Why Queen Elizabeth And Prince Charles Have A Claim On Assets Left Without A Will

As members of the royal family, both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles regularly donate to charities. What most people don’t know, however, is that some of the money they donate to these charities don’t come from their own pockets but from people who have passed on.

It is now “Free Wills Month” in the UK, which means that participating solicitors can draw up or update a simple will without charge. That also means that if someone from the country happens to die without a will, his or her money could go to Prince Charles or Queen Elizabeth.

According to financial service company Hargreaves Lansdown, citizens who don’t draw up a will before they die may end up leaving all their money to their ex-spouses, the taxman, the Prince of Wales or Queen Elizabeth while leaving out their longtime partners and stepchildren.

Hargreaves Lansdown explained that in England and Wales, the assets of people who have died are distributed to their loved ones according to their will. Unfortunately, about 50% of their population don’t come up with a will before they die, so it’s the government that decides where all their assets go after their death.

The question of how much of one’s assets go to whom after his or her death is complicated enough even when there’s a will. Considering that, imagine how much more complicated it is going to be if someone dies without any family and a will.

According to Hargreaves Lansdown, that’s when members of the royal family come in. In most of the UK, the assets of a dead person who does not have any family and a will automatically go to the Crown.

For someone who lives in Cornwall, the person’s assets go to Prince Charles, who is not only the Prince of Wales but is also the Duke of Cornwall. For someone who lives in the Duchy of Lancaster, his or her assets go to Queen Elizabeth.

In instances where Queen Elizabeth or Prince Charles has a claim on a dead person’s assets, most of the assets usually go to charities. In the case of Prince Charles, all the assets he claims from a dead citizen go to charity. In the case of Queen Elizabeth, however, some are used to fund charities, while others are used to fund the maintenance of the estate.

If the dead person has a surviving unmarried partner, that person can apply to the Crown through Prince Charles or Queen Elizabeth for a grant from the estate. However, they can refuse to give the grant since the person is technically not related to the dead person by blood.