Ask Jonathan: I don't have a will - but everything should just go to my wife, shouldn't it?

Not necessarily. If you do not have a will, the Law of Intestacy decides who inherits your estate.

Who inherits your estate depends on a number of factors: what family you leave behind, the extent of your estate and how it is owned. The Law of Intestacy would not usually apply to assets which you own jointly with another person. These will usually pass by what is known as ‘survivorship’ automatically to the other joint owner.

The major exception to this is a house or property which is owned by two or more people as ‘tenants in common’ rather than ‘joint tenants’. If property is own as joint tenants, then it passes automatically to the surviving owner(s).

When an owner dies, if it is held as tenants in common, then each owner has a share in the property which would pass into their estate and would be dealt with by their Will if they have one, or by the Law of Intestacy if they do not.

Anything that you own in your sole name, or is owned jointly as tenants in common, as explained above, will be part of your estate and if you do not have a will, will be governed by the Law of Intestacy.

If you leave behind you a spouse (husband or wife) and children, then your spouse will inherit your personal belongings, such as your car, books, jewellery, furniture and other items like that ((not money or investments) and will also receive the first £250,000 of your estate.

If your estate exceeds that amount and you have children, then the excess is divided between your spouse and your children. One-half of the excess will be held in trust for your spouse so that they can have the benefit of the income from that half during their life, and after their death will pass to your children equally, subject to them reaching the age of 18 or marrying under that age.

The other half of the excess will be held in trust for your children equally until they reach the age of eighteen or marry under that age. This could mean for example if your home was solely owned by you that your spouse may not be entitled to the house.

If you have no children, your spouse would be entitled to your personal belongings as explained above and the first £450,000 of the estate. Anything above this is split into two so that your spouse will receive one-half and the other half will go to your parents if they are alive and if they are not alive, then to any brothers and sisters equally.

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