The Law of Intestacy in the UK: Who Inherits When There's No Will?

When someone dies without a valid will in England and Wales, the law steps in and decides what happens to everything they owned. That legal framework is the law of intestacy— and it applies automatically, whether the estate is worth £500 or £5 million. Most people assume a spouse will simply “get everything,” or that the state only gets involved as a last resort. The reality is more structured than that, and the order of priority regularly catches families off guard.

What Is the Law of Intestacy?

Intestacy is the legal status of an estate when its owner dies without leaving a valid will — or when a will exists but does not cover all of their assets. The primary legislation in England and Wales is the Administration of Estates Act 1925, significantly amended over the decades to keep pace with modern family structures (though critics would argue it has not kept pace fast enough).

The rules are not suggestions. They kick in automatically the moment death is confirmed, and they override any informal arrangements, verbal promises, or widely-held family assumptions about who “should” inherit. A parent who always intended to leave a house to a long-term partner but never got around to writing a will? Intestacy law may hand that house to their adult children instead.

Partial intestacy occurs when a will does exist but fails to cover the entire estate — perhaps because it was written 30 years ago and the deceased later acquired new property or investments the will does not mention. The intestacy rules fill the gaps left by an incomplete will, applying in parallel to the parts the will does cover.

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Married and Civil Partners: The Statutory Legacy

If the person who died was married or in a registered civil partnership at the time of death, their spouse or civil partner inherits first. The amount depends on whether the deceased also had surviving children.

When there are surviving children

The surviving spouse receives all personal possessions (legally known as chattels — clothing, jewellery, furniture, cars) plus a statutory legacy of £322,000. This threshold applies to deaths on or after 26 July 2023; the figure has risen several times over the years as the government has adjusted it for inflation. Any estate value above £322,000 is split: half to the spouse, half shared equally among all the children. Children's shares are held in trust until they turn 18.

For context on how the threshold has changed: deaths between 6 February 2020 and 26 July 2023 carried a statutory legacy of £270,000; deaths between 1 October 2014 and 5 February 2020 had a threshold of £250,000. If you are dealing with an older estate, the applicable figure is the one in force at the date of death.

When there are no surviving children

The spouse inherits the entire estate — no threshold, no split. Everything passes to the surviving partner, including any residual assets after debts and costs are settled.

Jointly-owned property: an important exception

Assets owned as joint tenants — the most common form of ownership for the family home — pass automatically to the surviving co-owner under the right of survivorship. This happens outside the intestacy rules entirely, and the value of those assets does not count toward the statutory legacy calculation. Assets owned as tenants in common do fall into the estate and are subject to intestacy.

Children's Rights Under the Law of Intestacy

Children of the deceased inherit in equal shares — but the definition of “children” under intestacy law is narrower than everyday language suggests.

Who counts as a child under the intestacy rules:

• Biological children — both legitimate and illegitimate
• Legally adopted children

Who does not count (and inherits nothing automatically):

• Stepchildren, unless they were formally adopted by the deceased
• Foster children
• Grandchildren, unless their own parent (the deceased's child) has already died

That last point introduces the rule of representation. If a child of the deceased died before the deceased, that child's own children (the grandchildren of the deceased) step into their parent's place and take what the parent would have received. Representation runs through multiple generations: great-grandchildren can inherit under the same principle if both the child and grandchild predeceased the deceased.

Children who have already received gifts or advancements from their parent during that parent's lifetime may have those amounts set off against their share — a rule called “hotchpot,” though in practice it is rarely straightforward to apply.

The Full Order of Priority Under Intestacy

If there is no surviving spouse or civil partner, or once the spousal entitlement is satisfied, the remaining estate passes down the following hierarchy. Each category is exhaustive: if anyone in a higher band survives, no one in a lower band receives anything.

1. Children (and by representation, grandchildren and further descendants where the child has predeceased)
2. Parents — in equal shares if both survive
3. Siblings of the whole blood — same mother and father (or their children by representation)
4. Siblings of the half blood — one shared parent only (or their children by representation)
5. Grandparents — in equal shares
6. Uncles and aunts of the whole blood — or their children by representation
7. Uncles and aunts of the half blood — or their children by representation
8. The Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster, or the Duke of Cornwall — the state takes the estate as bona vacantia

A practical example: if the deceased left behind a surviving parent and two siblings, the siblings inherit nothing — the parent takes everything. If the parent had already died but both siblings are alive, they share the estate equally. The hierarchy moves down one step at a time, and stops the moment it finds anyone alive.

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Who Cannot Inherit Under the Law of Intestacy

Intestacy law is unforgiving to anyone who falls outside the formal legal categories — and the consequences can be severe for modern families that do not fit the traditional mould.

Cohabiting partners

This is the most common source of heartbreak in intestacy cases. Cohabiting partners have no automatic right to inherit, regardless of how long the relationship lasted, whether they shared a home, or whether they have children together. The legal concept of “common law marriage” does not exist in England and Wales. The law sees an unmarried couple as legal strangers for the purposes of inheritance.

A surviving cohabiting partner may be able to apply to court under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision, but this requires litigation, takes time, and success is not guaranteed. The only reliable protection is a valid will.

Stepchildren

A stepparent may have raised a child from infancy, provided financially for decades, and loved them as their own — but unless the stepchild was formally and legally adopted, they have no entitlement under intestacy. Stepchildren can apply under the 1975 Act if they were treated as a “child of the family,” but again, this means court action.

