Dying Without a Will in England and Wales

Dying without a will is common. It is called "dying intestate", and when it happens the law, not the family, decides who inherits¹. The rules that apply are known as the intestacy rules, and they set out a fixed order of priority among relatives³. More than half of UK adults aged 50 to 64, 53%, have no will, as do 22% of those aged 65 and over, according to figures published in January 2025³.

The consequences surprise many families. A surviving spouse or civil partner does not necessarily inherit everything: where there are children, the spouse keeps all personal possessions, the first £322,000 of the estate, and half of what remains, with the children sharing the other half⁴. An unmarried partner, however long the relationship, inherits nothing automatically⁶. Stepchildren are also left out unless they were legally adopted. And if no relatives can be traced at all, the whole estate passes to the Crown⁴.

This page explains the rules as they apply in England and Wales. Scotland has its own rules for who inherits when there is no will, covered in wills in Scotland, and the position of unmarried couples generally is covered in unmarried couples: money rights.

What happens to an estate when there is no will

When someone dies without making a will, the law of intestacy sets out who should inherit their estate¹. The estate means everything the person owned: money, property, possessions and other assets, after any debts are paid. There is no discretion in the rules. Whoever qualifies under the set order of priority inherits, and anyone who does not qualify is left out, whatever the deceased person might have wanted or said².

Dying without a will also changes who runs things. A will normally names executors to deal with the estate. With no will, there are no named executors, so an administrator is appointed instead, and the law decides who can fill that role¹¹. The administrator applies for a legal document called a grant of letters of administration, which is the equivalent of probate, and it gives them the authority to collect the estate, pay debts and distribute what is left. The process is explained in more detail later on this page.

A will can also fail after death in ways that put an estate into intestacy. If a will is invalid, for example because it was not properly witnessed, the estate is dealt with as if there was no will at all. And if the executor cannot find the will, the estate will be distributed in line with the intestacy rules¹³. Divorce does not automatically invalidate a will, but a former spouse is treated as though they have died, which can leave gifts with no one to receive them¹³.

The practical answer for anyone reading this before the event is simple: making a will is the only way to be sure who inherits. That process, its costs and what makes a will valid are covered in making a will, and the choice between writing your own and using a solicitor is compared in writing your own will or using a solicitor.

Who inherits under the intestacy rules

The intestacy rules divide relatives into a strict order of priority. Your money and assets go to your relatives in that set order: the first group that exists takes the estate, and groups further down the list get nothing at all². There is no sharing between distant relatives and closer ones, and no account is taken of who was in contact with the deceased person, who provided care, or what anyone was promised.

The order, in brief, is:

1. Surviving spouse or civil partner, who shares with children if there are any, as explained in the next section.
2. Children, and their descendants if a child has already died. Children inherit equally, and grandchildren take a deceased child's share.
3. Parents, if there is no spouse, civil partner or children.
4. Brothers and sisters with the same parents, or their descendants.
5. Half-brothers and half-sisters, or their descendants.
6. Grandparents.
7. Uncles and aunts of the whole blood, or their descendants.
8. Uncles and aunts of the half blood, or their descendants⁴.

If a child inherits under the intestacy rules, a bereaved minor's trust is automatically set up in England and Wales to hold their share until they come of age¹⁴. Adopted children are treated as the children of their adoptive parents and inherit accordingly. Stepchildren, by contrast, have no place in the order at all unless they were adopted.

One point worth knowing: the rules can be changed after death by agreement. Anyone who inherits under the intestacy rules can use a deed of variation to redirect their share to someone else, provided they are over 18 and have mental capacity⁴. This is one of the main ways families provide for an unmarried partner the rules left out, and it is covered in deed of variation: changing an inheritance.

Married or civil partner: the first £322,000 and half the rest

Where there is a surviving spouse or civil partner and there are children, the estate is split in a fixed way. The spouse or civil partner automatically inherits all personal possessions and the first £322,000 of the estate, plus half of whatever remains⁵. The children receive the other half of that remainder, divided equally between them⁵. The same £322,000 statutory sum applies across England and Wales⁴.

