The law isn’t romantic or even exciting to most members of the public. All lawyers know this and it’s one of the challenges that we face in engaging with our clients. The law affects every single person alive and dead and is often most important at significant milestones in a person’s life such as their birth, their marriage and their death. As lawyers we try and help the public by dealing with the legal complexities and letting our clients get on with the rest of their lives.
Getting married for most people is one of the happiest days of their lives. It’s a very romantic and exciting time for the couple and for all their friends and family who can share in the joy of their special day. Naturally most couples when it comes to planning for their future limit their plans to the actual day and the numerous arrangements that have to be finalized and paid for but it’s also important to remember that for a lot of couples it’s also their first legal transaction! Not a very romantic thought I know but at its most basic, marriage is a contract between two people. Those of you who believe in the concept of “common law wife/husband” then think again. Don’t expect to be treated by the Law as a husband and wife if you’re not married!
For those of you who do take the plunge then don’t forget after the honeymoon is over you’ll need to make a will. Again not the most romantic gesture you may think but having just committed yourself to your other half for the rest of your life doesn’t it make sense to ensure that you both have a will in place setting out exactly what you would want to happen to your possessions and property rather than letting the Intestacy Rules take over? It is also important to remember that if you have made wills when you were single these will automatically be revoked when you get married.
No one ever wants to think about dying when you’ve just got married and everyone can always think of a reason to put it off in our busy day to day lives but at least if you’ve read this and not made a will please ask yourself if you know exactly what would happen to your estate and your spouse if you died tomorrow?
If you would like further advice or just an informal chat then contact Fareed on 01628 496 669 about making a Will. Karen or Manisha can help if you’re buying or selling a house and if you want to find out about Pre Nuptial Agreements then speak to me (Alison).Watch out for my next blog on this specific subject.
