Free Legal Will Forms

We provide a variety of free legal will forms that may assist you in drawing up your last will and testament.

The information on this page however, deals specifically with people who are cohabiting but are not legally married or have not registered a civil partnership. (Visit our main page on Wills for a variety of templates which may be suitable for your requirements.)

Perhaps the most compelling reason to have a Last Will and Testament in place applies to these people, because (unlike a spouse or civil partner) they may not have the automatic right to inherit.

There are many reasons why people may choose not to marry or register a civil partnership:

• Partners may have been married before and now being in their later years, may have objections from adult children to remarry;
• Partners may be of the same sex and live in a jurisdiction that does not allow a legal marriage;
• Partners may simply choose not to get married or may not have the ability to get married for whatever reason.

However, living together for a period of time does not make for a "common law marriage" (in most jurisdictions) and does not automatically grant the same legal rights as for married couples, such as exemption from inheritance tax.

Please refer to our guidelines on Writing a Will for an overview and were you can also find links to a selection of free legal forms for last wills.

Why You Should Have a Will

• In most states, provinces or countries the law does not recognize the rights of, or make legal provision for a life partner to inherit if someone dies intestate (without a will). In such a case the intestacy rules will come into effect and in general, any living blood relatives will stand to inherit in a pre-determined order.
• You may still be legally married to another person (separated but not divorced) and are now in a new relationship. If you die intestate, your spouse may have a claim on your estate and you current life partner may inherit nothing.
• If you have minor children, you may want to appoint your life partner as guardian (even if there is another biological parent) and you need to stipulate this in your will.

Estate Assets

Life partners may have a cohabitation agreement in place. However, it may only make provision for division of property upon termination of the relationship and may not provide for bequests upon death. Note: Where partners jointly own property (and the property deed reflects that), such a property will automatically go to the surviving partner and need not be mentioned in the will.

However, a partner may have contributed to mortgage payments, although the deed only lists the other's name. Without the presence of the will, the non-listed partner may have to institute a claim against the estate to recover such mortgage payments, let alone the appreciated value of the property.

Have a look at the various free legal will forms listed on our Last Will and Testament main page - you may want to use a combination of forms to compile a will that suits you best.

Some Points to Consider for Your Last Will and Testament:

• In your last will and testament you can direct that your partner has the right to stay in your house for a specified period of time or for the rest of his/her life, even if your children inherit the house;
• You can establish a trust for your partner to ensure he/she has an income;
• You should set up a trust for your minor children and the trustees may or may not necessarily be the same person(s) as the guardian(s).

Note: We strongly recommend consulting with a professional to assist you with establishing trusts. Visit Free Living Trust Information first to save you and your attorney time (and therefore money) when you meet to discuss your estate plan.

Our free legal will forms can assist you with streamlining your thoughts before compiling your last will and testament and consulting with an attorney. If you have complex financial affairs, professional advice must be sought to assist with estate planning.

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