Intestacy rules UK: who inherits when there is no will

When someone dies without a will in England and Wales, their estate does not pass to whoever they would have chosen. It passes according to a fixed legal formula called the intestacy rules. The formula does not account for relationships, wishes, or circumstances. It simply follows a hierarchy.

This guide explains who inherits, in what order, and where the rules break down.

What intestacy means

Dying intestate means dying without a valid will. The intestacy rules then determine who is entitled to the estate: what order people inherit in, and how much each person receives.

The rules apply in England and Wales under the Administration of Estates Act 1925, as amended by the Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Act 2014. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.

If someone left a will but it is invalid (unsigned, witnessed incorrectly, or successfully challenged), the estate falls into intestacy in the same way.

Who qualifies as a relative under intestacy

Before working through the hierarchy, it helps to know what relationships count.

Married or civil partnered spouses are recognised. The marriage or civil partnership must have been legally valid and must not have ended in divorce or dissolution. An estranged spouse who is not legally divorced still inherits.

Children means biological children, adopted children, and children conceived before but born after the death. Step-children who were not legally adopted do not inherit under intestacy.

Cohabitants do not inherit. A partner who was not married or in a civil partnership has no entitlement, regardless of how long the relationship lasted. This is one of the most significant practical consequences of dying without a will.

The intestacy hierarchy in England and Wales

If the deceased was married or in a civil partnership with no children

The surviving spouse or civil partner inherits the entire estate.

If the deceased was married or in a civil partnership with children

The surviving spouse does not take everything.

The surviving spouse receives:

• All personal possessions (called "chattels")

• The first £322,000 of the estate (the statutory legacy, correct as of 2024)

• Half of anything remaining above that threshold

The other half of whatever is above £322,000 goes to the deceased's children, split equally between them. If a child has died before the parent, that child's share passes to their own children (the deceased's grandchildren).

If the deceased was not married or in a civil partnership

The estate passes to relatives in this order:

1. Children (or grandchildren if children have already died)

2. Parents

3. Full siblings (or their children if deceased)

4. Half siblings (or their children if deceased)

5. Grandparents

6. Full aunts and uncles (or their children if deceased)

7. Half aunts and uncles (or their children if deceased)

Each category excludes the one below it. If the deceased had children and parents, the parents receive nothing. If there are no children but the parents are alive, the parents inherit in full. The hierarchy is applied strictly.

If there are no surviving relatives

If no one in the hierarchy survives, the estate passes to the Crown. This is called bona vacantia. The Treasury Solicitor handles the process, and there is a formal mechanism for dependants or others with a reasonable claim to apply.

What the statutory legacy figure means in practice

The current statutory legacy is £322,000. This figure has been updated over the years and applies to deaths from 26 July 2023 onwards.

Where an estate is worth less than £322,000 and there is a surviving spouse, the spouse takes everything. Children inherit nothing.

Where an estate exceeds that threshold, the calculation becomes more complicated, particularly when the main asset is a property. If the house is worth £500,000 and the estate has little other value, selling it to divide the excess share may be the only practical option. The children are entitled to their portion; the law does not make exceptions for practical inconvenience.

Jointly owned property and intestacy

Not everything passes through the intestacy rules. Some assets fall outside the estate entirely.

Property held as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving owner by right of survivorship. It does not form part of the estate and is not distributed under intestacy.

Property held as tenants in common is different. Each person owns a defined share. That share forms part of the estate and passes according to the intestacy rules, not automatically to the co-owner.

Whether the home passes to the surviving partner depends on how the property is registered, not on how long the couple lived together. This is worth checking if you are administering an estate where the title is unclear. The Land Registry can confirm whether the property was held as joint tenants or tenants in common. You find out more on this here.

Pensions, life insurance, and intestacy

Most pension funds and life insurance policies with a named beneficiary also sit outside the estate. They pass directly to whoever was nominated, regardless of the intestacy rules.

If no beneficiary was nominated, or the nomination is out of date, pension trustees have discretion over payment. Life insurance proceeds without a named beneficiary may fall into the estate and be distributed under intestacy.

Keeping beneficiary nominations up to date matters, particularly after remarriage or divorce.

Who administers an intestate estate

Without a will, there is no executor. Instead, an administrator applies for a grant of letters of administration from the Probate Registry. This grants them legal authority to gather assets, pay debts, and distribute the estate.

The right to apply follows a set order: surviving spouse or civil partner first, then children, then other relatives in the same sequence as the inheritance hierarchy. Where there is dispute about who should apply, the court can be asked to decide.

For guidance on the broader process, see our article on letters of administration UK: what they are and how to apply.

When intestacy creates practical problems

The rules work straightforwardly in simple family structures. They become more difficult in others.

Unmarried partners have no entitlement. A cohabitant may be able to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if they can show they were financially dependent on the deceased, but this requires a court application and is not guaranteed.

Blended families are complicated by the fact that step-children have no automatic entitlement and that the rules divide estates between spouses and biological children in ways that may not reflect the family's actual circumstances.

Estranged relatives can inherit. A child the deceased had no contact with for decades has the same entitlement as one they saw weekly.

Unmarried parents where only one parent is named on the birth certificate may face questions about paternity and entitlement.

These are not edge cases. They come up regularly, and they are among the main reasons why dying without a will causes unnecessary cost, delay, and dispute.

Contesting entitlement under intestacy

The intestacy rules establish who has a legal entitlement. They do not prevent disputes. Common areas of contention include:

• Uncertainty about whether a child was legally adopted

• Questions about whether a cohabitant qualifies as a dependant

• Disputes about the value of the estate

• Disagreements about how chattels (personal possessions) are valued or divided

Where entitlement is disputed, legal advice is needed early. A solicitor specialising in contentious probate can advise on whether a claim is viable and on what timescale applications must be made.

Finding accounts and notifying organisations when there is no will

The absence of a will does not change the practical task of identifying and closing the deceased's financial and digital accounts. It can make it harder, since there is often less documentation about what accounts existed.

Banks, insurers, pension providers, and subscription services each have their own processes for handling accounts after a death. None of them are connected to each other or to the intestacy process. Contacting them individually takes time, requires repeated proof of death, and often requires confirmation of who holds authority over the estate.

Legacy Trail helps administrators and families identify accounts and notify organisations centrally, whether or not a will exists. Find out more at [legacytrail.co.uk].

Intestacy rules Scotland and Northern Ireland

This guide covers England and Wales only. Scotland operates under the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964, which includes Prior Rights and Legal Rights that differ significantly from the English rules. Northern Ireland has its own intestacy legislation with a similar hierarchy but different thresholds.

If the deceased lived in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you should refer to guidance specific to those jurisdictions.