Unhelpful BBC news reporting on estate planning

bobster2

So this week - there was an episode of BBC Money Box which covered estate planning.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002wj1f

Millions of adults across the UK, have not told their families what they want to happen to their money and property when they die. STEP, the Society for Trust and Estate Planners, reported this week on a survey which found 8 out of 10 adults had kept their loved ones in ignorance of their wishes. A third of them did not even have a will, leaving its distribution to complex legal rules rather than what the family itself might want. What should people do to avoid this?

However, while the discussion on Money Box might have been comprehensive - this was reported in various news bulletins as just…

Millions of adults across the UK, have not told their families what they want to happen to their money and property when they die.

…with some comments about telling your family and letters of wishes. But no mention at all of wills in the news bulletin!😮 These short segments in the news just told people to talk to their families.

oldernonethewiser

In what way is it unhelpful?

eastcorkram

I wonder where they got the figures. Saying a third of adults don't have a will.

I imagine it's way higher than that.

bobster2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82001497#Comment_82001497

Because the radio news bulletin coverage focused on talking to your relatives about your wishes - and made zero mention of the need for a will. It implied that telling them what you wanted was sufficient. Most people will only hear this coverage on the news - and not listen to the full Money Box programme.

As as you'll know from reading this forum - loads of people think they can distribute estates based on what relatives might have said at various points in time rather than what is written in a will.

SiliconChip

"But no mention at all of wills in the news bulletin!😮 These short segments in the news just told people to talk to their families."

I think you're wrong, it was covered in some detail on BBC Breakfast yesterday morning, including speaking to a STEP solicitor.

bobster2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82001564#Comment_82001564

Maybe that TV bit was comprehensive. It was the coverage on BBC Radio 5 I was listening to. They edited down comments from a solicitor so wills were not mentioned.

oldernonethewiser

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82001563#Comment_82001563

Is talking to your relatives about this not helpful?

bobster2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82001573#Comment_82001573

If you're talking to your relatives instead of having a will it's not helpful! Relatives then end up thinking they can deviate from the rules of intestacy based on verbal recollections.

Also if you do have a will - but what you're talking about is not consistent with the will - it's very unhelpful! Plenty of threads on this forum that show that.

But anyway - looks like perhaps most people here didn't hear the concerning radio bit I heard. And heard better more comprehensive coverage. So we're mostly talking at cross-purposes.

Keep_pedalling

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82001561#Comment_82001561

I would have thought well over 50%.

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82001615#Comment_82001615

We could all have a guess at the figure - how would it be possible to actually derive the number of will-less?

Were any polls quoted in the original source?

bobster2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82001622#Comment_82001622

This research suggests > 50%

https://maps.org.uk/en/media-centre/press-releases/2025/over-half-of-uk-adults-dont-have-a-will

It's tough to get an accurate figure since there is no central record of which living people do and do not have wills.

You can't really estimate it from the % of estates that involve intestacy because many people will quickly write a will if death is imminent - and many estates with few assets that don't needs letters of administration won't be recorded by the probate service.