Where there are no children, the position is more generous to the surviving spouse or civil partner. If the deceased person did not have large savings or own a lot of property, and the couple were married or in a civil partnership, everything usually passes to the survivor outright⁶. More generally, with no children the spouse or civil partner inherits the whole estate⁴.

The £322,000 figure is the statutory legacy, and it matters most in larger estates. In a estate worth, say, £500,000 with two children, the spouse takes the first £322,000 and half of the remaining £178,000, and the children share the other half. The children's shares are held for them if they are under 18, through the bereaved minor's trust¹⁴.

Inheritance tax sits alongside these rules rather than being part of them. There is no inheritance tax to pay on estates left entirely to a spouse, civil partner or charity⁵, and a surviving spouse or civil partner never pays inheritance tax on anything left to them, regardless of the amount¹⁵. Anything left to a spouse or civil partner is exempt¹⁴. The nil-rate band is £325,000 per person, and married couples and civil partners can inherit each other's unused allowances, so a qualifying estate of a surviving spouse or civil partner can pass on up to £1 million tax-free, including the residence nil-rate band when a home is left to a direct descendant¹⁶. The rules on paying are covered in paying inheritance tax.

Unmarried partners get nothing automatically

This is the part of the intestacy rules that catches out the most families. Someone living with the deceased person but not married to them, or not in a civil partnership, may receive nothing from the estate⁷. Cohabiting partners have no automatic right to inherit under the intestacy rules in England and Wales, no matter how long the relationship lasted⁸. Official guidance is blunt about it: you do not have automatic rights to your partner's money or belongings if your partner has died and there is no will⁶.

The "common law marriage" idea is a myth. There is no stage at which living together gives a couple the legal status of marriage. On separation as well as on death, a cohabiting partner does not automatically have rights to the other's money or property, regardless of how long they have been together, apart from jointly owned assets and child maintenance⁸.

The tax rules compound the problem. Unmarried couples cannot inherit each other's unused nil-rate bands, so each partner is limited to their own £500,000 of allowances rather than the £1 million a married couple can pass on¹⁹. Where an unmarried partner inherits, inheritance tax can be due on the estate above the threshold. Reported examples published in June 2026 show the difference: on an estate worth £600,000 including a £330,000 pension, someone inheriting from married parents would face no tax, while someone inheriting the same estate from an unmarried partner would face tax of £110,000 from April 2027, when unused pension funds and death benefits come within the inheritance tax reporting rules²¹.

An unmarried partner who is left out is not entirely without options, but none is automatic. The family can agree a deed of variation to redirect shares⁴. The partner may be able to make a claim against the estate under the inheritance legislation for financial provision, which involves an application to the court within a strict time limit. And jointly owned assets, including a home held as joint tenants, pass outside the rules entirely, as the next section explains. These routes are covered in the options section below, and the wider money position of cohabiting couples in unmarried couples: money rights.

What happens to a jointly owned home

Not everything a person owned passes under the intestacy rules. Jointly owned property can pass automatically to the surviving owner, depending on how it is held.

If a home is owned as a joint tenancy, and one owner dies, the deceased person's share passes automatically to the surviving owner by a rule called survivorship. It does not form part of the estate, is not affected by the intestacy rules, and cannot be claimed by the deceased person's relatives or creditors. The same applies to a joint tenancy of a rented home: the tenancy automatically goes to the remaining joint tenant or tenants⁹.

If the home is held as tenants in common, each owner has a distinct share. When one dies, their share becomes part of their estate and passes under the intestacy rules, but unpaid debts must be paid first from that share¹⁰. The deceased person's share does not automatically pass to the surviving owner, and it forms part of the estate available to creditors⁷.

This distinction matters most for unmarried couples. A partner who is a joint tenant keeps the home regardless of the intestacy rules. A partner who is not on the title, or who holds as a tenant in common, depends entirely on what the rules or a claim give them. Without a will, the home passes to the closest relatives, the next of kin⁹. The only way to choose who inherits a home is to make a will⁹.

Bank and savings accounts follow a similar pattern. Money in a joint account where both people pay in and neither has restrictions on withdrawing is usually treated as jointly owned and passes to the survivor, which is why such money is excluded when means-tested help with funeral costs is worked out²³.

