76% of unmarried couples living together have no up-to-date Will and 35% wrongly think a partner inherits, says a Will Aid poll. November Wills cost a donation.
Three in four unmarried adults who live with a partner have no up-to-date Will. More than one in three wrongly believe their partner would inherit their estate anyway.
The figures come from a national poll commissioned by Will Aid, the charity Will-writing campaign, and published on 20 October. The campaign runs every November, when solicitors write basic Wills in return for a donation to charity.
Unmarried couples in the UK have no automatic right to inherit from each other. That holds however long they have lived together and whether or not they have children.
What the poll found
Will Aid’s poll of cohabiting adults found:
- 76% have no Will or one that is out of date
- 67% have never made a Will
- 9% have one that no longer reflects their wishes
- 35% think their estate would pass automatically to their partner
The mistaken belief is spreading, the charity says. Last year 25% of cohabiting adults held it.
Asked what happens to an estate when someone dies without a Will, the answers split widely. Besides the 35% who said the partner, 28% thought it would be divided between family members and 17% thought it would go to the Government. A further 14% said they did not know.
The release does not give the poll’s sample size or the company that carried it out.
According to the Office for National Statistics, 464,000 couples in the South East were living together without being married or in a civil partnership in 2025, Will Aid says.
What the law says
Under the Rules of Intestacy, a person’s estate is shared out according to legal rules if they die without a valid Will. The rules differ across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Married couples and civil partners inherit under those rules. Unmarried partners do not. A surviving partner may be able to make a claim against the estate in some circumstances, the charity says, but there is no guarantee they will get anything.
“Deeply concerning”
Peter de Vena Franks, Will Aid’s campaign director, said: “These findings are deeply concerning. So many people are sharing their lives, homes and finances with a partner, yet three-quarters have no up-to-date Will in place to make sure their wishes are respected.
“But perhaps even more worrying is the misconception that your partner will automatically inherit everything if you die, and the fact that this misunderstanding appears to be growing.
“You could have spent decades building a life with someone, only for them to face enormous uncertainty and financial difficulties at an already devastating time. Making a Will means you can decide who benefits from your estate, rather than leaving those decisions to the law.”
Emma Howlett is a partner at Thomas Mansfield Solicitors, one of the firms taking part in this year’s campaign. She said the same mistake comes up again and again.
“One of the biggest misconceptions we come across is that couples who have lived together for years automatically have the same inheritance rights as married couples,” she said.
“Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. If you die without a Will, your partner could find themselves in an incredibly difficult position, particularly if you own a home together or have children.
“People often don’t realise the implications until it’s too late. A surviving partner may have to go through a lengthy and costly legal process to try to secure financial provision from the estate, at a time when they’re already dealing with the loss of someone they love.”
She added: “Having a professionally written Will gives you the opportunity to make your wishes clear and provide reassurance that the people closest to you will be looked after.”
What it means for you
If you live with a partner in Reading and are not married or in a civil partnership, your partner would not inherit automatically if you died without a Will. A Will is the way to make sure they do.
Will Aid runs through November. Participating solicitors write a basic Will and waive their usual fee in exchange for a voluntary donation. The suggested donations are:
- £120 for a single basic Will
- £200 for a pair of basic mirror Wills
Appointments are available now, in person or remotely. To find a taking-part solicitor near you, enter your postcode on the charity’s find a solicitor page.
The money is shared between eight charities:
- Age UK
- British Red Cross
- Christian Aid
- Crisis
- NSPCC
- SCIAF (Scotland)
- Shelter
- Trócaire (Northern Ireland)
“It’s easy to put off making a Will, particularly when you’re young, healthy or simply don’t want to think about what might happen in the future,” Mr de Vena Franks said.
“But none of us knows what is around the corner, and having a professionally written Will can make an enormous difference to those we leave behind.”
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