Planning and preparations for your special wedding day are likely to be the most exciting times of your life. Organising the table plans, flowers, suits, and guest lists are only some of the typical responsibilities for the bride and groom however, very few people think about the legal effect of the marriage on their assets and the distribution of their estate. Although this might not be something that immediately springs to mind, it is often the most important preparation a person can do. We have therefore prepared the below information which we hope will help you to ascertain whether you need to seek legal advice.
I do not have a Will in place – what will happen to my assets after marriage?
If a married person or civil partner passes away without a valid Will in place, their assets will pass in accordance with the rules of intestacy. These rules were created to provide provision for the event in which a person passes away without specifying who should inherit their assets.
The rules state that if you are married or in a civil partnership with no children, your spouse or civil partner will inherit the whole of your estate.
If, however, you are married or in a civil partnership with children, your spouse or civil partner will inherit the first £322,000 of your estate together with all your personal belongings. The remaining assets (above £322,000) will be with half passing to your spouse and the remaining half being shared between your children equally.
The extensive rules of intestacy for England and Wales can be found online and do provide for further provision depending on a person’s family tree at the date of their passing. If after reading the above, you wish to ensure that your assets pass in accordance with your wishes as opposed to these rules, please do get in touch with our Wills & Probate Team using the contact details below.
I have a Will in place – does marriage affect the validity of this?
Many people do not realise that when you marry or enter into a civil partnership, your existing Will is more than likely to become null and void. This is because S18 Wills Act 1837 states that marriage or civil partnership shall revoke the person’s Will. Ultimately, this means that the rules of intestacy as discussed above will apply to your assets on your passing unless a new and valid Will is made after your marriage.
In many cases, a couple will make a Will before marriage and will include a ‘contemplation of marriage’ clause. This clause will specify that the Will being made shall not be revoked if their proposed marriage to their partner takes place. Typically, this should only be used when the couple are engaged and have a date set for the wedding. Such clause will allow the existing Will to remain valid following the marriage or civil partnership.
Therefore, if you are in the process of arranging your wedding and have decided not to make a Will because it will be void for the reasons stated above, it is important to understand that such a clause can be included to avoid this. Our Wills & Probate team would be happy to answer any of your questions.
Does marriage have any Inheritance tax benefits or consequences?
Marriage and civil partnership have major benefits from an inheritance tax perspective. On the passing of a spouse, transfers of assets to the surviving spouse are not usually subject to inheritance tax. This means that if one spouse leaves all their assets to their surviving spouse, there will be no tax to pay.
Furthermore, each person is entitled to a ‘nil-rate band’ Inheritance tax allowance of £325,000 on their passing. This means that only if a person’s estate is worth over £325,000 on their death will they need to pay any Inheritance tax. Is it likely that a deceased spouse will not have used their nil rate band allowance so their surviving spouse can transfer this to their – doubling their allowance to £650,000.
Further relieves such as the ‘residence nil rate band’ which applies property passing to direct descendants can also be transferred between spouses. This can ultimately increase the surviving spouse’s allowance on their death to 1 million pounds.
If you would like to discuss any of the above with our fantastic Wills and Probate team, please feel free to contact by telephone on 01244 312306 or by email on wills@oliverandco.co.uk.
