When there’s no will, the estate is distributed under the Rules of Intestacy — a set of laws last updated by people who clearly hadn’t spent Christmas with your family.
How It Works
The estate passes in a fixed order:
- Spouse or civil partner
- If there are no children, they get everything.
- If there are children:
- The spouse gets all personal belongings.
- The first £322,000 of the estate.
- Half of what’s left.
- The children share the other half equally.
- No spouse or civil partner?
Then it goes to:- Children → grandchildren → great-grandchildren (each branch inheriting “per stirpes”).
- If no descendants: parents → siblings → half-siblings → grandparents → aunts/uncles → half-aunts/uncles.
- If absolutely nobody qualifies, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia.
Who Gets Nothing
- Unmarried partners (even if you’ve lived together for decades)
- Stepchildren (unless formally adopted)
- Friends, carers, or charities
Real-World Chaos
Imagine David dies leaving his partner of 25 years, Sue. They never married, and his house was in his name. His children from a first marriage inherit everything. Sue, who helped pay the mortgage, gets nothing — except a phone call from the estate agents asking when she’ll be out.
The Administrative Bit
Someone must apply for Letters of Administration — usually the next of kin. They’ll handle all assets, pay debts, and distribute the estate. It’s like being executor, but without the helpful guidance of a will.
Why It Matters
The intestacy rules don’t care what was “promised” or “understood.”
So, the moral is simple: make a will. Even a basic one beats leaving your family to interpret 100-year-old legislation.
Back to The Lost Will, the Family Tree and the DNA Test That Changed Everything
