When a person dies without making a Will, he is said to have died in a state of intestacy. Generally people are advised to make a Will during their lifetime but when someone does not make a Will, his property will be divided in accordance with the intestacy rules. As the will making patterns keep on changing, the rules also keep on changing periodically. The unmarried partner of the deceased cannot benefit from his death under the intestacy laws. The rules of intestacy are of utmost importance to those who opt not to get married now a days. In the absence of a Will, no person or organization shall be able to benefit from the property of the deceased. Through a Will, a person might divide his property according to his own will in favour of certain persons , who might otherwise have been equal sharers of his property had he died in intestacy. Furthermore, in large estates, a huge amount of inheritance tax is levied at the rate of 40% over the exempt threshold. It is always advisable that a person should always make a Will.
The 3 most important situations arising out of intestacy are :
The deceased is survived by his widow and they have no children. In this case, the entire property goes to the widow.
The deceased is survived by his widow and children. In this case, the property of the deceased is equally distributed amongst the widow and their children.
The deceased is neither survived by his widow nor has any children. In such a case, some of his near relatives get the property in an order of given priority.
If a person is unmarried, It is advised that he should make a Will on priority basis.Letters of Administration is required to deal with the estate of the deceased. Only certain specific people in a given order of priority would be eligible to request Letters of Administration.
