Lymington Directory 1 June/July 2018

HAVE YOU HEARD THE MYTH?
There is a myth that I would like to expel by
telling you a story.
Susan and Mark fell in love when they were
in their early twenties. They didn’t think
much to the idea of marriage - they had a
joint bank account and they lived together
which was pretty much the same thing.
Wasn’t it?
The years went by and they added to their
family, with two lovely children. They
moved into their own home. When the
property was purchased as Susan wasn’t
working and it was easier it was put in
Mark’s name. But that didn’t matter, did it?
Their friends and family would often ask
whether they were going to get married,
They didn’t see the point -they would state
that they were ‘common law’ husband and
wife and they didn’t need a piece of paper.
One family friend suggested that if they
weren’t intending to get married then they
should make Wills. They didn’t get around
to it.
Mark died suddenly in his early sixties.
There was still a little bit of mortgage
outstanding on the property. The children
were both now in their thirties with
families of their own.
Susan suddenly found that she did not have
the same rights as a spouse or civil partner
and there was no such entity as a common
law spouse.
Susan inherited the bank account as it was
a joint account. However, as the house was
Mark’s, she may have rights to live in it , as
she had been living there as a couple.
However, as they were only cohabitees, it
may not be plain sailing. Under the Rules
of Intestacy that apply when someone dies
without a Will, the house passed to the
children not to Susan. If Susan wanted the
house she would have to apply to the court
under the Inheritance (Family and
Dependents) Act 1975 as she would be a
recognised dependant.
This is only one of many stories we could
tell in relation to people dying without a
Will. The most distressing part for your
family ,is that not leaving clear instructions
in a Will means that the whole process of
dealing with your estate will be more
complex and could leave the people you
care about most with provision.
Let us help you put your wishes into words.
Danielle Harvey
If you would like to make an appointment
with Danielle or another member of any
of our other teams, please contact us on
01425 610078 or 01590 689500.
enquiries@heppenstalls.co.uk 75 High Street, Lymington 01590 689500
www.heppenstalls.co.uk 82 Station Rd, New Milton. 01425 610078
Please mention The Lymington Directory when responding to advertisements
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