Who should you leave your estate to.

Make a will.
Be sure to keep it up to date.

We updated our will when my son decided he didn’t want us in his life. That was 4 years ago.
We were advised to make an extra statement as to why he won’t inherit anything. The solicitor put it into legal gargon and added it to the will. Hopefully this will stop any problems for our other children.

If you have no will and no nearest and dearest, your estate doesn't go directly to the state. That only happens after they have spent a long time looking for relatives.

The rules governing the distribution of the estate of someone dying intestate (without a will) are quite clear about who inherits and in what order. My sister was in her mid-40s when she died intestate. She was unmarried and childless so her estate went entirely to her parents, who were still alive. They then made a Deed of Arrangement to divide the estate equally between them and their 2 surviving children. The state took no more from her estate than they would have done if she had left a will.

It is only when there are no blood relatives at all that can be found, that the estate goes to the Crown.

If you are referring to your own "estate" and are fortunate enough to have anything of value to leave then you should leave it to whomsoever you bloomin well choose!
You earned it/saved it/were careful with it etc.

However, if you are in the UK don't assume that should you die any or everything you own passes to your nearest and dearest ... if you drop orf your mortal coil (which could be anytime - just referring to accidents etc) and do not have a legal Will the State could be the beneficiary; or at the very least whoop a great deal of it in taxes and debts etc,

Lilyflower, I experienced similar. My father had remarried and one day I was asked to visit, it was explained to me what they wished on their deaths (my stepmother had no children but she had siblings and was only close and in contact with one.)
They gave me a letter and copies of wills.
My father passed away first and then five months before my stepmothers' death, she changed her will.
The estate was divided into 3....me and two nieces who she didn't like and had never been in contact with. Her sister was very upset as she'd moved in with my stepmother (selling all her furniture etc).
I didn't and don't understand what or why.....!!

DH had an unexpected legacy from a very distant relative.It was all of £169, which even in 1988, didn't amount to much.

The relative was the daughter of DH's grandfather's youngest sister, There were 9 of them and he was the eldest. She must have been born in the 1880/90s and when she married, probably around the time of WW1, she moved 200 miles away. Nobody knew of her existence.

The estate was quite small, only about £15,000. How much went in will hunter's fees we do not know, but I am sure this lady's daughter probably had a close friend or kind neighbour whom she would like to have benfitted from her estate, or her church or a local charity.

It just shows, no matter how little you have to leave, make a will.

I agree with much that has already been said here! I needed to make a Will quite early in life, due to a failed Marriage, and the fact that I was made a "Ward of Court" as a Child. I didn't want my former husband claiming anything, I had never known my father, and wasn't keen on my mother - so this was legally required. Since then, I have been twice widowed, and struggled immensely with Wills, and Children from (spouse's) earlier Marriages. Still have an ongoing situation where I am obliged to keep/maintain a property (originally a marital home) from my late husband, and to leave it to his children when I die. One child has already passed away (drug user) - both hated me with a passion, despite their mother having died some twenty years before their father and I met!
DEFINITELY make a Will, make it clear and unambiguous. If you have a good friend or relative who would be willing to deal with your Estate (provided that it is not complex), buy them an easy to follow book which advises how to deal with Probate, and name them as Executor/Executrix. Far cheaper than a Solicitor. For complex matters, however - you DO need proper legal advice.

One of my old neighbours lived alone, rarely saw anyone. She left her house to her niece. Knew her for 25 years and I had never heard of her existence.

My father remarried and on his death his house passed to his new wife. She said she would leave it equally to my sister and myself, her daughter and two sons of a deceased child. When she died her own daughter inherited the house, whether by will or by default I know not. The daughter sold the house sharpish and moved on. All perfectly legal no doubt.

