WEALTH CREATION: What happens to your investments when you die without a will?

Fortunately, our legal system provides for freedom of testation which means that the person writing his will can provide for the distribution of his estate among friends, family, spouses and charities as he sees fit. He can also choose to disinherit a person from benefiting from his estate, subject to certain exceptions.
If a person chooses not to draft a will or his will is found to be invalid, he will be deemed to have died intestate and the laws of intestate succession will determine the distribution of his assets. The consequences to the family of someone dying intestate are never ideal and can lead to heartache for those left behind.