The Things Intestacy Ignores

When someone dies in the UK without a Will, the law is clear about the ‘big’ things.

The Intestacy Rules set out who inherits the house, savings and investments. But what about everything else? The dog, the online social media accounts or the sentimental book collection?

The truth is, intestacy doesn’t cover them neatly at all, and so many of the things people care the most about are usually overlooked, mishandled or lost entirely.

The Intestacy Rules (Administration of Estates Act 1925, as amended) deal with the traditional assets such as property, cash and possessions. But they are silent on pets, digital assets and sentimental collections.

Without a Will these assets fall into the residuary estate and are distributed with little regard for their personal or emotional significance.

Pets

The UK Law treats pets like property, rather than like the much loved and adored family member they are. If you die intestate, then your pets will pass to whoever inherits your residuary estate under the rules of intestacy. That may be a spouse, a child or other relative even if they want the animal or not.

There have been a lot of cases reported by animal charities such as RSPCA or Dogs Trust where pets have been surrendered because the beneficiaries of the residuary estate cannot or will not take responsibility of the pets.

Digital Ghosts

The UK currently has no legislation dealing directly with digital assets after death. If you die intestate: –

• Social media account such as Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram can remain active indefinitely. Families often struggle to memorialise or close the accounts down.
• Online banking and PayPal accounts are often frozen until Probate has been issued, but without passwords some accounts remain locked.
• Cryptocurrency Wallets are especially risky as without access codes, the funds are effectively lost forever.

Therefore, without a Will or digital plan, families face frustration and sometimes permanent loss.

Plants, collections and “low value” high value items

Personal chattels under the UK law includes household goods, clothes, furniture and by extension collections, plants or artwork. But intestacy doesn’t ask who values them emotionally.

Collections may be sold off to settle a debt or plants may be binned by an administrator who is unaware of their significance. Only a Will or a letter of wishes can preserve them properly.

What can be done to prevent the loss of accounts and chattels of significance?

• Write a Will that names guardians for pets and allocates sentimental items.
• Use a letter of wishes to run alongside your Will to guide you executors on smaller possessions
• Register pets with schemes such as the Dogs Trust Canine Care Card or RSPCA Home for Life.
• Plan for digital assets by keeping an inventory and appointing a digital executor within your Will and provide a list of account names and passwords in a safe place for your digital executor to access after you die to be able to carry out your wishes.

The Intestacy Rules in the UK are efficient at distributing property and money but life is not just about property and money. Life is about pets, memories, digital legacies and passions. Without a Will, the things that matter the most may be lost, ignored or mishandled.

Contact us today to arrange a free initial consultation to take that next step in planning for the future.