To determine who inherits if someone dies without a will the first question has to be which country’s rules are relevant. We will deal with England and Wales but if you are Scotland or Northern Ireland bear in mind different rules will apply.
First of all let us list some of the people who are not allowed to inherit where there is not will. These include:
The following people have no right to inherit where someone dies without leaving a will:
- unmarried partners
- lesbian or gay partners not in a civil partnership
- relations by marriage
- close friends
- carers.
However, even if they cannot inherit under the rules of intestacy, they may be able to apply to the court for financial provision from the estate. This is not a satisfactory way to obtain a benefit out of an estate due to the additional cost, delay and emotional stress.
There is a useful guide on the government website to help you understand what might happen to your estate if you do not make a will. Put very briefly the rules are:
- If you leave a spouse or civil partner but no children then the spouse or civil partner inherits all;
- If you leave a spouse or civil partner and children then the spouse or civil partner will inherit everything up to £250k and after £250k the spouse or civil partner will also inherit the personal chattels and half the remaining estate. The children receive equal shares of the balance;
- If you leave children and no spouse or civil partner then they inherit the estate equally;
- If you do not leave a spouse, civil partner and children then the rules will look for living parents, living siblings, living grandparents, and finally aunts and uncles in that order;
- If you do not leave any of these alive at the time of your intestate death then the government will claim the whole estate as what is termed bona vacantia.
It is worth recording that an unmarried partner does not qualify under the intestacy rules and neither does a step-child unless you legally adopted them.
Having a will takes the guesswork out of the division of your estate.