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Advice

Love is all you need . . .

Monika Volsing Monika Volsing
2 min read

Love is all you need . . .

. . . or is it? You may appreciate the sentiment from John Lennon but in terms of love and law, Wills are what you need!

In 2021, the ONS stated that 50.6% of UK couples are married or in civil partnerships. Meaning barely half the couples in this country are protected by the law. Plus, as only 4 in 10 adults have a Will, the chances of being in a relationship and not having a Will are quite high.

Love, Wills and the law

Married couples and civil partners will inherit some, if not all, of their spouse or civil partner’s estate when they die without a Will (known as an ‘intestacy’). Unmarried couples don’t have this right and could end up making a complicated court claim to receive any benefit from the estate.

You might not believe in the institution of marriage, but ‘common law’ is not a legal definition. It’s a myth that you are automatically entitled to anything from your ‘common law’ partner if they die unless it says so in their Will. Put simply, no marriage (or legal partnership) and no Will might equal no inheritance.

Modern romance

There are also inheritance tax (IHT) advantages available to married couples and civil partners which are not available to unmarried couples. If you think your estate may be liable to IHT, there’s no better time to pop the question. Who said romance was dead?

If proposing, even for practical reasons, is not for you, it’s advisable to have a Cohabitation Agreement in place to avoid disputes in the event of relationship breakdown.  

Love is wonderful, and the law can certainly help keep it that way by ensuring you plan ahead. Benefit from choosing one seamless legal team to organise your Wills, plan your estate and set up your Cohabitation Agreement.  

Client feedback

I recently contracted Winston Solicitors to support me in obtaining a grant of probate following the death of a parent. I worked closely with Emily and found her to be supportive, have great communication and be able to navigate the IHT and probate processes very efficiently.
John
I would highly recommend Winston Solicitors to help with your personal needs.. 100% .. very professional, very helpful and considerate
Sheila
Emily looked after us ! Would recomend 100%
David
Emily was very helpful, with my change of will, explaining things, to me, making sure I understood what I was doing , a very pleasant experience for me.
Nigel
Special praise for Emily Spencer ,who is more than efficient , very thorough in her work and I am sure , a very good member of the Winstons team ! Well done her ( plus Jeremy re our registration with the Land Registry .!)
Stuart
Emily Spencer has handled our Will & Probate and has explained what we needed to know and made it a very straightforward experience. She has been extremely patient with our sometimes tardy responses.
Mr & M
Having used Winston Solicitors twice, once for the sale of a house and also for Probate. Both experiences were very good, and will be using again when the need arises.
Mike
We have created our WIlls and Power of Attorney with the assistance of Emily Spencer at Winstons. Great service with everthing clearly and considerately explained and executed with us. Would thoroughly recommend Emily & Winstons to anyone seeking this type of assistance.
Suzannah
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