Law Commission proposes changes to intestacy laws.

If you die without a will you are said to have died 'intestate' – and at the moment the laws of intestacy are very strict as to what happens to your money and other assets.

More than half of the adults in the UK do not have a will – and this means bad news for unmarried partners if one dies intestate. Under current laws, cohabiting couples have no automatic right to inherit if their partner dies intestate as blood relatives take priority. A bereaved partner may even need to go to court to prove that they had a 'financial dependency' on the intestate.

But now the Law Commission wants to give cohabiting couples the same right to inherit as married couples if a partner dies intestate. Couples who have lived together for more than five years or have children together should be treated as if they are married if one partner dies without making a will, according to the Commission.

Any changes to the law will be a long time coming, though – so the best advice is that you should make a will to ensure that you take care of those that you leave behind, especially if you are unmarried and co-habiting.

Read more at http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/intestacy.htm

For more information email Paul Holland in our Wills and Probate department