Lack of will fails to address tax time-bomb

Around 60 per cent of adults in the UK have not made a will, according to a poll conducted Tesco, leaving them vulnerable to inheritance tax.

15:11 11 October 2004

Around 60 per cent of adults in the UK have not made a will, according to a poll conducted Tesco, leaving them vulnerable to inheritance tax.

The findings are of particular concern as rising house prices see hundreds of thousands more people liable for inheritance tax, and without a properly planned will as much as 40 per cent of inherited money could be taken by the government .

But despite this after canvassing 3,500 people, Tesco's legal products department found that the vast majority of the two-thirds of Britons who had no will, were not "overly concerned" by the fact.

When asked why they had made no legal provision, 36 per cent claimed they "could not be bothered".

In a repeat of a 2002 campaign to encourage more people to make wills, solicitors in the UK have agreed to participate in Will Aid, when they will waive fees for drawing up wills in November 2004 in return for a contribution to charity.

Drawing on support from nine different charities and solicitors' firms, Will Aid warns that making a will is "the only way to be absolutely certain that your money and your belongings go to the people and causes you care about".