If you have no Will 

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If you die without making a will, you are said to have died ‘intestate’. In this situation, your estate is divided up according to the statutory rules of intestacy, which may not reflect your wishes. Your assets are distributed after all debts, funeral and administration expenses, and any taxes have been paid

Intestacy rules state that:

• If you are survived by a spouse or civil partner and children, your spouse or civil partner inherits all of your personal possessions and the first £270,000 of your estate, plus half of anything above this amount. Your children are then entitled to the other half of this balance.

• If you are survived by a spouse or civil partner and don’t have any children, your spouse or civil partner inherits your whole estate, including any personal possessions.

• If you are survived by children but not a spouse or civil partner, then your children will inherit the whole of your estate.

• If you have a partner, but you aren’t married or in a civil partnership, then they have no automatic right to inherit from your estate if you haven’t made a will. This applies even if you have lived together for a long time or have children together.

• If you have no spouse, civil partner or children, then other relatives such as parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, or nieces and nephews will inherit in a set order.

• If you have no surviving relatives who can inherit under intestacy rules, then your estate is passed to the Crown.​

Click below for further information about how the intestacy rules are applied 

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