Abstract
Increasing numbers of people in the UK are leaving bequests of financial value when they die. This chapter reviews the scale of inheritance and the policies around UK intestacy rules and inheritance tax. Three main issues are highlighted. First, there are stark inequalities between one half of the population who currently leave nothing of any financial value when they die and one in twenty who leave more than half a million pounds. Second, the Taws of succession’, which govern who benefits from an estate if there is no will, have recently been reformed but (still) do not recognise cohabitation despite the increase in cohabitation among older people. Third, very few estates pay inheritance tax which remains a very unpopular tax despite the many economic and philosophical arguments in its favour.
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© 2016 Karen Rowlingson
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Rowlingson, K. (2016). ‘You Can’t Take It with You When You Die’: Wealth, Intestacy Rules and Inheritance Tax. In: Foster, L., Woodthorpe, K. (eds) Death and Social Policy in Challenging Times. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137484901_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137484901_10
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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