England and Wales
If you do not have a Will on your death, your partner will not be entitled to anything under the intestacy rules.
Even if you have joint bank accounts with your partner, or you jointly own your home, any jointly held property will not necessarily pass to your surviving partner. Whether it does or not depends on how you own these assets.
If you don’t have a will that makes your intentions clear, your partner may not be entitled to any jointly owned property or money in a joint bank account, even if this is what you intended.
Failing to make a will can also have unintended tax consequences. So it makes good sense to always make a Will.
Scotland
If you do not have a Will on your death, your partner will not be entitled to anything under the intestacy rules.
However, a surviving cohabitant can ask the courts to a share of the deceased’s estate under the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. The court, in deciding whether to give a share of the estate to a former cohabitant, will take into account the couple’s relationship. In deciding to grant a former cohabitant a portion of the estate the courts will, for example, consider:
-
how long the couple cohabited
-
the nature of their relationship (whether it was similar to a marriage or civil partnership)
-
the type of arrangement the couple made regarding money (eg whether they had a joint bank account and whether they supported each other financially).
As in England and Wales, failing to make a will can also have unintended tax consequences. So it makes good sense to always make a Will.