Please.... do your family a favour.... check on what the position would be if you died.

Spending a few hours now could save your heirs and dependants a lot of money.

According to Gallop a few years ago 30 million people in the UK had not made provision to look after their dependants if they should die.

Maybe you think that you have plenty of time and that you are unlikely to die in the near future. It is true that life expectancy is getting longer, but this is no excuse. Face up to the fact that an early death would leave your financial affairs disorganised.

Perhaps you think that everything will go to your spouse anyway. This is simply not true, except in the smallest of estates.

So, give some thought now to what would happen if you died unexpectedly.

Where would you want your assets to go?

Have you checked whether you would have a tax bill?

Would your dependants have the financial resources to keep up their standard of living?

Dying without a will, or with a will that does not dispose of all of your assets, exposes your estate to the rules of intestacy. These lay down where your assets are to go and can have some surprising results.

The effect of the intestacy rules is often minimised where property is owned jointly, because the survivor will automatically inherit the other half of the property. This is still no substitute for leaving a proper will. Bear in mind that if your spouse goes into residential care, the value of the home and other assets will quickly be eroded by the care fees.

People are often surprised to find that a solicitor's fee for drawing up a will is very modest. It is unwise to save this amount by drawing up your own will; the formalities involved in creating a valid will have to be followed correctly, and a badly prepared will can be more trouble than an intestacy.

© Majors, Chartered Accountants, 2000;  Updated 28 September 2000;  Reviewed 25 April 2002