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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

Very straightforward. Clear in their explanations.
Peter
MOST IMPRESSED WITH THIS LOCAL LAW FIRM,WILL CONTINUE TO USE THEM WHEN THE NEED ARISES.MONIKA WAS BOTH RELATABLE AND PROFESSIONAL.
Harvey
Monika couldn’t have been more helpful from start to finish. We were writing a will after our first baby came in April and everything was explained incredibly well including the difficult eventualities of will writing.
Henry
We used Winstons for a house purchase and will writing in 2024 and would definately recommend.Emily was especially helpful in will writing answering all questions, making sure we understood the details and that we were comfortable with the end product.
Anne
We engaged Winston Solicitors to write a pair of mirror wills under the Will Aid Scheme. All communications were professional and friendly from the outset. The client executive who wrote our wills, Emily Spencer, was effient and thorough. She was very thorough in ensuring she understood our particular circumstances, helped us to consider potential scenarios to plan for and explained legal terminology where needed. We were very happy with the service provided and would recommend to others.
Cassandra
I have used Winston Solicitors to write up a Will and deal with Probate. The Solicitors are very helpful and guided me through the process with easeAlways there to answer questions and nothing is too much trouble I have recommended them to my family and friends
Michael
Did a thorough job with updating our wills.
Stephen
Professional, efficient and personable. Clear simple advice and prompt execution of my will.
John