What Happens if Someone Dies Without a Will?
If somebody dies without a valid will, they are said to have died intestate.
If somebody dies without a valid will, they are said to have died intestate.
That does not mean the family simply decides how to share the estate.
In England and Wales, legislation sets out who is entitled to inherit and in what order. Those rules may produce a result very different from what the person would have chosen.
Marriage and civil partnership matter
If the deceased leaves a spouse or civil partner but no children or other descendants, the surviving spouse or civil partner generally inherits the whole intestate estate.
Where there are children or descendants and the estate is sufficiently large, the current rules divide the estate between the surviving spouse or civil partner and the deceased’s descendants.
For deaths under the current rules, HMRC confirms the statutory legacy is £322,000, with the spouse or civil partner also receiving personal chattels and half of the remaining estate; the other half passes to the children or their descendants.
An unmarried partner does not automatically inherit under intestacy
This is one of the most important misunderstandings.
Living together for many years does not create the same intestacy rights as marriage or civil partnership.
HMRC’s current guidance confirms that an unmarried partner or friend does not inherit under the intestacy rules simply because of that relationship.
Other legal claims may sometimes be possible, but that is a separate question requiring individual advice.
Children and descendants
If there is no surviving spouse or civil partner, children can inherit the estate in equal shares.
If a child died before the deceased but left children of their own, those descendants can take the share their parent would have received.
Adopted children have inheritance rights under these rules. Stepchildren are not treated as the deceased’s children for intestacy unless legally adopted.
What if there are no spouse, civil partner or children?
The rules then move through other categories of relatives in a statutory order.
This can include parents, siblings and their descendants, half-siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles and their descendants.
If nobody entitled under the rules can be found, the estate can ultimately pass to the Crown or, in relevant areas, the Duchy of Lancaster or Cornwall as bona vacantia.
Who deals with the estate?
Without an executor appointed by a will, an entitled person may need to apply for letters of administration.
This gives the administrator authority to deal with estate assets where a grant is required.
The administrator still has responsibilities to identify assets and debts, deal with tax and distribute the estate according to the intestacy rules.
Do not divide the estate according to what feels fair
Families may know that the deceased regarded a stepchild as their own, promised an item to a friend or intended an unmarried partner to be secure.
Those facts do not automatically change the intestacy rules.
Before distributing anything, establish the legal entitlement. If the family wants to consider changing how an inheritance is ultimately arranged, obtain appropriate legal and tax advice rather than improvising.
Last reviewed
6 September 2026
Important informationThis guide provides general information and is not intended to provide legal, financial or other professional advice. Rules can differ across the UK and individual estates can be complex. Check current official guidance and consider advice from an appropriately qualified professional before making important decisions about an estate, inheritance, property, debts or funeral costs.