Why do unmarried couples need to make Wills?

There is nothing more deeply upsetting than having the ground disappear below you when a loved one dies. The surviving partner in an unmarried couple might well have even greater reason to feel this way if the deceased partner failed to make a Will.

Why is it important for unmarried couples to make their Wills?

It is, perhaps, trite to remind everyone that the only way to ensure your estate is distributed amongst your loved ones is to make a Will. However, married couples and civil partners have the safety net of Prior Rights should their spouse or partner die without making a Will. Prior Rights ensure the surviving spouse or partner automatically receives an entitlement to share in the estate. These include:

• The family home (up to a value of £473,000)
• The contents of the family home (up to a value of £29,000) and
• The first £89,000 of moveable estate (£50,000 if the deceased had children)

The surviving partner in an unmarried relationship has no automatic right of any description to inherit any part of the deceased partner’s estate. Painful and unfair as this may seem, this is the current position in the Law of Succession in Scotland.

What if the deceased partner was divorced?

If the deceased partner is divorced, the Prior Rights issue disappears. However, it still does not resolve the unmarried surviving partner’s problems. He or she still does not have any automatic right to share in the deceased partner’s estate. If the deceased partner had children, it is they who are entitled to the estate. If there are no children, the estate would then look to parents and then siblings and then wider relations to discover someone entitled to receive the estate. Even if the deceased partner has no relations who could share in the estate, the surviving unmarried partner is still not entitled to any part of the estate!

Tragic though this may seem, the only way the surviving partner can receive or share in the estate is by raising court proceedings. This will be expensive and time consuming, especially if objections are lodged to the claim by relatives of the deceased.

How can unmarried couples overcome these problems?

The quickest and easiest way to overcome these problems is for each of the partners to make a Will. This allows them to dictate who should share in their estate after their death. In addition, when children from different relationships are involved, it allows the partners to deal with this rather than depending entirely on the Law of Succession.

Making a Will is not hard. Our experienced Wills solicitors will explain the process to you and take you through it quickly and carefully. This will ensure that your wishes are carried out after you finally pass away.

Any children have an automatic entitlement to Legal Rights in the estate of their parent. Those rights relate to the moveable estate left by the deceased and there are rules governing what they are entitled to receive. However, Legal Rights would not, for instance, mean that the children have any automatic entitlement to the family home. If the deceased partner directs that any heritable property be left to the surviving partner, the children cannot do anything about that.

What are the next steps unmarried couples need to take?

The very first step is to contact us. When you do that, our solicitors who have many years of experience in preparing Wills for unmarried couples in North Berwick and Dunbar in East Lothian and right across Scotland will answer your questions and deal with the drawing up of your Will. When it has been completed to your satisfaction, you will sign it and your loved one’s entitlement to your estate is protected.

None of us know when the time will come for us to leave our loved ones so do not delay in making your decision to make your Will. Contact us now and let us help you put your Will into place.