Friends, carers, and others

Close friends, long-term carers, and anyone else outside the statutory list inherit nothing automatically. There is no provision for people the deceased was close to but not related to. This is one of the most common reasons solicitors urge everyone — however straightforward their affairs — to write a will.

Scotland: A Different Legal Framework

The laws described above apply to England and Wales. Scotland operates under a separate system governed by the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964, which works differently at almost every level.

Scottish intestacy law gives a surviving spouse or civil partner prior rights— a first call on the family home (up to £473,000), furniture (up to £29,000), and a financial provision (up to £50,000 if there are children, £89,000 if not). Children have legal rights, known as legitim, to a share of the deceased's moveable estate regardless of what any will says — a protection that does not exist in English law.

If you are dealing with an estate in Scotland, take Scottish legal advice from the start. The rules and thresholds differ at every stage.

Can the Family Change What Intestacy Decides?

Yes — but only if all the affected beneficiaries agree.

A deed of family arrangement (also called a deed of variation) allows beneficiaries to redirect some or all of their inheritance. They might redirect a share to a cohabiting partner who would otherwise receive nothing, to a stepchild, to a grandchild, or to a charity. Provided it is executed within two years of the date of deathand signed by all adult beneficiaries who give up value, the variation is treated for tax purposes as if the deceased had made that arrangement themselves — which can also reduce the overall inheritance tax bill.

Separately, any individual beneficiary can disclaim their inheritance outright — refuse to accept it. A disclaimed share falls back into the estate and is redistributed according to the intestacy rules, as if the disclaimer had predeceased the deceased. This is sometimes used for tax planning; it cannot be used to redirect a share to a specific person (that requires a deed of variation).

Neither option is quick or simple in practice. Both usually involve solicitors, and the two-year window passes faster than people expect when combined with the emotional weight of bereavement.

When Estates Pass to the Crown: Bona Vacantia and Unclaimed Estates

If no qualifying relative comes forward — or if the estate passes through every level of the hierarchy without finding a living heir — the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia(Latin for “ownerless goods”). In England and Wales, this is managed by the Treasury Solicitor's Bona Vacantia Division (or the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall in their respective areas).

The estate is listed on the official bona vacantia list — a public register of unclaimed estates. And here is the fact that surprises most people: those estates remain claimable for 30 years from the date they are published. A relative who discovers the list in year 12, year 20, or year 28 can still come forward, prove their entitlement, and receive their share.

Thousands of estates currently sit on that list. Many belong to people with living relatives who simply do not know the estate exists.

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What to Do If You Think You Have a Claim

If a relative may have died intestate — and you think you might sit somewhere in the inheritance hierarchy — the steps are broadly the same whether the estate went to the Crown or is still in administration.

1. Check whether a will exists. Do not assume intestacy without checking. Wills are sometimes found years after death when house clearances happen, or when solicitors are contacted. The National Will Register, the Probate Registry, and The Gazette are the three sources to search.
2. Establish your position in the hierarchy. Use our free intestacy entitlement checker to work out where you stand before spending money on legal advice.
3. Search the bona vacantia list. FindMyLegacy lets you search by surname with phonetic matching, so spelling variants and transcription errors do not cause you to miss a match. Save surnames to a watchlist and receive email alerts when new estates appear.
4. Gather documentary evidence. Any claim requires proof of your genealogical link — birth certificates, marriage certificates, and death certificates going back far enough to connect you to the deceased. Start collecting these early; they take time to obtain.
5. Take legal advice. For estates of any meaningful size, a solicitor specialising in probate and estate administration will pay for themselves. Many work on a percentage basis for inheritance claims.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a spouse automatically inherit everything?

Only if there are no surviving children. If children exist, the spouse receives the statutory legacy (£322,000 for deaths after July 2023) plus half of any remainder, with the other half split among the children. If no children survive, the spouse inherits the entire estate.

Can a cohabiting partner inherit under the law of intestacy?

No — not automatically. Cohabiting partners have no legal right to inherit regardless of the length of the relationship. The concept of “common law marriage” carries no legal weight in England and Wales. A surviving partner can apply to court under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, but this requires litigation with no guaranteed outcome. A will is the only reliable protection.

What happens if there are no living relatives at all?

The estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia. It is published on the official unclaimed estates list and remains claimable by any qualifying relative for 30 years from the date it is published.

How much is the statutory legacy for a surviving spouse?

For deaths on or after 26 July 2023, the figure is £322,000. For deaths between 6 February 2020 and 26 July 2023 it was £270,000. For deaths between 1 October 2014 and 5 February 2020 it was £250,000. The applicable amount is always the one in force on the date of death.

Does the law of intestacy apply in Scotland?

No — Scotland has its own rules under the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964. Surviving spouses and children have prior rights and legal rights that differ substantially from English law. Always take Scottish legal advice for estates in Scotland.

Can the intestacy outcome be changed after death?

Yes, with agreement. A deed of family arrangement (deed of variation), signed by all adult beneficiaries within two years of death, can redirect inheritance to people outside the intestacy hierarchy — a cohabiting partner, a stepchild, a charity. Individual beneficiaries can also disclaim their share, which falls back into the estate and is redistributed by the intestacy rules.

What is partial intestacy?

Partial intestacy occurs when a will exists but does not cover all of the deceased's assets — because it is outdated, incomplete, or because certain gifts failed. The intestacy rules apply only to the part of the estate the will does not deal with.

Do stepchildren inherit under intestacy?

Not automatically. Stepchildren who were not legally adopted by the deceased have no entitlement under the law of intestacy. They may be able to apply to court under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if they were treated as a child of the family, but this is not guaranteed.