21 November 2023 , 20:58
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Martin Lewis has issued a "crucially important" warning to millions of couples who are living together but aren't married.
The MoneySavingExpert.com founder used his Martin Lewis Money Show Live broadcast on ITV this evening to discuss "unpleasant" money issues, such as what happens to your assets when you die. He explained how in the eyes of the law, your partner won't automatically inherit anything when you die unless you have a will in place.
Martin explained: “A special point to anyone who is cohabiting - you’re not married and you’re not a civil partner. If you’ve been living together for 30 years and you’ve got nine children, it still means nothing in law, when it comes to a will.
“Your partner wouldn’t get anything under the intestacy rules which dictate what happens when you die without a will. A will is crucially important to you.“
If a person dies without a will, their estate is distributed under intestacy rules. Only married or civil partners and some other close relatives can inherit under these rules. If you live in England and Wales and you are married or in a civil partnership, your spouse would automatically inherit the first £322,000 of your estate.
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If the estate is worth more than £322,000 and there are surviving children and grandchildren, the spouse would inherit half of the remaining assets and the other half would be divided equally between the children and grandchildren.
The rules are different in Scotland and Northern Ireland. If you make a legal will, you can decide exactly who and how much of your assets go to who after you have passed.
Martin recommended getting a gold standard solicitor-drafted will - and there are ways to cut the cost of this. Free Wills Month takes place every March and October for those aged 55 and over.
The service is free, on the hope that you will leave something to charity - the typical donating is around £300 to £500, but it is up to you. Hundreds of solicitor firms across the UK normally take part, though different areas participate in different months.
There is also Will Aid, which runs annually in November with supporting charities ActionAid, Age UK, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, NSPCC, Save the Children, SCIAF, Sightsavers and Trócaire. The suggested donations are £100 for a single will or £180 for a pair of basic "mirror wills".
You can see the full list of participating areas by typing in your postcode here.