Martin Lewis has urged any couples living together in the UK to have an "unpleasant chat".
The Money Saving Expert founder was back on his ITV show last night as he encouraged couples to have a tough talk about their finances. The consumer champion explained how you have no control over where your assets go after you die unless you have a will in place.
And while death is a difficult topic it is something that needs to be talked about. You need to ensure that a legal will is made so that you can decide exactly who and how much of your assets go to who after you have passed.
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If you don't make a will then under current rules in England and Wales - known as intestacy rules - if you are married or in a civil partnership and your estate is worth less than £270,000, then everything would automatically go to your spouse. If the estate is worth more than £270,000 and there are children involved, the spouse would inherit half of the remaining assets and the other half would be divided equally between the children.
Martin said: “If you die without a will, it is the state - not you - who decides where your assets go. It’s called the intestacy rules and they are complex and they vary by UK nations."
He added: "If you’re cohabiting and you’ve lived together for 20 years and you’ve got 17 children - that doesn’t matter in the eyes of the law. You would not get anything without a will. So it’s even more important in those situations. I’d also suggest you consider a cohabitation agreement of what happens if you were to split up if you’re not married.”
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