No children? How to plan your estate so it goes where you want

Most estate planning advice is written with children in mind. Leave the house to the kids, protect the grandchildren, think about university fees. But a great many of the business owners and property investors we meet have no children at all — some single, some married or in a civil partnership, some living with a partner of many years. For them, the usual script simply does not fit.

The good news is that having no children gives you more freedom, not less. There is no default heir waiting in the wings, so every choice in your Will is genuinely yours: a favourite niece, a godson, a lifelong friend, the colleague who helped build the business, a cause you care about. The catch is that if you do not make those choices, the law makes them for you — and its choices may surprise you.

What happens if there is no Will

In England and Wales, an estate without a valid Will is distributed under the intestacy rules. Where there are no children or grandchildren, the outcome depends on whether you are married or in a civil partnership.

If you are married or in a civil partnership, your spouse or civil partner inherits the whole estate. That sounds tidy, and for many couples it is what they would choose anyway. The difficulty comes on the second death, which we will return to.

If you are single, widowed, divorced or living with a partner you have not married, the estate passes to your relatives in a fixed order. Each group takes everything before the next group is even considered:

• your parents, equally if both are living;
• your brothers and sisters of the whole blood, with the children of any sibling who has died taking their parent’s share;
• your half-brothers and half-sisters, again with their children stepping into a deceased sibling’s place;
• your grandparents;
• your aunts and uncles of the whole blood, or their children (your cousins);
• your aunts and uncles of the half blood, or their children;
• and finally, if no relative in any of those groups can be found, the Crown, under the rule known as bona vacantia — ownerless property.

Two things stand out. First, there is no room for anyone you are not related to by blood, adoption or marriage. Godchildren, friends, step-relations and charities receive nothing. Second, nieces and nephews only inherit if their own parent — your brother or sister — has died before you. If your siblings are alive, the nephew you are closest to may receive nothing at all.

Why an unmarried partner is left out

There is no such thing as a “common law” husband or wife in English law. However long you have lived together, an unmarried partner has no entitlement under the intestacy rules. Your estate would go to your parents or siblings, even if your partner lives in the home you share.

A partner who has lived with you as a couple for the two years before your death can apply to the court under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. But that is a claim, not an inheritance: it takes time, it is stressful, it may set your partner against your family, and the award is generally limited to what is reasonable for their maintenance. A Will that names your partner clearly is a far kinder route.

A worked example

Take a Sussex couple — we will call them David and Helen, invented here purely for illustration. They are married, have no children, and own a home worth £700,000, a buy-to-let portfolio worth £800,000 and savings of £100,000: £1.6 million in all. Neither has made a Will.

Helen dies first. Under intestacy, David inherits everything, and no Inheritance Tax is due on her death because transfers between spouses are exempt. So far, so good.

A few years later David dies, still without a Will. Everything now passes to his side of the family — his surviving brother, and the children of a sister who died before him. Helen’s two nieces, whom the couple had always treated as their own, receive nothing. Nobody intended that; it is simply how the rules work.

Now the tax. David’s estate can use his own nil-rate band of £325,000 and Helen’s unused nil-rate band, a further £325,000 — £650,000 in total. But the residence nil-rate band of £175,000 per person is only available when a home passes to direct descendants. David has none, so neither his own residence nil-rate band nor Helen’s can be used. That leaves £950,000 taxable at 40%: an Inheritance Tax bill of £380,000.

Had the same couple had children and left the home to them, the estate could have used up to £1 million of allowances, and the bill would have been £240,000. The difference — £140,000 — is the price of the residence nil-rate band not applying.

The residence nil-rate band: who counts

The definition of “direct descendant” is wider than many people expect. As well as children and grandchildren, it includes step-children (where their parent is or was your spouse or civil partner), adopted children, children you have fostered at any time, and children for whom you were appointed guardian or special guardian before they were 18. Spouses and civil partners of those descendants count too.

It does not include nieces, nephews, siblings, godchildren or friends. So if you have step-children or once fostered a child, it is worth telling us — it may unlock an allowance you assumed was out of reach. If you genuinely have no direct descendants, the residence nil-rate band is usually off the table, and planning should focus on the allowances and reliefs that remain.

The traps to watch for

The second-death problem

For married and civil partner couples, the real risk is not the first death but the second. Once everything has passed to the survivor, the first partner’s family has no claim at all unless the survivor’s Will provides for them. Mirror Wills that name both families — or a planned division agreed while you are both here — keep things even-handed.

Assuming “family will sort it out”

Siblings are often of a similar age to you. Leaving everything to a brother or sister may simply move the estate into another estate that is about to face the same Inheritance Tax, and may not reach the next generation in the way you hoped. Naming nieces and nephews directly, or alongside their parents, can be more efficient.

The business or portfolio with no one at the wheel

Without children to step in, who keeps the business trading or the tenants paid in the weeks after your death? An executor who has never run a lettings portfolio, or does not understand your company, may be forced into a quick sale. Thinking now about who will run things — a co-director, a trusted manager, a professional — protects the value you have built.

Choosing executors by default

Many people without children name a sibling of the same age as their only executor, or a partner who will be grieving and overwhelmed. Consider a younger relative, a capable friend, a professional executor, or a combination, with a substitute named in case your first choice cannot act.

What to do

• Decide who matters to you. Nieces, nephews, godchildren, friends, a partner, a former colleague — anyone can be named. You can also choose the age at which younger beneficiaries receive their share, rather than the default of 18.
• Consider a charitable gift. A gift to a cause you care about is free of Inheritance Tax, and can sit comfortably alongside gifts to people.
• Protect an unmarried partner. Name them clearly in your Will, and check how your home is owned. Owning as Tenants in Common lets each of you leave your own share where you wish.
• Plan for the business or portfolio. Look at whether your business qualifies for Business Relief, which from April 2026 gives 100% relief on the first £2.5 million of qualifying business and agricultural property combined, and 50% above that. Let-property portfolios generally do not qualify, which makes lifetime planning more important for investors.
• Choose executors with care. Pick people who are able, willing and likely to outlive you, and tell them where your papers are.
• Keep pensions in view. From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds will fall inside your estate for Inheritance Tax, so review who your scheme expects to benefit.

Alongside your Will, a Lasting Power of Attorney lets you choose, while you are well, who would handle your finances and property — and, separately, your health and welfare decisions — if you ever needed help. When there is no adult child to step forward naturally, it is a reassuring way to put a trusted friend, relative or partner in place on your own terms, and to keep a business or portfolio running smoothly.

Freedom, used well

Having no children is not a gap in your estate plan. It is a blank page. The people and causes you care about can all be provided for — but only if you write them in. Left to the rules, your estate goes where the law decides, and your partner, your godchildren and your closest friends may not feature at all.

If you would like to talk through who you want to benefit and how to make the most of the allowances available, book a Discovery Call with me. It takes 30 minutes, the fee is £30, and it is credited against your fees if you go on to instruct us.