Now it’s not every day I can I say that sentence. Unlike some areas of law which change yearly, the law of inheritance has remained constant since the Administration of Estates Act 1925. Subject to a few minor amendments in 1926 and yearly changes to inheritance tax levels, the law surrounding inheritance has been the stable rock of the legal profession.
These changes surround the law of intestacy; that being the law dictating who inherits what when someone has died without leaving a will (dying intestate).
There are a number of issues which people need to be aware of:
1.Unmarried couples.
Despite various calls for unmarried co-habitees to have protection on the death of one of them, the law remains unchanged. Partners who are not married or who have not entered into a civil partnership will receive nothing should one of them die intestate.
2.Married partners without children
Prior to 1 October 2014 the law was that when a person died intestate but leaving behind a spouse, that spouse would be entitled to the first £450,000 of the deceased’s estate, plus half of the remaining estate. The remaining half would be split between the deceased’s blood relatives subject to the rules of inheritance.
From 1 October 2014 onwards, when a person dies intestate but leaving behind a spouse, that spouse will be entitled to all of the deceased’s estate.
3.Married partners with children
Prior to 1 October 2014 the law was that the surviving spouse would receive the first £450,000 of the estate and then a life interest in the remaining estate. The children would then be entitled to the second half of the remaining estate and the first half of the remainder upon the surviving spouse’s death.
From 1 October 2014 onwards, when a person dies intestate leaving both a spouse and children, the surviving spouse would be entitled to the first £450,000 together with half the remainder absolutely. The second half of the remaining estate would pass to the children.
4.Adopted children
In cases where a person dies intestate leaving a child below the age of 18, the child would be entitled to receive that inheritance when they came of age, however there were issues where that child was later adopted (perhaps by the surviving partner’s new partner). In these circumstances there was a risk that the child would lose their inheritance.
The new rules have now closed this risk and any subsequent adoptions shall not affect inheritance.
5.Chattels
As discussed earlier inheritance law does not change that often, bearing this in mind it is easy to see that language however does change and this can cause confusion. To remedy this, the definition of “chattels” has been re-defined to include everything that is not “monetary, business assets or held as an investment”.
Although this is a step in the right direction, “investment” is still a somewhat ambiguous term, as they say “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.
So there we have it, quite drastic changes really and unfortunately this may spell the end to the hit TV show “heir hunters”. What shall we watch when we are ill or what shall students watch when they are trying to study private client law!
