By Democrat reporter
Alex Salmond’s widow is facing additional “stress and upset” after it emerged the former SNP leader died without leaving a will, the Scottish Daily Express and Daily Record are reporting today (Tuesday).
The iconic nationalist leader died at the age of 69 in October last year after suffering a heart attack while attending a political conference in North Macedonia.
It has now been reported Mr Salmond, who was first minister between 2007 and 2014, did not leave any provisions for how his assets were to be distributed. Mr Salmond married wife Moira, 87, in 1981 and the couple did not have any children.
It is understood Mr Salmond was a wealthy man when he died. As well as earning money from five pensions from his time as a civil servant, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland, and roles as an MP and MSP, he is believed to have had accumulated substantial savings.
Under Scots law, if someone dies without leaving a will, their spouse can inherit up to £473,000 from the value of the family home, £29,000 worth of the property’s contents, and up to £89,000 as part of “prior rights”. Mrs Salmond is also entitled to 50% of other assets such as savings with the remainder falling under ‘free estate’ with a recent law change giving more legal rights to spouses over siblings.
A friend of Mr Salmond said it was “surprising” he did not have a will, adding: “There are fears it could get messy and complicated.” Other insiders said Mr Salmond had not given much thought to his mortality with one saying: “You might expect someone approaching 70 to have their affairs in order but it shows how focused on the future Alex was.” Another said: “Alex could not envisage a world without Alex in it.”
Mr Salmond died while having lunch during his trip to Ohrid in North Macedonia. His body was flown back to Scotland in a private jet paid for by entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter. As well as a funeral in Edinburgh, a private service was held in the Aberdeenshire village of Strichen, where we lived.
Mr Salmond was a giant of the SNP, leading the party twice and becoming first minister in 2007. However, he came up well short in the 2014 independence referendum and quit. He eventually left the party he had moulded in his image after falling out with his mentee Nicola Sturgeon amid claims of sexual harassment. He went on to form the Alba Party in 2021 but failed to make an electoral impact.