Dying Intestate
If you die without a will you are said to ’die intestate’. This means that a series of rules comes into force to decide who will benefit from your estate with the Crown being the ultimate beneficiary.
The rules are complex and depend on your personal circumstances. The following rules are for deaths in England and Wales, the law differs if you die intestate in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
If you are single or there is no surviving spouse/civil partner
The estate is distributed as follows:
* to surviving children in equal shares (or to their children if they died while the deceased was still alive)
* if there are no children, to parents (equally, if both alive)
* if there are no surviving parents, to brothers and sisters (who shared the same two parents as the deceased), or to their children if they died while the deceased was still alive
* if there are no brothers or sisters then to half brothers or sisters (or to their children if they died while the deceased was still alive)
* if none of the above then to grandparents (equally if more than one)
* if there are no grandparents to aunts and uncles (or their children if they died while the deceased was still alive)
* if none of the above, then to half uncles or aunts (or their children if they died while the deceased was still alive)
* to the Crown if there are none of the above
If you were married or in a civil partnership and there are no children
The husband, wife or civil partner won’t automatically get everything although they will receive:
* personal items, such as household articles and cars, but nothing used for business purposes
* £400,000 (£200,000) free of tax - or the whole estate if it was less than £400,000 (£200,000)
* half of the rest of the estate
The other half of the rest of the estate will be shared by the following:
* surviving parents
* if there are no surviving parents, any brothers and sisters (who shared the same two parents as the deceased) will get a share (or their children if they died while the deceased was still alive)
* if the deceased has none of the above, the husband, wife or registered civil partner will get everything
If you were married or in a civil partnership and there were children
Your husband, wife or civil partner won’t automatically get everything, although they will receive:
* personal items, such as household articles and cars, but nothing used for business purposes
* £250,000 (£125,000) free of tax - or the whole of the estate if it was less than £250,000 (£125,000)
* a life interest in half of the rest of the estate (on his or her death this will pass to the children)
The rest of the estate will be shared by the children.
If you are partners but aren’t married or in a civil partnership
If you aren’t married or registered civil partners, you won’t automatically get a share of your partner’s estate if they die without making a will.
If they haven’t provided for you in some other way, your only option is to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. See the section below ’If you feel you’ve not received reasonable financial provision’.
It’ll take longer to sort out your affairs if you don’t have a will. This could mean extra distress for your relatives and dependants until they can draw money from your estate.
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