WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON'T LEAVE A
WILL?
If you don’t have a will when you die,
your money, property and possessions will
be shared out according to the law instead
of your wishes. This can mean they pass
to someone you hadn’t intended – or that
someone you want to pass things on to ends
up with nothing.
WHY YOU SHOULDN’T DIE WITHOUT A
WILL?
DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU
When one of two brothers died
suddenly, his whole estate automatically
went to their father, who had left them 40
years earlier and hadn’t been in contact
since. His brother, who he was close to, got
nothing.
When you die without leaving a will,
the law decides who gets what and how
much. It doesn’t matter what your relation-
ship with those people was like when you
were alive.
Leaving a will that says clearly who
should get your property and money when
you die makes it easier for your heirs.
Some parents have had to sue their own
children to get a share of their partner’s
estate when their unmarried partner dies.
The law says that in this situation the
children get everything.
WHAT IS ‘INTESTACY’?
Dying without a valid will is called
intestacy or dying intestate.
The state or condition of dying without
having made a valid will or without having
disposed by will of a segment of the
property of the decedent.
WHAT IS ESTATE TAX?
The estate tax is a tax on your right to
transfer property at your death. It consists
of an accounting of everything you own or
have certain interests in at the date of death.
WHAT IS INHERITANCE TAX?
An inheritance tax is a state tax that
you pay when you receive money or prop-
erty from the estate of a deceased person.
Unlike the federal estate tax, the beneficiary
of the property is responsible for paying the
tax, not the estate. However, as of 2016, only
six states impose an inheritance tax. And
even if you live in one of those states, many
beneficiaries are exempt from paying it.
The law about exactly who gets what is
different in each State, but there are some
common problems wherever you live.
COMMON RULES IF YOU DON’T MAKE
A WILL
• If you’re not married and not in a civil
partnership, your partner is not legally
entitled to anything when you die.
• If you’re married, your husband or
wife might inherit most or all of your
estate and your children might not get
anything. This is true even if you are
separated but not if you’re divorced.
• If you have children or grandchildren,
how much they are legally entitled to
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