You’re Never Too Young to Execute a Will*.
Hayley Bundey, a specialist Senior Consultancy Solicitor working in association with Slee Blackwell, discusses the sad passing of Liam Payne late last year – and the fact he died without making a Will. You can contact Hayley on 0333 888 0554 or email [email protected] for a free case assessment.
Liam was famously a member of the band One Direction who had a number of hit singles before the band parted ways and Liam pursued a solo music career.
Liam was tragically only 31 years old when he unfortunately passed way in October 2024. Probate documents have detailed his estate to be worth some £24.3million. Under the rules of intestacy, due to the fact that Liam had no spouse or civil partner, his entire estate will pass to his eight-year-old son, Bear, to inherit when he is 18 years old. Until then it is understood that Bear’s mother, Cheryl, together with a music industry lawyer are to administer his estate and act as trustees for Bear.
You might think his estate has gone where it ought to go so who needs a Will, however few clients realise the less widely known implications of not having a Will. Without a Will there is nobody who stands in your shoes as executor of your estate unless and until a Grant of Representation is issued by the probate registry. This means your bank accounts are frozen, your bills can’t be paid and your home could even be at risk of repossession despite significant sums of money existing that are capable of repaying a mortgage. If you are even in the middle of litigation then there is often no one who can step into your shoes to represent you in that case until the Grant comes through.
Instead, if you appoint an executor in a Will that person has authority to act for your estate from the moment of your death, without a Grant of Representation, so these issues don’t arise.
Consider also the issue of guardianship of children. It’s likely of course in this case that Liam would have wanted, and expected, guardianship of Bear to pass to Cheryl after his death but what if you are a single parent or the last surviving parent for your child or even a parent who has an acrimonious or even dangerous relationship with your former partner so that the other parent either cant, or shouldn’t, be stepping in to care for your children. A Will gives you the opportunity to confirm who you wish to care for your children should you pass away whilst they are a minor – surely the most important of reasons to execute one.
It can also specify that particular gifts are to pass to individuals (consider the position of Liam’s longstanding girlfriend and fiancé who receives nothing under intestacy), if you want to make any charitable gifts to a charity of meaning to you and you can specify your funeral and burial wishes.
Further, when you consider the tax planning benefits which Liam will have lost out on by not having executed a Will it is likely his estate, and therefore Bear’s inheritance, will be facing a significant tax bill as a result of him passing intestate.
That is where contentious probate lawyers can often step in. In a situation such as Bear’s there are measures that can be put in place to try to alleviate that tax burden, including executing a Deed of Variation to write back a change of gifting (in a more tax efficient way) to the deceased’s death so that some of the worst tax implications can be alleviated. However,
this is not always straightforward, nor possible to the extent it would have been pre-death, and especially with larger estates will involve us working closely with financial advisors and accountants all of which costs the estate money.
When you factor in the fact that the probate registry are taking often 20 weeks (sometimes more) to issue Grants of Representation in recent years – and that’s once you are ready to make the application, which is not immediately post-death – you can see why dying without a Will can leave such a minefield for your loved ones to navigate at the worst possible time, whilst grieving.
We are seeing a significant increase in the number of estates requiring our assistance because the deceased has died intestate and made insufficient provision for their loved ones.
We know it can be a difficult thing to think about, your own death, when considering making a Will but when hearing stories such as Liam’s, and for the sake of your loved ones, it is something you should carve out some time to really apply your mind to, sooner rather than later.
In the event that your loved one has died without a Will and you feel that you need assistance with what is to happen to their estate then Hayley’s consultancy team have an excellent track record in helping clients with these cases.
If you would like to read more about Hayley’s experience and specialist areas of consultancy practice as an ACTAPS member, you can find further details on her dedicated webpage and further articles from her and the team on LinkedIn
Hayley’s consultancy team are happy to offer a free case assessment to discuss how they may be able to help you in your own situation, including the various funding options open to you, such as no win no fee agreements, to help achieve justice in these most difficult of cases.
