Intestacy Rules in England & Wales: Who Inherits

When someone in England or Wales dies without a valid will, the intestacy rules decide who inherits their estate, not the deceased's own wishes. Unmarried partners and step-children can be left with nothing, however long the relationship lasted.

What Are the Intestacy Rules?

The intestacy rules are a fixed statutory order of who inherits an estate when a person dies without a valid will, or leaves a will that does not dispose of the whole estate (a partial intestacy). In England and Wales they are set out in the Administration of Estates Act 1925, as amended, most recently by the Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Act 2014. They apply automatically; there is no discretion for family members, an executor, or the court to depart from them simply because they seem unfair on the facts. The rules only recognise a legal spouse or civil partner and blood or adopted relatives. They do not recognise cohabiting partners, and they only benefit step-children if the deceased formally adopted them. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own, different intestacy rules, covered separately below.

If There Is a Spouse or Civil Partner and Children

Where the deceased leaves a surviving spouse or civil partner and children (or grandchildren, if a child died first), the spouse or civil partner receives the personal chattels (personal possessions such as furniture, cars, and jewellery, but not business assets), a statutory legacy of £322,000 free of tax, with interest from the date of death until it is paid, and half of whatever is left after that. The children share the remaining half between them, usually held on statutory trusts until each reaches 18 (or marries or forms a civil partnership earlier). If the residue is worth less than the statutory legacy, the spouse or civil partner takes the whole estate and the children receive nothing. The £322,000 figure is periodically reviewed; always check the current statutory legacy on gov.uk before relying on it.

If There Is a Spouse or Civil Partner but No Children

If the deceased leaves a surviving spouse or civil partner and no children (and no grandchildren by a predeceased child), the spouse or civil partner inherits the entire estate outright, with nothing shared with parents, siblings, or other relatives. This only applies to a legal spouse or civil partner; a long-term cohabiting partner who was never married or in a civil partnership does not qualify under this rule, however long the couple lived together.

If There Is No Surviving Spouse or Civil Partner: Order of Entitlement

Where there is no surviving spouse or civil partner, the whole estate passes down a fixed order of relatives. Each category only inherits if nobody in an earlier category survives the deceased; within a category, relatives share equally, and a deceased relative's own children can usually step into their share.

1. Children of the deceased (and grandchildren, if a child died first)
2. Parents of the deceased
3. Siblings of the whole blood (sharing both parents), and their children
4. Siblings of the half blood (sharing one parent), and their children
5. Grandparents
6. Aunts and uncles of the whole blood, and their children
7. Aunts and uncles of the half blood, and their children
8. The Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster, or the Duchy of Cornwall (bona vacantia), if no relative in any of the above categories survives

Unmarried Partners and Step-Children Inherit Nothing

This is the point that catches the most people out. An unmarried, cohabiting partner, sometimes called a "common law" partner, has no automatic right to inherit anything under intestacy, no matter how long the couple lived together or whether they raised children together. There is no such thing as "common law marriage" in the eyes of English and Welsh inheritance law. Step-children are treated the same way unless the deceased legally adopted them; being raised by a step-parent, or being described as family, creates no inheritance right on intestacy. A partner or step-child left out this way is not necessarily without any remedy. They may be able to bring a claim for reasonable financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if they were financially dependent on the deceased, or, for a partner, had lived with the deceased as if married for at least two years before the death.

Challenging the Intestacy Rules

The intestacy rules themselves cannot be challenged as "unfair"; they apply automatically regardless of the deceased's actual wishes or family circumstances. What can be challenged is the outcome for a particular person, through a claim for reasonable financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. Eligible claimants include a spouse or civil partner, a former spouse who has not remarried, a cohabitant of at least two years, a child of the deceased, and anyone the deceased was maintaining financially. Claims generally need to be brought within six months of the grant of representation, though the court has limited discretion to allow a late claim. For the wider picture of contesting an estate, including challenging the validity of a will, see contesting a will.

Scotland and Northern Ireland Have Different Rules

Intestacy in England and Wales is not the same as intestacy elsewhere in the UK. Scotland applies the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964, which gives a surviving spouse or civil partner "prior rights" to the family home, its contents, and a cash sum, taken before anything else is divided, followed by "legal rights", a forced-heirship share of the moveable estate that cannot be defeated even by a will. See intestacy in Scotland for the figures. Northern Ireland has its own intestacy rules under the Administration of Estates Act (Northern Ireland) 1955, broadly similar in structure to England and Wales but with its own statutory legacy figure, which should always be checked separately rather than assumed to match the England and Wales figure.

For the wider picture of dealing with an estate, see our guides to making a will, contesting a will, and intestacy in Scotland, or return to the UK wills and probate hub and the wider guide to United Kingdom law.

This article is general information about the intestacy rules in England and Wales, not legal advice, and figures such as the statutory legacy change from time to time. If you are dealing with an estate, or think you may have been unfairly excluded, consult a solicitor or Citizens Advice about your specific circumstances.