Over the last ten years significant changes have been made to
Guernsey's laws of succession, the effects of which may be
overlooked by some homeowners.
Prior to 2008 if you were married with 'legitimate'
children (children born during your marriage) and died without
having made a will then your houses and land, what is known
under the law as your 'realty', would pass
automatically to your legitimate children. In those circumstances
your house could not, by law, pass to any 'illegitimate'
children. Also, wills of realty had to be signed before Jurats in
the contracts court which some found inconvenient and costly.
In 2008 a change in the law meant that children born to
unmarried parents had the same inheritance rights as children born
to married parents. This caused problems for heirs of property
inherited when the deceased didn't make a will – known as
inheriting on an intestacy. The problem was that prospective
purchasers of property inherited on an intestacy
