The father had died suddenly. He left an estate worth just under £2 million, mostly in a successful engineering firm he built over 30 years. One son had worked in the business since he was 18. The other son was a teacher, living 200 miles away. The father’s intention was clear to everyone: the business was for the son who had helped him build it.
He never wrote it down. He died without a valid will.
The Cost of Intestacy
When there is no will, your wishes die with you. The law, specifically the rules of intestacy, takes over. These rules are a blunt instrument. They do not account for verbal promises or complex family dynamics. In this case, the rules dictated that the estate be divided equally between the two sons.
The value was in the company. To give the second son his 50% share in cash, the business would have to be dismantled. Assets sold, staff let go. It meant destroying one son’s livelihood to satisfy the other son’s legal entitlement. The family was torn apart by a situation the father never wanted. The legal fees to even attempt a resolution exceeded £120,000.
The Path Not Taken
This was not a complex problem to solve beforehand. A correctly drafted will would have cost less than £1,000. It would have secured the business for one son while making fair provision for the other, using other assets or insurance. With an estate of this size, a business trust would have been the correct tool. It would have ring-fenced the company, minimised the 40% inheritance tax bill, and protected the family from this exact outcome.
We cannot fix these problems after the fact. We can only help you prevent them. If you have questions about your own arrangements, we can sit down and talk them through.
Share this article
Written by Sean Kiani, Estate Planner at Inheritance Made Simple. Sean writes and reviews the firm's guidance on estate planning, wills, trusts and inheritance tax, and works with families across Bournemouth, Poole, Dorset and Central London. Verify Sean's Society of Will Writers membership listing.