Should they still have a will?

curtiss21

Hello I hope I have put this in the right place, my father and mother in law have no Will they are not married and have no joint account but I am helping them set one up this week. my question is if they have no assets just a little savings do they need a Will as if they have a joint account I am at the understanding that the other can still have access to the account and savings when one passes on any advice would be greatly appreciated.  

MSE_ForumTeam5

We've moved this to a more appropriate part of the forum

Keep_pedalling

Not many people have no sole assets, so it is better that they have a will. For small estates with few assets a DIY would suffice. 

More importantly they really need financial and health and welfare LPA in place.

bunnygo

the joint account will indeed still be accessible to the survivor - and all bills should be set up to be paid from it for that reason. This means that a grieving partner does not find their household bills unpaid at a time when they really don't need extra hassle.

no will and not married - not good. For instance, what happens to the survivor regarding tenancy?

and yes, get moving on those LPAs.

user1977

Keep_pedalling said:

Not many people have no sole assets, so it is better that they have a will.

And even if they don't have much now, that might change by the time they die e.g. what if they inherit from somebody else's estate?

Olinda99

if they don't have a will then their assets pass according to intestacy rules  - which may be what they want anyway

Silvertabby

Any pensions?  Some older occupational pensions will only pay a survivor's pension to a legally married spouse.

Marcon

Olinda99 said:

if they don't have a will then their assets pass according to intestacy rules  - which may be what they want anyway

....although whether they'd want someone else to apply for letters of administration could be another matter. The surviving partner cannot do so.