Intestacy – what happens when there isn’t a valid Will?

When someone dies one of the first documents to be looked for is a Will. In some cases, a will may not have been made, or it may not have been made correctly. An incorrectly made will may not be valid and therefore is not enforceable. 

In situations where there is no valid Will, there is a set order of who has a right to inherit. Within this order there are categories of relatives of the deceased whose entitlement to the estate ranks in priority of the order as listed.

The first two categories can be looked at together, to an extent. Namely, did the deceased have a spouse or civil partner and/or any children? If there was a spouse or civil partner and no children then the spouse or civil partner will inherit the whole estate. 

If, however there were also children of the deceased, the situation may change dependent on the overall value of the estate. 

The spouse or civil partner will have a right to the deceased’s personal belongings along with a fixed cash sum of £270,000.00. Any remaining estate assets exceeding that fixed sum will be split between the spouse/civil partner and the children. The spouse or civil partner will take one half and the children, however many there may be, will share the other half between them. 

If there was no spouse or civil partner but the deceased was survived by children then the children would inherit the estate between them.

Beyond the spouse or civil partner and children the eligibility to inherit would then go to wider family members as follows:

1. Parents

2. Siblings (or nieces and nephews)

3. Half siblings (or their children)

4. Grandparents

5. Aunts and Uncles by blood but not by marriage (or their children)

If there are one or more individuals satisfying a higher-ranking category then any of the subsequent categories will not have an entitlement to the estate.

The further down the list that it is necessary to look, the potential for more individuals to have a right to part of the estate. There is also an additional complication of making sure any individuals who fall within that category receive their share. In some cases, this can require a genealogist to be instructed to check birth and death records and to verify a family tree. This can end up being costly to the estate. 

The contents of this article do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only.