When there is no spouse or children: the order of relatives

If there is no surviving spouse or civil partner and no children, the estate moves down the list of relatives. Parents come next, then brothers and sisters of the whole blood and their descendants, then half-blood siblings and their descendants, then grandparents, then uncles and aunts of the whole blood and their descendants, and finally uncles and aunts of the half blood and their descendants⁴. Each group inherits only if there is no one in a group above it.

Two points about this order catch families out. First, "descendants" means the children of a relative who has already died can take that relative's share, so a deceased brother's children can inherit in his place. Second, the blood relationship matters: a half-brother or half-sister inherits only if there are no full siblings or their descendants, and step-relations of every kind, including stepchildren, are outside the order entirely.

The tax rules add a further layer when there is no spouse. The residence nil-rate band, the extra allowance that applies to a home, only applies if the home is left to a direct descendant, meaning a child or grandchild. Nieces, nephews and friends do not qualify¹⁹. Direct descendants are defined broadly for that purpose, and include children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and their spouses or civil partners, stepchildren, adopted children, foster children and children under the guardianship of the person passing on the estate²⁰. But that is a tax allowance, not an inheritance right: a stepchild who qualifies for the allowance still inherits nothing under the intestacy rules unless adopted.

Where no relatives can be found, the estate goes to the Crown

If no relatives can be traced, or none come forward to claim, the entire estate passes to the Crown⁴. This is known as bona vacantia. The Treasury Solicitor then deals with the deceased person's bank accounts and finances¹¹.

The Crown does not inherit in the way a relative does, and the position is not quite final. People who might otherwise have inherited can still come forward, and the Treasury Solicitor's office can consider claims from people who were dependent on the deceased person or had a reasonable expectation of benefit. But the starting point is that an unclaimed estate with no qualifying relatives belongs to the Crown, and distant relatives who do come forward need to prove their relationship.

The scale of this is small compared with the number of estates overall, but it is a real risk for people who have lost contact with family, and for unmarried couples where the surviving partner has no place in the intestacy order. It is one more reason the intestacy rules are described as a default rather than a safety net: they only work for the family shapes they were designed around.

Applying for letters of administration

With no will, there is no executor. Instead, an administrator is appointed, and the law decides who can fill the role¹¹. The administrator is usually a relative or friend, or a solicitor¹⁰. In practice the role normally goes to the person at the top of the order of inheritance: the surviving spouse or civil partner first, then children, then other relatives in the same order as the estate itself passes.

The administrator's authority comes from a grant of letters of administration. You can apply online or by post using form PA1A, though there are restrictions on who can apply online⁴. A postal application uses the PA1A form where there is no will, whereas an estate with a will uses form PA1P⁵. The grant is what banks, building societies and land registries will ask to see before releasing money or transferring property.

The steps in that diagram are the administrator's responsibilities in order. Valuing the estate comes first, because it determines both whether inheritance tax is due and whether a grant is needed at all; small estates can sometimes be released without one, as explained in when you don't need probate for a small estate. Inheritance tax must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the person dies to avoid paying interest²⁴. Debts are paid from the estate before anyone inherits⁷. Only then is the estate shared out under the intestacy rules.

A grant may be needed even where the estate seems simple. For example, a personal representative needs a grant of representation if they want to act on behalf of the estate in a complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman, even where the estate would not otherwise need one, such as where all property was held as joint tenants or the amount of money involved is small²⁶.

The detailed process, fees and timescales are covered in applying for letters of administration when there's no will, and the wider task of dealing with someone's affairs in what to do when someone dies. If the estate is complex, or the family cannot agree, a professional administrator can be appointed, which is covered in paying a professional to deal with an estate.

Options for anyone left out of the intestacy rules

Being left out by the intestacy rules is not always the end of the matter. There are three main routes, and they differ in who must agree and how certain the outcome is.

A deed of variation. Anyone who inherits under the intestacy rules can use a deed of variation to change how their share of the inheritance is shared out, provided they are over 18 and have mental capacity⁴. This is a voluntary arrangement: the people who did inherit agree to give part of their shares to someone the rules missed, such as an unmarried partner or a stepchild. It can also be used to redirect shares for tax reasons. The mechanics are covered in deed of variation: changing an inheritance.