Worthingpatchworker,
What a lovely idea.
I have a friend of 97 years of age who is the Carer for her 85 year old sister who has schizophrenia .Neither has ever married.
They came from a large family and they are the only two survivors of that generation.
Over the years they have inherited money from spinster sisters.
They have several nephews but one in particular “looks after “ their money and decides where the money should be spent ( It should be spent on making the house more suitable for them to live in or even arrange for them to go into a Home but it isn’t )
I imagine he and his family will get the bulk of the money when they both die and I can’t interfere but my friend won’t hear a word against him.
It is so sad .
I would love them to be able to leave it to a good cause but since he has possibly drafted the Will there is no chance.

I'd always advise anyone to make a will, I have a friend who works in probate and she's often said how contentious the whole issue can be.
I don't have much at all and what I do have will go to my son in entirety, however, I've still made a will and kept it updated.

Most of my children have cut me out of their lives and denied me contact with my grandchildren. I don't know what they tell them, perhaps that I died. I'm sure they would want to come back for the money though. I had a lawyer make a will and the advice was to leave each of them a small amount and explain why. As people have said, that should make it difficult for them to challenge the will.

Probably best if you only have short legs.

Having had some unpleasantness from one close relatives spouse when my Mum died. I have ensured that that particular relative will not inherit anything from me. My solicitor told me that the only way that they could challenge it would be to say that I had either given them financial support or I was not of sound mind when the will was made. I have proof of their bad behaviour towards me which I am putting with the Will just in case. My advice, make a Will whilst you are still compus mentis!

We have no biological children, only an informally adopted son. It would cause too much in death duties if he were to inherited, so we pass on what we can afford, and have left our estate to a charity, when they survivor dies.

Whatever you decide, do make a will,

I divided it between 3 children in my will but now one son says he would like to live in my house after I die.They may sort ìt out between them.

Readymeals, I think I read somewhere that if you’re excluding someone for particular reasons (like your son) it’s as well to state your reasons clearly in the will, so it’s less likely to be challenged.

A childless aunt of dh originally left her money to dh and his brothers, but later excluded one of them because his wife was a truly reckless spendthrift, and she didn’t want her having any of her money to waste.

I don’t think she stated it in her will, but we all knew, and by the time she died that brother was divorced, so the others made a deed of variation to reinstate him.

Astonishing how many people never get around to making a will. Anyone who’s watched Heir Hunters will know how often quite a lot of money went to someone who hadn’t seen the person for 30 years, or maybe wasn’t even aware of their existence.

Whereas the very nice neighbours next door, who’d been helping them with all sorts for years, got precisely nothing.

Re-reading my post I was a bit concerned about the possibility of an untimely demise by letters, legal documents, verbal communications and even living wills. Perhaps I need to be more careful!

Readymeals, yes, you can leave your estate as you wish. Get a solicitor to draft the will. Don't give your son any money while you are alive. He can't then claim against your estate (by saying that you supported him).

Whatever you choose to do with your estate, whether you want to leave it to your family, some particular family members, a charity or your best friend just make sure you have a valid will that is clear, unambiguous and will ensure that it happens without legal actions, complications and challenges from interested or aggrieved parties.

Whatever you want to happen to your estate just make sure you do it properly and that it is legally valid in whatever jurisdiction is relevant. Do not leave a legal mess for your relatives, friends or enemies to battle over. The only winners there are the lawyers. She sighs wearily from bitter experience!!

It is entirely your decision whether you make those wishes known to beneficiaries and/or non beneficiaries prior to your untimely demise by letters, legal documents, verbal communications, living wills or any other way.

I don't have an estate to leave, just a small hatchback.

helgawills, I expect the aunt's husband got rid of the will and claimed her estate, easily done!

I don't really want to leave any money to my son. Not only has he never sent me a birthday card in his life (well since my mum stopped buying him one to give me) and hasn't seen me for 3 years, but the moment he has more money than he needs for the next meal he'll probably kill himself going on a drugs binge (he's in his 40s). I am still wondering if I can get away with excluding him while making sure his paternally-underserved kids and their half sister can get something - all without someone challenging the will and wrecking it all

It just goes to show how important it is to keep wills up to date.