58% OF UK ADULTS DON’T HAVE A WILL

Despite this lack of planning, 74% of UK adults said they would like to pass on money (with an average value of £45,000) to their loved ones when they pass away, while 56% of people said that they wish to leave assets like jewellery and paintings to loved ones. The survey revealed that 65% plan to leave property worth an average of £199,000.

The research showed that children and grandchildren continue to be the main beneficiaries of wills, with 36% of UK adults wanting to leave enough money to fund some aspect of their child or grandchild’s future.  With tuition fees rising, 13% said they would like to fund their child or grandchild through university, and 22% would like to boost their child or grandchild’s savings. Charities and pets also stand to benefit with 8% of UK adults wishing to donate a significant amount to charity and 7% of people wanting to leave enough money for their pets to live comfortably after they have gone. Yet without a will in place all these beneficiaries stand to receive nothing.

Where there’s a will there’s a way

Procrastination remains the number one reason for not writing a will. Nearly a third of those without a will (30%) stated that they plan to make one when they ‘get older’, while 11% said it never occurred to them and 21% felt that they didn’t have anything of value to leave behind.  Interestingly, 11% believe their estate will go to the right people automatically, yet dying without a will means their assets will be divided according to the rules of intestacy, which could leave stepchildren or unmarried partners in particular in a vulnerable position.

Although the average cost of getting a solicitor to write a will can be as low as £120 for singles and £200 for couples***, 14% of UK adults said that they have not written a will yet because they are worried about the costs involved.  Almost 7% said they wanted to enjoy spending their savings while they are alive instead of saving them to pass on to future generations, while 8% of over 55s claimed they were superstitious and writing a will is tempting fate.

Impact of inheritance tax

If an estate exceeds the threshold for inheritance tax – currently £325,000 or £650,000 for married couples – individuals should consider including some tax planning in their will. Yet worryingly, 42% claim that they haven’t thought about the impact inheritance tax may have on their estate and 11% didn’t know that it could affect their estate.

Of the 39% of people who have considered inheritance tax planning, 20% have gifted assets to friends and family during their lifetime and 15% have placed their assets under trust to minimise the impact of inheritance tax.

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* Opinium Research carried out an online poll of 2009 UK adults from 28th September – 1st October 2012.  UK 18+ population estimate 49,969,000 according to ONS Mid-2011 Census data.  (1160 of 2009 did not have a will. 1160/2009 = .5774).5774*49,969,000 = 28,852,185 or approximately 29 million.

** Table 1 shows the % of UK adults with/without a will by region – not all figures add up to 100% as consumers also had the option to tick ‘I don’t know if I have a will’.

*** Source: ifishoulddie.co.ukh ……. ttp://www.unbiased.co.ukWi