Question about last will

I know a women in her mid 70's and she recently told me she has no will because she is sure when she passes, her three daughters will automatically get her estate in three equal shares. sounds a bit odd to me. anybody know what happens when you die without a will? her husband passed away years ago.

The old lady is bang on. The rules on intestacy are that if you die without a will and your spouse is dead then the estate will pass in equal shares to her children.

in this situation does the government not end up with a substantial sum from the estate in taxes of some sort - as opposed to exactly the same wishes being expressed in a will?

truthseeker said:

in this situation does the government not end up with a substantial sum from the estate in taxes of some sort - as opposed to exactly the same wishes being expressed in a will?

Click to expand...

It depends on the value of the inheritance taken by each. If it falls below the tax threshold and assuming there have been no other gifts/inheritances that would push a beneficiary above the CAT threshold, then no, it should not affect the amount of tax paid whether inheritance is by way of intestacy ( i.e. no will).

mf

thanks mf1 - always wondered about that.

Tax on inheritance by next of kin is a lot lower than the tax on more distant relatives and non-relatives. It makes no difference to the tax if a Will does or doesnt exist.

You often hear people talking about trying to will things to avoid tax. But in the end of the day, the most efficient way to will is to give your assets to those who pay least tax i.e. next of kin. Giving away your assets to charity may save you the tax, but it will also cost your heirs the benefit of your estate. I'm sure your heirs would prefer to inherit your estate and pay some tax rather than not inherit at all and pay no tax.

For sons/daughters €521,208 is exempt from tax. For non-relatives only €26,060 is exempt.

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