Dangers of not making a will

Half of all Britons have not made a will. A legal expert looks at the risks these people are running.

The law sets out clear rules for what happens to your estate - property, personal possessions and cash - if you die without a will.

Passing away without a will is known in legal parlance as dying intestate and the rules that govern the distribution of the estate in such circumstances is known as the law of intestacy.

Under the Administration of Estates Act 1925 the spouse and children do not automatically receive everything in the deceased's estate.
There is a strict pecking order under the Act for deciding who gets what.

Where the deceased leaves a spouse but no children, the spouse receives:
All the personal chattels such as a car, furniture, clothes and jewellery
A legacy of £200,000 and one half of the balance outright
The remaining balance then passes to various relatives; first to the deceased's parents if either are still alive but if not then equally amongst brothers and sisters