Martin Lewis gives chilling warning to couples and says 'partner may get nothing'

Martin Lewis gave a chilling warning to couples about their plans if one of them was to die. Speaking on the Martin Lewis Money Show Live on ITV this week the personal finance expert said simply that if they’re not married and one of them dies and there’s no will - the partner will get nothing.

Mr Lewis was speaking as Will Aid month takes place - when solicitors offer their services for free in exchange for a donation for charity. Mr Lewis explained that if people wanted to have a say in where their posessions and money go after their death, they need a will - otherwise it follows the law.

He explained: “If you have assets, do a will, then you get to decide where they go. If not, what’s called the intestacy laws will decide where your assets go. It depends on which UK nation you’re in. Go on to Gov.uk and have a look at what the situation would be in your case, especially if you’ve got dependent children.”

One key part is whether a person is married or not. Mr Lewis explained: “In most cases, if you’re not married, nothing will go to your partner. If you don’t have a will or you have a blended family, you want to give money to your children from your first marriage. But it might all go to your current partner.

“Wills are important in all those cases. Plus, dying intestate can also slow down and complicate dealing with your estate.” Intestate means dying without a will and an example was explained to the show. In it, a viewer said: ”My uncle died Intestate in 2022. It took 13 months for letters of administration to be granted. My parents left Wales last year, and probate took eight weeks.”

Mr Lewis explained: “People say I’m not doing a will because it will all go to my wife or partner anyway. But it actually speeds up the process when they’re already dealing with the grease. In many cases, if you’ve already got a will, check if it is up to date, especially if you’re recently married because in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, getting married can often invalidate a will. Fascinating. Getting married can. Getting divorced doesn’t. But hey, that’s how it works. So you’ll need to do a new will.”

Mr Lewis said in will aid month, solicitors suggest a donation of £100 a will, £180 for a mirror will - which is ‘way cheaper’ than you’d normally pay. He added: “If you can’t afford it, you can give less. But please don’t game it because it is set up to give money to charity.” On pensions, he added: “Pensions don’t go in your will, so you need to make sure you have an up-to-date expression of wishes or nomination form with your pension provider. I hear too many cases where people haven’t updated it. They pass away. They haven’t changed it since they got divorced. It still says I want it to go to my ex-partner and that causes some real problems. While these expressions of wishing forms aren’t binding, they are what pension firms look at.

“So make sure your expression of wishing on your pension is up to date because they don’t go in your will.”

To book a Will Aid appointment in November 2024, you can:

• Visit the Will Aid website from September onwards to find a participating solicitor in your area
• Call the Will Aid hotline on 0300 0309 558

Visit https://www.willaid.org.uk/ for more information