Nearly a third of people in the UK who have been left an inheritance are forced to go to court to fight  for it due to a Will not being in place. The research from Unbiased.co.uk also showed that such inheritance battles cost an average of £2,150 in legal fees.

When someone dies without having made a will, or intestate, problems are often left for family and friends who feel entitled to share in the distribution of the estate. As part of the survey, people who had inherited from someone who died intestate were interviewed and they advised as follows:

• 10% faced legal disputes in attempting to take possession of their inheritance
• 12% resulted in family arguments before reaching a solution
• 6% faced other hurdles in obtaining their inheritance
• 7% had to wait a very long time before obtaining their inheritance
  

Further to these hurdles and problems caused by not having a Will, it is estimated that an  £2.2billion will be paid in tax unnecessarily this year through inefficient inheritance tax planning; yet another good reason to have a Will drawn up before it is too late.

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of Unbiased.co.uk, "These figures highlight the necessity for everyone  to ensure they have a will in place should the worst happen. Only then will they have the peace of mind  that their wealth will go to whom they want and all of their assets will be allocated as they wish. An  up to date will is also the best way to ensure an already difficult time is as stress free as possible  for your family or loved ones. However, with over two fifths of people over the age of 50 not having a  will in place at all, it is clear that many are leaving it too late."

Lenore Rice, Head of Family and Estates at Wilson Nesbitt solicitors in Belfast, previously commented that "the cost for making a Will starts around the price of a night out, it isn't an onerous task and it doesn't tempt fate, therefore people should not delay and contact their solicitor."

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