Will

[seelie]

Can anyone tell me if my husband and myself have everything (more or less) in joint ownership will everything automatically belong to the remaining spouse on death? I realise we still have to make a will for if when the time comes we both turn our toes up.

[tamborine]

yes, providing neither has bequeathed their share elsewhere

[hc4361]

If you in England or Wales if the estate is less than £250,000 the deceased's spouse will receive the whole of the estate.

Bear in mind that if you own the house as joint tenants the survivor automatically owns the whole on death so this does not form part of the deceased's estate.
If you own it as tenants in common then the deceased's half does form part of the estate. With property prices rising this is a real concern when there is no will.

[boxtops]

Yes, but a will formalises it.

[hc4361]

Or complicates things if it is convoluted and not worded properly

[factor-fiction]

If you are in Scotland and have children I seem to remember they could have some entitlement to a share of some assets

[factor-fiction]

You may feel a will is needed though in case you do both go together-say in a car accident

[seelie]

Thanks for the reply tambourine. Neither of us have made a will yet but will need to. I just wasn't sure on that particular issue. Will have to start looking for a reasonable way to do it. Not sure about the do-it-yourself ones though.

[seelie]

Golly, what a fantastic response from you all. It answers my query, so thanks for the replies.

[Peter Pedant]

I know the last time I said most of the answers were er not much good, I had a very irritated accountant tearing a strip off me - he was right and i was wrong.... but

tambos answer has holes in it - in a true joint holding - you can't leave the share to anyone else, really by definition. Someone else has given the rules of intestacy altho you say you realise you need a will.

and so having said that - you should go out and get one. I agree that a do-it-yourself will is not really for you.

Someone else has commented elsewhere that with a will - the property goes to whom you want and otherwise without a will it goes to whom the government thinks deserves it. Priddy persuasive as far as I am concerned.