The dying-intestate risk any professional can flag

When someone dies without a valid will, the law supplies one for them. The intestacy rules set a fixed order of who inherits, and that order takes no account of the deceased's actual relationships, promises, or intentions. In effect, the state writes a will the person never chose and might have hated. This is not an obscure risk. It is what happens to everyone who never gets round to making a will.

The reassuring point for you as an introducer is that you do not need to be a legal expert to flag it. The broad shape of the intestacy risk is simple enough for any professional to hold in mind and to raise with a client at the right moment.

The intestacy rules produce outcomes that routinely shock people. In England and Wales, an unmarried partner inherits nothing under those rules, however long and committed the relationship. A married spouse may not automatically receive everything, having to share with children once the estate passes a threshold. Stepchildren who were never legally adopted are not recognised. Close friends, charities, and unmarried partners all fall outside the scheme entirely.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own intestacy regimes, which differ again in detail. You do not need to master any of them. You only need to convey that the rules rarely match what people want, and that the way to take control is a properly drafted will from a specialist.

The intestacy risk can be raised with almost any client, because almost anyone might lack a will. It becomes particularly pointed when you hear:

• "We've lived together for years but never married."
• "I just assumed my partner would get everything."
• "I've never made a will."
• "My estate's pretty simple, so it doesn't matter."
• "We're not the marrying type."

That last group, long-term unmarried couples, are among the most exposed of all, because they often assume a protection the law simply does not give them.

A plain warning is enough, and it keeps you well within your role: "It's worth knowing that if someone dies without a will, the law decides who inherits, and it often isn't who people expect. Unmarried partners, for instance, can be left with nothing. A specialist can sort out a will properly, and I can introduce you."

You have stated the risk and pointed to the solution without drafting anything or advising on the contents. The client hears a fact that may genuinely surprise them, and a clear next step. That is the whole of what an introducer needs to do.

Because intestacy is the default for everyone without a will, this is the single most broadly applicable estate trigger there is. Any professional, in any field, can learn to flag it, and doing so protects clients from an outcome dictated by rules they never saw. The unmarried partner spared from inheriting nothing is a striking example of the good a simple warning can do.

Through SmartPeer, connecting the client with vetted specialists also earns you a share of the resulting fee. The pattern holds firm: you flag the intestacy risk, you refer, and the specialist prepares the will. You never advise on its terms. By learning the basic shape of the intestacy rules, you equip yourself to make one of the most universally useful referrals in professional practice.

Because the intestacy rules are so commonly misunderstood, there is a temptation to explain them in depth to a client. Resist over-reaching. It is fine to convey the broad message, that the law decides, and often not in the client's favour, but the precise thresholds and shares change over time and differ across the UK's three legal systems. If you state a specific figure or outcome and it is out of date, you risk misleading the very client you are trying to help.

The safe approach is to speak in general terms and let the specialist supply the accuracy: "The exact rules depend on your circumstances and change from time to time, so it's best to have a specialist confirm where you'd stand and put a will in place." That keeps your warning truthful without pinning you to detail you cannot vouch for. Your strength as an introducer is the flag, not the fine print. Raise the risk clearly, avoid stating specifics you are unsure of, and hand the client to a vetted firm that lives in the detail every day.