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What You Need to Know About Unentitled Relatives

What You Need to Know About Unentitled Relatives

While it can seem pretty straightforward to some people, many people tend to still misunderstand laws when it comes to heirs and those who aren’t entitled to receive anything from a person’s will.

That being said, since dealing with unentitled relatives can be quite difficult, it’s important to undergo estate planning to ensure that all the people in your will are accounted for.

What is the Order of Priority for Entitled Relatives?

  • Spouse or civil partner,
  • Issue (children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren),
  • Parents,
  • Siblings or their issue,
  • Grandparents,
  • Uncles and aunts or their issue.

What are the Common Misconceptions About Inheritance?

  • All Relatives Get to Inherit Something from the Deceased: While this would make sense and seems to be the most common thing to happen, it’s important to remember that all entitled relatives do not get to inherit anything from the deceased. The reason being that the law states that the entitled relatives must get a share of the estate.
  • Estate Planning is Only for Wealthy People: While it’s true that a wealthy person’s estate planning is more important than a standard-income person, no one is exempt from estate planning. Of course, more planning is necessary for wealthy people, but for the average person, their estate planning can be carried out through a will.
  • Estate Planning is Done When Someone is Old: One might think that estate planning is something that is only done before someone dies, but this is actually not the case. Estate planning can be done by anyone at any age.

What is the Difference Between an Heir and a Beneficiary?

One might think that an heir and a beneficiary are the same thing, but they are actually not.

An heir is the person that is entitled to inherit an estate. This person usually gets to inherit something of monetary value or the property of the deceased. In the eyes of the law, an heir is not always entitled to receive an inheritance. The law states that the person must be a blood relative or lineal descendant to be considered an heir.

A beneficiary, on the other hand, is a person who is named in the will of the deceased to receive some sort of financial inheritance. In the eyes of the law, a beneficiary is always entitled to receive an inheritance. However, like an heir, the beneficiary’s inheritance can be altered by other family members’ wills.

The Bottom Line: Make Sure to Get Estate Planning to Ensure That Your Heirs Will Get What They Will Rightfully Inherit

There’s no doubt that dealing with estate planning can be difficult, especially with unentitled relatives. For this reason, it’s important to seek out legal counsel when getting your estate planning completed.

The idea behind estate planning is that your heirs will get everything you want them to get. While this may not be the case, it’s important to ensure that those in your will are the people you want.

How Can We Help You?

Our lawyers at Wills and Probate in the UK can help you create a will along with other services like estate planning, inheritance tax planning, retirement planning, wealth management, and more. Get in touch with us and see what we can do to secure you and your family’s future!