The Scale of the Problem
Despite decades of public awareness campaigns, an estimated 54 per cent of UK adults still do not have a valid will. When someone dies without one — known as dying “intestate” — their estate is distributed according to a rigid set of rules laid down by the Administration of Estates Act 1925, as amended. These rules have no regard for your wishes, your relationships, or the nuances of modern family life.
The intestacy rules were last meaningfully updated in October 2014, when the statutory legacy — the fixed sum a surviving spouse receives before the estate is shared — was increased to £250,000. Since then, property values have risen substantially, family structures have become more complex, and the gap between what the law provides and what most people would actually want has grown wider.
How the Intestacy Rules Work in England and Wales
If You Are Married or in a Civil Partnership With Children
Your spouse or civil partner receives:
- All personal possessions (chattels)
- The first £322,000 of the estate (the statutory legacy, uprated from £250,000 from January 2024)
- Half of the remaining estate outright
Your children share the other half of the remaining estate equally. If any child has died before you, their share passes to their own children (your grandchildren) in equal portions.
The children’s share is held on statutory trusts until they reach 18 or marry, whichever comes first.
If You Are Married or in a Civil Partnership Without Children
Your spouse or civil partner inherits the entire estate. Parents, siblings, and other relatives receive nothing.
If You Are Not Married and Have Children
Your children inherit the entire estate in equal shares. If a child has predeceased you, their share passes to their children. Your partner — regardless of how long you have lived together — receives nothing automatically.
If You Have No Spouse, Civil Partner, or Children
The estate passes down a strict hierarchy:
- Parents (in equal shares)
- Siblings (full blood), or their children if they have predeceased
- Half-siblings, or their children
- Grandparents
- Uncles and aunts (full blood), or their cousins
- Half-uncles and half-aunts, or their children
- The Crown (bona vacantia)
At no point in this hierarchy do unmarried partners, stepchildren, close friends, or charities appear. If none of the listed relatives can be found, the entire estate passes to the Crown.
The Gaps the Intestacy Rules Create
Unmarried Partners Are Invisible
This is the single most significant gap in the intestacy framework. An unmarried partner — even one who has lived with the deceased for decades, raised children together, and contributed financially to the household — has no automatic right to inherit anything under the intestacy rules.
They may be able to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, but such claims are expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain. The court will consider the claimant’s financial needs, the size of the estate, and the competing claims of those who do inherit under the rules. There is no guarantee of success, and the process can take years.
Stepchildren Receive Nothing
Stepchildren — no matter how close the relationship — are not recognised under the intestacy rules unless they have been legally adopted. In blended families, this can produce deeply unfair outcomes. A stepparent who has raised a child from infancy may die intestate, and that child will inherit nothing while the deceased’s biological children (or even distant blood relatives) take the entire estate.
The Statutory Legacy May Not Be Enough
The statutory legacy of £322,000 sounds substantial, but in many parts of England and Wales it would not cover the value of the family home. If the surviving spouse’s share does not extend to the full value of the property, they may need to sell or mortgage the home to pay out the children’s share. This is precisely the outcome most married couples would want to avoid, yet it is what the intestacy rules can produce.
No Provision for Guardianship
A will is the only legal document in which you can appoint guardians for your minor children. If both parents die without a will, the court will decide who raises the children — and the court’s choice may not be the same as yours.
No Control Over Timing
Under the intestacy rules, children receive their share at 18. Many parents would prefer their children to inherit at 21, 25, or even later, when they are more financially mature. A will — and the trusts within it — can impose those conditions. Intestacy cannot.
The Business Owner’s Problem
For business owners, intestacy creates additional risks. Shares in a private company will pass according to the intestacy rules, potentially distributing ownership among people who have no involvement in the business and no understanding of its operations.
If the deceased was a sole trader, the business may need to be wound up entirely, because there is no mechanism under intestacy to transfer it as a going concern to a specific individual. The value of goodwill, client relationships, and trading reputation can evaporate overnight.
Where a shareholder agreement exists, it may contain provisions that interact with the intestacy rules in unexpected ways — particularly if the agreement includes cross-option clauses or pre-emption rights. Without a will to align the estate plan with the business structure, the two can work against each other.
What About Scotland and Northern Ireland?
The intestacy rules differ across the UK’s jurisdictions. In Scotland, the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 governs intestate estates, and the surviving spouse has stronger “prior rights” (including the right to the family home up to a specified value). In Northern Ireland, the Administration of Estates Act (Northern Ireland) 1955 applies, with different thresholds and distribution rules. If you own property or assets in more than one UK jurisdiction, the complexity increases further.
How to Avoid the Intestacy Rules
The solution is straightforward: make a will. A properly drafted will allows you to:
- Choose who inherits your estate and in what proportions
- Appoint guardians for minor children
- Create trusts to protect assets and control the timing of inheritance
- Provide for unmarried partners, stepchildren, and other people the intestacy rules ignore
- Minimise your family’s inheritance tax exposure
- Appoint executors you trust to administer your estate
- Include specific gifts, charitable legacies, and conditions
A will should be reviewed every three to five years, or whenever there is a significant change in your circumstances — marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, the purchase of property, or a change in the tax rules.
The Cost of Not Acting
The cost of making a will is modest. The cost of not making one — measured in family conflict, legal fees, tax bills, and outcomes that bear no resemblance to what the deceased would have wanted — can be enormous.
If you have been putting it off, now is the time. The intestacy rules will not adapt to your family. Your will can.
To discuss your estate plan and ensure your family is properly protected, contact The Legacy Wills Company today.