Anyone who doesn’t make a Will is effectively leaving it to the State to determine how their assets should be distributed on their death.

If you pass away without leaving a Will you will be deemed to have died “intestate”.

The Intestacy Rules regulate who gets what if you die without making a Will.

Sometimes the Intestacy Rules reflect what the deceased would have wanted. However, in many instances the application of the Intestacy Rules can have a completely unintended effect. They can leave loved ones facing financial hardship and lead to expensive inheritance disputes arising. We wouldn’t therefore recommend that you leave your estate to be distributed in accordance with the Intestacy Rules. However, here is a quick guide to the pecking order under the Intestacy Rules:-

You are married and your estate is worth less than £270,000

Under the Intestacy Rules, your surviving spouse gets everything.

You are married and your estate is worth more than £270,000 and you have chilren

Under the Intestacy Rules, it now starts to get complicated and potentially cause problems for your surviving spouse. All of your personal belongings and the first £270,000 will go to them. They will also inherit a 50% share of the remainder of the estate, known as the ‘residue’. However, the other 50% will go to your children.

If any child pre-deceases you then their own children (your grandchildren) would inherit their share.

You are married and your estate is worth more than £270,000 and you don’t have chilren.

Your surviving spouse is entitled to inherit the whole of your estate.

You are not married but have children

Under the Intestacy Rules, your children will inherit all of your estate in equal shares. Again, if a child has predeceased you then their children will get their parent’s share.

You are not married and have no children

Under the Intestacy Rules, surviving relatives will inherit in the following order:-

  • Parents;
  • full brothers or full sisters or their children;
  • half brothers or half sisters or their children;
  • grandparents;
  • full uncles or full aunts or their children;
  • half uncles or half aunts or their children;

If you have no surviving parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles or aunts then under the Intestacy Rules your entire estate goes to the Crown!

It is important to remember that:-

  1. the Intestacy Rules do not recognise unmarried or common law partners, nor do they recognise close friends;
  2. the Intestacy Rules allow a 28 day survivorship period;
  3. the effect of the Intestacy Rules can be very unfair, especially on surviving spouses. Dependants may be entitled to seek more adequate financial provision by making a claim under the Inheritance Act;
  4. the age at which beneficiaries can inherit under the Intestacy Rules is 18. Many people think 18 year olds are too financially immature to inherit large sums of money. In a Will you can ensure that beneficiaries inherit when they are more financially mature such as at the age of 21 or 25;
  5. the best way of avoiding the unintended consequences of the Intestacy Rules is, quite simply, to make a Will.