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When Someone Dies

Dying is an unpleasant fact of life that no one can stop. People die from accidents, long term illness, or natural causes but not all of us prepare for what happens to our estates after we have gone.

If a person dies without having made a will, they are said to have died intestate. The property of the deceased is distributed according to the rules of succession. This starts with the deceased's spouse, then their children, parents, and other relatives in a certain order according to the Order of Entitlement under the Intestacy rules, the administration of estates act 1925.

Distribution of your estate in this way may not be what you wished for and can cause bitterness between the loved ones that you have left behind.

A vast majority of people tend not to think about dying, let alone make any plans for the eventuality. A will is a legal document. Making a will is one of the ways that you can make sure that your wishes are executed. You can determine exactly who gets what after your death. Arrangements for your own funeral can be written into the will so that you get the “send off” that you want, whether it be about the type of burial or where you would like donations to be sent.

Funerals may need little or no planning. Sometimes a person already has documented what they wishes are before they die, this can be the case if someone is ill for a while. Usually if a funeral is pre planned it will be written into a will that would, more than likely, have been actioned by a solicitor or lawyer.

Usually a funeral consists of a church service followed by a cremation or burial depending on the persons wishes or those left behind who have had to decide for their loved one.

Article by Tracey Aldous