Will Writing

The Internet is also full of hype selling fear to potential customers. However, the real danger lies in lifetime gifts. Do your readers know that it is possible to completely disinherit heirs without a will by simply giving your property and valuables away as a lifetime gift?

In Germany, for example, heirs are protected from such devious manoeuvres. All lifetime gifts automatically become estate upon the death of the testator meaning that the beneficiary of lifetime gifts is obliged to fully (i.e including interest payments) financially compensate heirs omitted from wills.

The rationale behind German Inheritance Law is that no heir should be at a financial disadvantage. Other continental contries in Europe subscribe to this fair and equitable modus operandi. Heirs in the United Kingdom are not protected at all. Not even a provision for a minimum share (typically one half of the normal share) is guaranteed under English Law. Surely it is in the interests of the general public to be aware of this disconcerting travesty of justice.

Perhaps public opinion can drive law makers to urgently review this unfair practice in English Inheritance Law. Can European Inheritance Law overrule English Law? It is astonishing that nobody has challenged this gaping disparity.

This message is far more important than trying to convince the general public to write a will, which is totally redundant when Engish Law provides the wonderful mechanism of a lifetime gift to circumvent the law of decency. Please publicise this unfair practice to your readers. It will surely spark more than a few reactions