former spouse or civil partner who has not remarried or entered into a civil partnership;
- you cohabited with the deceased in the two years prior to his or her death;
- you might be a child of the deceased;
- you might have been treated by the deceased as a child of the family; or
- you may be someone who immediately before the death of the deceased was being maintained either wholly or partly by him or her.
The claim must be brought within six months of the grant of probate or letters of administration which allows the estate to be distributed. The Court does have the power to extend this time limit in certain circumstances.
If you would like further information or explanation about this matter, as a first step you will need to contact a specialist Solicitor who will advise you on the merits of a possible claim. In appropriate circumstances, legal aid is available to assist you to pursue a claim and your specialist Solicitor can offer you a free half-hour consultation.
David Gray Solicitors have a specialist Solicitor who can offer this service. To find out more, contact them using the details given below.
Local help and advice
In order to encourage people over the age of 50 years old to make out a will, Age Concern Newcastle has joined forces with a number of solicitors in Newcastle upon Tyne who have agreed to make out wills for them at much reduced rates (providing that the will is simple and straightforward).
If you qualify for this service, Age Concern Newcastle can arrange:
- an immediate arranged appointment with a firm of Newcastle solicitors who will help you to make your will from as little as £75 for a single person and £95 for a couple, providing the will is not complicated or;
- an appointment at the regular will advice surgeries at MEA House, held around three times a year, where a Newcastle solicitor will help you to make out your will for the same charge as above or;
- an appointment at the next annual Will Open Day at MEA House where Newcastle solicitors will help you draw up your will for as little as £40 per person.
This year's Will Open Day is on Wednesday 12th November 2008 at MEA House, Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyne. This will give you the opportunity to use Age Concern Newcastle's Will Advice Service to see a solicitor and make a Will for just £40 per person, providing the Will is straightforward. To find out more or to book an appointment, contact the Will Advice Officer on (0191) 235 9926. You must be aged 50 or over.
Some solicitors will make home visits, but these can incur significant extra costs to cover their time and travel.
If you would like to take up one of these options, or would like further information or advice, please contact Age Concern Newcastle’s Will Advice Officer using the details given below.
Other useful information
Age Concern's Information Guide Putting your affairs in order
It can be easy to mislay important documents and information. Age Concern has developed a LifeBook so that you can find exactly what you need without searching through file after file. You can record all sorts of useful details, from who insures your car, to where you put the TV licence. The LifeBook will not only help you to be more organised but could also be invaluable to a family member or a friend if they need to locate important information about you in an emergency. Simply follow the step-by-step instructions to fill in the various sections with your details, contacts and locations of important documents. The LifeBook is free and you can complete it online or order one by telephoning 0845 685 1061.
Contact Information
Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
St Cuthberts Chambers, 35 Nelson Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 5AN.
Telephone : 08701 264 015, Fax : (0191) 232 0461.
Community Legal Advice
Telephone : 08453 454 345.
David Gray Solicitors
Old County Court, 56 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 5XU.
Telephone : 0191 232 9547 ext 4605, Fax : 0191 230 4149.
Email : sylvia.niccol@davidgray.co.uk
HM Revenue and Customs
Aiden House, All Saints Business Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2TT.
Telephone : 0845 302 1456.
Legal Services Commission
2-8 Fenkle Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 5RU.
Telephone : (0191) 244 5800.
Email : newcastle@legalservices.gov.uk
Newcastle District Probate Registry
1 Waterloo Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4AL.
Telephone : (0191) 211 2170.
Email : newcastle.dpr@hmcourts-service.gsi.gov.uk
Will Advice Service
Age Concern Newcastle, MEA House, Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8XS.
Telephone : (0191) 232 6488, Fax : (0191) 235 9925.
Email : enquiries@acnewcastle.org
Article last updated October 7, 2008 2:48 pm
