Legal News | 12.05.22
Dum dum dah dum – Here comes the bride, closely followed by her Will!
The Private Client Team is happy to report an abundance of weddings this year within the team; ‘wedding season’ is in full swing.
We thought we would take this opportunity to revisit the rules surrounding marriage and civil partnerships and the effects on your Will.
- If you already have a Will, it will be automatically revoked by your marriage (unless it contains specific wording as the Will was made in expectation of that marriage).
- If you die without leaving a Will, your spouse or civil partner is at the top of the list of beneficiaries under the intestacy rules. However, if you die leaving children, then the amount your spouse inherits may be limited (depending on the size of your estate) to ensure that any children also benefit. Those intestacy rules may not accord with your wishes so it is worth checking where you stand.
- Relatives can make inheritance tax efficient gifts to you in celebration of your marriage or civil partnership, make sure they know that!
- On your death, any assets passing to your spouse will be free of inheritance tax, regardless of their value. This is why many say the best tax planning you can do is to get married!
If you want any further information or would like to review your arrangements ahead of getting married, or have recently got married and want to make sure your wishes will be followed on your death, please do get in touch with your usual contact or email wealth@wansbroughs.com.
