You may be relatives to a deceased individual by virtue of your bloodline, but that doesn’t necessarily make you an heir to his or her fortune.
No, that’s because there are other factors involved which determine whether or not someone is entitled to benefit from an inheritance. And here they are in a simplified form below:
Direct relatives
In the majority of cases, when it comes to inheriting from an estate, the direct family will benefit. A wife or husband receive priority, with blood-related children next (having said that, an adopted child has the same rights as a direct blood descendant).
Wills and intestacy
For the partner to receive priority they must be married to the deceased. These days it’s common for couples to stay together but not wed. In the eyes of the law that means they aren’t entitled to a share of the deceased’s estate. And, in fact, if the deceased was still married – despite being separated for a number of years, and the relationship being acrimonious – then the wife is still the one entitled to the share under intestacy rules. And not the partner. Intestacy being when someone dies without leaving a will. This is the reason why it’s best to either (a) get divorced when you separate indefinitely or (b) marry your new partner. Otherwise, as you can see, things can get very messy indeed.
When it comes to children, regardless of how many they are, they all inherit the same amount in an equal fashion (unless there is a Will and in which this is stated differently).
Purpose of a Will
As you’ll understand by now, the purpose of a Will is to ensure that an individual’s estate is distributed in the way he or she would have wanted. Not having a Will means your estate will automatically go to your spouse and then your blood children in an equal manner. This is despite estrangement from an ex or a long-term relationship with a current partner.
If you have a Will then you can outline exactly who you want to inherit your estate – and which particular parts of it. You may, for instance, want to leave your children a particular cash amount each, and your wife or husband the home and other assets, such as your car, holiday home or valuable antiques etc.
What happens with illegitimate children?
This is the part of a Will that can prove controversial ie when illegitimate children come out of the woodwork, as it were. Not all husbands or partners are honest with their other halves in this regard and sometimes it can lead to quite sensational revelations – especially in the deceased was wealthy or famous. Often the only way to prove that an illegitimate child (or adult) is who they say they are is to take a DNA test. Only that way can they prove a genuine bloodline connection and a right to their inheritance.
What if there are no children?
In the case of an unmarried man and there being either no spouse or children then the line of entitlement may revert to the parents. If they are also deceased then the siblings will inherit. In the absence of any direct blood siblings, then half siblings are the next in line to benefit. If there are no half siblings either then the next to benefit are grandparents (although chances are that if the parents have passed then the grandparents usually will have too).
If there’s still none of the above then aunts or uncles are next to benefit. In the case of their being deceased then the cousins’ benefit. As a final measure the entitlement goes to half uncles or aunts and their kids. In the absence of relatives the ultimate beneficiary is the crown.
Get in touch
Need to find missing relatives? Then let the team at Fleetwood Heir Hunting help. Call 020 8970 7486 today.