With Financial Awareness Day on 14 August, Royal London is warning homeowners and landlords that putting off writing a will could leave your most valuable asset in the wrong hands.
Figures from the Money and Pensions Service show over half (53%) of UK adults aged 50 – 64 and 22% of those aged 65+ don’t have a will.
For property owners, that’s a serious risk, especially for single people or unmarried couples, who don’t automatically inherit under intestacy laws.
And Clare Moffat, finance expert at Royal London, says the consequences can be far-reaching.
UNCLAIMED ESTATES
She says: “Making assumptions about who will benefit from your estate can lead to issues such as the wrong version of the will being relied upon, your entire estate going to the Crown – or worse – it going to a fraudster.
“When someone dies without a will, set rules determine who inherits. If there are no surviving relatives, the estate goes to the Crown. Before that happens, these estates are listed as ‘Unclaimed Estates’ online – a list that, in the wrong hands, can be exploited by criminals.”
Fraudsters can claim to be friends, produce fake wills or manipulate paperwork to access property and other assets. Moffat says a clear, up-to-date will, stored safely with a solicitor and shared with trusted contacts, is the best defence.
She adds that while many estates are largely made up of a single property, soaring house prices mean that home could be worth far more than people realise. Even if you don’t want family to inherit, you can leave property to friends, charities – or even set up provisions for pets.
FIVE MISTAKES TO AVOID
- Don’t put it off: If you own property, you have an estate worth protecting.
- Keep it updated: Reflect major life events such as buying a home, marriage, divorce or children.
- Be clear if cohabiting: Unmarried partners have no automatic rights.
- Tell someone where it is: Executors and next of kin need to know how to find it.
- Remember your pension: It usually sits outside your estate, so nominate beneficiaries separately.
