Family Law Blog

A heterosexual couple have lost their legal battle to be allowed to enter into a civil partnership. Rebecca Steinfeld, 34, and Charles Keidan, 39, are both academics who live in Hammersmith, west London and are engaged and have been in a relationship for over five years. The couple also have a young son together.

Writing a will is something that many people put off to another day, something that they will get around to eventually when "the time is right". Sadly , and difficult as it is to accept, we don`t know what is round the corner. At present as many as six out of ten Scots do not have a will and the consequences for their loved ones can be devastating if they are suddenly left behind. Perhaps the Scottish psyche goes some way towards explaining the reluctance to attend to such matters but clearly it is in the interests of all to take such steps as drawing up a will.

Dying without a will - the legal term is intestate  - means that a person`s estate may not be divided up according to their wishes. If a person is not married  but has lived with a long term partner in the event of a death the partner would have no right to the deceased`s assets if no will exists to distribute the estate as the person wished. Step children for instance as well would receive nothing from the estate. Further, if you were still married to another person but living with a different partner then your estranged spouse would have a claim on your estate with this often being contrary to the deceased person`s wishes.

Drawing up a will is not complex nor expensive. Nor is it time consuming.Contact Family Law Glasgow solicitors today to put in place clear and precise instructions for division of your estate upon your death. We may all prefer not to focus on such issues but death is a fact of life and making a will is an act of kindness for those left behind as it removes potentially much heartache and division should any dispute arise as to distribution of your estate.