Most people in this country do not have a Will; perhaps because they do not want to think about death.

As a result, when these people die, their wishes may not be carried out and they may leave complicated problems for their loved ones to deal with.

If you die without a Will, the law uses automatic rules called the Rules of Intestacy. They apply a rigid formula to your estate and say how it will be divided up between your family after your death. The rules may not do what you want and because Parliament has the power to change the rules at any time, you should not rely on them.

Under the Rules, it is possible that your wife or husband may not get everything when you die. If you are living with someone and are not married to them your partner may well get nothing at all.

And if a husband and wife who have no children die without having made Wills it is likely that all of the estate may pass to the family of the second to die with nothing going to the family of the one who dies first. With a will it is possible to arrange for the estate to be divided fairly between the two families.

In addition, if you do not make a Will you can obviously not make any gifts to friends or charities or express a wish as to your funeral arrangements.

If you would like to telephone for an appointment or just to discuss matters in general, please contact Karen Grange on 020 8859 9095 or email her