We all know that we ought to have a valid Will in place. But fewer of us appreciate the risks involved in not having one.

If you die without a valid Will, you are said to have died intestate. Where your Will fails to dispose of the your entire estate, a partial intestacy arises.

The rules of intestacy govern the distribution of your hard-earned assets and treasures both in the event of a total intestacy and under a partial intestacy.

The intestacy rules apply only to property that is capable of being left by a Will.

So, for example, this does not include property owned as joint tenants, which passes to the survivor, or to the proceeds of life insurance policies where a person has been named.

The intestacy rules will usually apply to all other property owned by you, and will determine the distribution of assets on your death if you do not leave a valid Will.

The danger, of course, is that these rules may not always coincide with your wishes.

People, who you do not wish to benefit, may receive a large portion, if not all, of your assets. Conversely, friends, partners, companies or loved ones whom you might have wanted to support, may receive nothing of yours.

The persons who have the right to administer your estate are dictated by statute and might not be the people who you would have chosen.

On your death, your funeral, administrative expenses and any outstanding debts and liabilities, will first need to be settled, before the remaining assets, known as your residuary estate, can be distributed.

If you die survived by a spouse but no children, your spouse will receive your entire residuary estate, but only if your parents, full brothers or sisters, or their children, died before you. If either or both of your parents are still alive, your spouse will have to share your assets with them.

Your spouse will receive all of your personal items, including (among other things) the contents of your house, your boat and car and no more than two-thirds of the remaining assets or $150,000, whichever is greater. Your surviving parent or parents will receive the rest.

If both of your parents are dead, these remaining assets will pass to your surviving brothers and sisters equally, or to their children if your siblings died before you.

The situation is a little different where a spouse and children survive you.

Again, your spouse will be entitled to your personal belongings and will receive no more than half of the remaining assets or $100,000, whichever is greater.

The balance of your estate will be distributed equally to your children. If any of your children die before you, then the assets that they would have been entitled to will pass to their children (if any).

Thus, if you die leaving assets of less than $100,000 in value, your surviving spouse will receive it all and your children receive none.

However, if you die leaving, for example, a $3 million net estate, your surviving spouse will receive $1.5 million and $1.5 million will be divided among your children at age 21.

While gifts to spouses are exempt from stamp duty payable on death, your estate may be subject to stamp duty of up to 15% on the $1.5 million passing to the children.

This liability could have been avoided if you had left a valid Will.

Your spouse has a right to request the matrimonial home in full or partial satisfaction of his or her entitlement to your estate.

If the house is worth more than your spouses' entitlement, your spouse may still request the property, provided that he or she pays the difference to the estate, which is then distributed to the remaining beneficiaries.

If you are unmarried or if your spouse has died before you, your children will receive your entire residuary estate equally between them, or your grandchildren, if any child has died before you.

Where you have no surviving spouse, children or grandchildren, your entire estate will pass in the following order of entitlement: To your parents; To your full brothers and sisters or their children; To your half brothers and half sisters or their children; To your grandparents; To your full aunts and uncles or their children; To your half aunts and half uncles or their children.

In the unlikely event that there are no surviving relatives in any of the above categories, your entire residuary estate will pass to the Bermuda Government.

As you can see, whatever the size of your estate, it is worth having a Will.

Attorney Vanessa Lovell is a member of the Trusts and Financial Structures Team of Appleby Spurling & Kempe. Copies of Ms. Lovell's columns can be obtained on the Appleby Spurling & Kempe website at www.ask.bm.

This column should not be used as a substitute for professional legal advice.

Before proceeding with any matters discussed here, persons are advised to consult with a lawyer.