A claim under the inheritance legislation. Certain people, including a person who was living with the deceased as husband, wife or civil partner for at least two years, a spouse or civil partner, a child, or someone who was financially dependent on the deceased, can apply to court for reasonable financial provision from the estate. This is not guaranteed, it involves a strict time limit for making the application, and the court decides what, if anything, to award.

Joint ownership and beneficiary nominations. Assets that pass outside the estate are unaffected by the intestacy rules. A home held as joint tenants passes to the survivor automatically⁹. Life insurance written in trust is not counted as part of the estate at all²⁷. Pension death benefits and policies with a named beneficiary also pass outside the estate, which is why they do not form part of the estate when inheritance tax is assessed²⁸. Someone who cannot inherit under the rules may still receive money through these routes.

For anyone thinking ahead rather than dealing with a death, the answer is a valid will. The rules on witnesses and validity are covered in witness rules for a valid will, and the effect of marriage and divorce on an existing will in does marriage or divorce cancel a will?.

How the costs of dying are met from the estate

The costs of a death are paid from the estate before anything is distributed. Debts come first: rent arrears on a sole tenancy, for example, should be paid by the estate, and if there is no money in the estate they do not need to be paid⁷. The general position on debts is covered in what happens to debts when someone dies.

Funeral costs are also met from the estate where there is money available. Where the family cannot afford the funeral, government help exists, but it interacts with the estate in a specific way. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a Funeral Expenses Payment is reduced by any money in the deceased person's estate that is available without probate or letters of administration, except money held as a joint tenancy, meaning a joint account where both people pay in and neither has restrictions on withdrawing²³. The person making the claim does not need to pay the payment back personally, but if the deceased person left sufficient assets in the estate, the DWP is entitled to recover the payment from the estate and will usually attempt to do so²³.

Scotland has its own equivalent, the Funeral Support Payment, which is recovered from the estate of the person who died before inheritance is paid, taken directly from the estate and not from the applicant²⁹. The two schemes are covered in funeral expenses payment and funeral support payment in Scotland.

Life insurance can change the picture. If a policy is written in trust, it is not counted as part of the estate and does not go towards funeral expenses²⁷, which means the money goes directly to the named beneficiary rather than into the pot the estate pays its bills from.

Inheritance tax is also a cost of the estate, paid before beneficiaries receive their shares. The personal representative, the executor or administrator, usually pays any inheritance tax due before giving beneficiaries their inheritance³⁰. You do not usually owe any tax on an inheritance at the time you inherit it³⁰. There might not be any inheritance tax to pay when the value of the estate is below the threshold, making it an excepted estate, though HMRC forms may still need to be completed³¹. An excepted estate is one where no inheritance tax is due and a full account on form IHT400 is not needed³². Estates where the person died on active service in the armed forces or certain other services can qualify for a complete exemption³⁴.

Where tax is due, it must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the death to avoid interest²⁴, and in some cases it can be paid in yearly instalments, for example on certain hard-to-sell assets³⁵. From 6 April 2027, personal representatives will be liable for reporting and paying inheritance tax due on unused pension funds and death benefits²². The full rules are in paying inheritance tax and tax after a death.

Where to get help

Dealing with an estate without a will is a job most people do once in their life, and free help exists at every stage. MoneyHelper, Citizens Advice and Age UK all publish guidance on dealing with an estate after a death, and the steps immediately after a bereavement, including registering the death and Tell Us Once, are set out in what to do when someone dies and registering a death.

For the specific tasks on this page:

• Applying for letters of administration when there's no will covers the application in detail.
• Being an executor explains the duties, which an administrator largely shares.
• Valuing an estate covers working out what the estate is worth.
• Deed of variation covers redistributing an estate after death.
• Unmarried couples: money rights covers the wider position of cohabiting partners.
• Free bereavement support and helplines lists organisations that help with the emotional and practical aftermath.

If the estate is disputed, if a claim is being considered by someone the rules left out, or if the family cannot agree who should act, a solicitor who specialises in wills and probate is the right professional to consult. The comparison in writing your own will or using a solicitor covers what solicitors charge for wills, and paying a professional to deal with an estate covers the cost of professional help with an estate.