D
Besides there may be other assets (i.e. other than the family home) involved.I presume that your parents own the property joint tenants and therefore the property will automatically pass to the surviving spouse on either of their deaths.
Intestacy
If a person dies without having made a will or if the will is invalid for whatever reason, that person is said to have died "intestate". If there is a valid will, but part of it is invalid then that part is dealt with as if there was an intestacy. The rules for division of property on intestacy are as follows:
If the deceased is survived by
- spouse but no children - spouse gets entire estate
- spouse and children - spouse gets two-thirds, one-third is divided equally between children (if a child has already died his/her children take a share)
- parents, no spouse or children - divided equally or entirely to one parent if only one survives.
- children, no spouse - divided equally between children (as above)
- brothers and sisters only - shared equally, the children of a deceased brother or sister take the share
- nieces and nephews only - divided equally between those surviving
- other relatives - divided equally between nearest equal relationship
- no relatives - the state
Or leave the lot to one and ask that person to pay off the remaining 3.
divide the proceeds between the children while living out their days in the house.
Edit: I would say dazza's presumption that the OP's parents owned the property in joint tenancy is 'dangerous' as it was quite common for the husband to be sole owner of a family home prior to the law being changed to guarantee wives joint tenancy (around 1981 IIRC).
Ok I had thought that everyone needed to have a will otherwise half the proceeds went to the tax man. Thanks for your input everyone.
No, not really. It just takes a little bit longer to establish that no will actually exists (you need to place an ad in the solicitors gazette or suchlike asking does anyone know of the existance of a will) and after a short while you can apply for letters of administration. In a way an absence of a will can be good because nobody can challenge the intestacy laws the way they can challenge a will. Wills make sense for a lot of people but not everyone needs to leave one. I am content that of I died tommorrow (touch wood!) the laws of intestacy would distribute my assets exactly as I would if I were to write a will but the intestacy laws are more watertight than a will I could write to do the same thing!Doesn't the absence of a will create a bit of an administrative nightmare for the children, and probably incur otherwise unnecessary legal costs in sorting out probate?
The solicitors' charges for drawing up or amending a will should be relatively nominal in the greater scheme of things as far as I know. To avoid making a will because of the few hundred €s this might cost could be a very short sighted penny pinching approach that could cost even more in the long run.And it saves the hastle of having to write a Will in the first place, pay solicitors fees and remember to update it again (and pay more fees) as your circumstances change.
Wouldn't a dependent child have an automatic right to a certain share of the assets regardless of what a will stated - i.e. their statutory rights might override what the will said?There are many a person who has written a Will, but forgot to update it and so left out someone who joined the family later e.g. new born child.
Wouldn't a dependent child have an automatic right to a certain share of the assets regardless of what a will stated - i.e. their statutory rights might override what the will said?
A will costs relatively little, and you can make it include children yet to be born, I've done so. OP you should not force your parents to do anything but they could go to a solicitor and get advice on the best course of action, without you (so there is no pressure on them), and then it is up to them to decide what to do. They would be well advised to hold onto their assets as a previous poster said to make sure they have a comfortable retirement.And it saves the hastle of having to write a Will in the first place, pay solicitors fees and remember to update it again (and pay more fees) as your circumstances change.
There are many a person who has written a Will, but forgot to update it and so left out someone who joined the family later e.g. new born child.
A solicitor who I contacted about such matters recently told me that they even have a policy of speaking to each spouse individually as there is often a conflict of views on what's best or what the aim/goal is in relation to a will between the married couple themselves!they could go to a solicitor and get advice on the best course of action, without you (so there is no pressure on them)
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